27/07/2016 World News Today

Hello and welcome to BBC World News today.

The Headlines: French religious leaders call for more security

at places of worship following the brutal murder

Fresh pictures emerge of the siege at the Normandy church

where Islamists carried out the killing on Tuesday.

Pope Francis has said the recent spate of jihadist attacks in Europe

is proof that the world is, as he put it, at war,

but he said he didn't mean it was a "war of religions."

A big explosion in a mainly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria has

caused massive destruction - at least 40 people have died

On patrol ahead of the Rio games - the head of security tells the BBC

the threat of a terror attack is one of his biggest concerns.

The head of France's Muslim community has described yesterday's

murder by Islamists of an elderly priest as "blasphemous

sacrilege which goes against all the teachings of our religion".

Dalil Boubakeur joined representatives of Christian,

Jewish and Buddhist faiths in a show of unity with President Hollande.

They called for more security at places of worship.

The priest, Father Jacques Hamel, was killed while conducting

morning mass in his church in a suburb of Rouen.

His killer, 19 year old Adel Kermiche, had twice

previously tried to join the so-called Islamic State group -

also known as Daesh - in Syria.

Our correspondent Lucy Williamson reports.

The words that follow these attacks have lost their power to console.

They used to give France strength, now they highlight its betrayal.

In the streets where he grew up, Adel Kermiche is remembered

as a troubled man whose radical views had already alerted his

TRANSLATION: He was clearly pro-Daesh.

Once his parents took him to the police station,

they said, lock him up, he's going to commit a crime.

The police said they were already monitoring him, but couldn't

Last year, he was arrested in Germany while trying to reach Syria.

Two months later, he was caught again in Turkey and

In March this year he was released with an electronic tag,

which allowed him to leave his house between 8:30

During that window yesterday morning, he came here

and together with an accomplice, carried out his assault while elite

The moment filmed by a local resident who was woken by the noise.

With every new target and every new location,

So that the death of a local priest in this small suburban church

becomes a test of national resilience, an attack

In Paris, the government was left defending itself against

the charge that its defence of France had failed.

But was this a failure of intelligence, security or judgment?

Or simply the result of freedoms the country wants to protect?

TRANSLATION: Everything that can be done under the rule of law

There can still be some changes, discussions.

We are open to suggestions from the opposition.

But you cannot protect the rule of law by rejecting the rule of law.

And on a visit to Italy today, the Prime Minister said

In the Church of Notre Dame tonight, prayers have begun to honour

Father Jacques Hamel and the hostages of Saint Etienne.

But faith in France's protectors is harder now,

with the country divided over what protection means.

Pope Francis has said the recent series of jihadist attacks in Europe

is proof that the world is, as he put it, at war.

The pope was careful to stress he did not mean

it was a "war of religions", but rather a conflict between

He made the comments to journalists on board his plane to Poland

TRANSLATION: The world is at war, in pieces. There was the war of 1914

with its methods, then the big war of 1939-1945, and now this. It is

not organic. Organised, yes, but not organic. But it is war.

This holy priest who died at the very moment in which he offered the

prayer for peace is one, but how many Christians, how many more

innocent people, how many more children will die?

Let's take you to Krakow and speak to our correspondent Tom Burridge.

- Adam Easton. Strong words from a very sombre Pope Francis but she was

very keen to point out that he did not mean it was a war between

religions. I think what he wanted to point out was to actually call a

spade a spade. He said often terror attacks, the word used is insecurity

and he said that is not the correct word. The word we should be using is

war. So I think he wanted to highlight the severity, the gravity

of the situation that the world is facing. He later came back

afterwards and said that he wasn't referring about a religious war. He

said that all world religions want peace, so the assumption would be

that the people who carry out these terror attacks are not true

believers of their faiths, and as you said and in the clip we just

heard, he talked about some of the more general causes of conflict such

as competition for scarce resources, competition for land, the domination

and also for power. A little bit later, he gave a speech in front of

the Polish president and the Polish bishops in the beautiful Gothic

castle. He did not refer to terror attacks there, but he did refer to

consequences of conflict, of war, and she meets a rather pointed

comment to the Polish host and said that not only society and churches

but states should do more to welcome refugees, asylum seekers, people

fleeing war and hunger, and to say that in front of the Polish

authorities is quite something, of course, because the Polish

authorities have made it clear that they are not interested in taking

any Muslim refugees or asylum seekers. That is also pretty much

the opinion of the majority of Polish society so a rather pointed

remark to be made by the Pope in his first speech after he arrived in his

host country. Adam, thank you very much. Adam Easton in crack of in

Poland. -- Krakow in Poland. There was another reminder today

that most of so-called Islamic State's victims

are in the Middle East Around 50 people were killed

after a truck bomb, which IS says it planted, exploded

in the predominantly Kurdish town The BBC's Yogita Limaye reports

from Beirut. Even before they understand what's

hit them, another explosion. A fuel tank blows up,

triggered by the bomb that went off near a Kurdish military

government building. There used to be shops, homes,

and a busy street here. Dozens have been killed in the worst

terrorist attack this city has seen. Two of them are doctors and like

most of the family they are living here, most of the family

have lost members here. Not just here, I'm living far

from here about 700 metres, all the windows in my house

are destroyed completely because of So-called Islamic state has

said it was behind the This woman was in her house when the

explosion occurred. TRANSLATION: When I looked at myself, I saw blood

on my hands. Then my son came rushing out of the bathroom and

asked me how I was. I said, I don't know. And I wasn't sure if his wife

had been killed. As for the rest, they were being pulled out by

others. I don't know if they are dead or alive.

So-called Islamic state has said it was behind the

Qamishli is a mainly Kurdish city near the border with Turkey.

The Kurds are battling Islamic state across northern Syria.

Backed by the US, and along with some Arab forces,

a major offensive has been underway to regain the town of Manbij.

And IS say the attack in Qamishli is retaliation for that.

Freelance journalist Basheer Talate is in Qamishli.

And looked at this officer, they told me they could not stop it. The

attacks happen everywhere. Not just here but also in Europe. There is a

lot of sadness but because a lot of the people you can see that they are

used to this but at the same time they are saying that ices cannot

kill the lights inside us. -- ices. -- Isis.

Police in the East of England investigating the attempted

abduction of a Royal Air Force serviceman last week have released

e-fits of the two men they suspect were involved.

The victim fought off the attackers who tried

to bundle him into a vehicle, as he was jogging

Police said both attackers were of "Middle Eastern appearance."

Our correspondent Robert Hall reports.

Were you in this area between 1pm and 4pm?

It was an instant which lasted less than a minute, but which has led

to another day of intense activity on the lanes of Norfolk.

The focus has been on these faces, created from the memories

of the young serviceman who ran for his life a week ago.

Investigators believe someone from the RAF community may have seen

the men as they prepared or fled from their attempted abduction.

The serviceman had told police that he became aware of a dark

vehicle, possibly a people carrier on the other side of the road.

He said in a matter of seconds a man had jumped out of that vehicle,

If he had not reacted as he did by head-butting that man

and knocking him to the ground the outcome would have

The landscape here illustrates the challenge of tracing that

Empty farmland, quiet roads and little CCTV.

Last week's incident has added to concerns over security

Police say that the motive for this attempted abduction

We said last week that there was no credible evidence of it

being a terrorist-related incident but we couldn't discount it,

But if it is not a terrorist related abduction, attempted abduction,

I am looking at other possibilities, could this be a case of mistaken

identity, could this be something entirely unconnected?

Norfolk police are in close touch with anti-terrorism specialists

but they believe key information will emerge locally.

They have warned anyone spotting the suspects

Robert Hall, BBC News, at RAF Marham.

Now a look at some of the day's other news.

The man who tried to assassinate the former US president

Ronald Reagan is to be released from a psychiatric hospital

John Hinckley Junior injured Mr Reagan and three others

when he opened fire on them outside the Washington Hilton hotel in 1981.

Hinckley was found not guilty on grounds of insanity.

The judge said Hinckley no longer poses a danger.

Prosecutors in the US city of Baltimore have dropped charges

against three police officers still facing trial over the death

last year of Freddie Gray - a black man who was critically

Freddie Gray's death fuelled perceptions of police brutality

towards African Americans and sparked the worst protests seen

Former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has been appointed

by the European Commission to negotiate with

In a tweet, Mr Barnier said he was honoured to be

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he "wanted

an experienced politician for this difficult job".

In November, American voters are going to make a choice.

Some are choosing between Republican and Democratic.

Others are choosing between what they've described

Hillary Clinton may have made history as the first woman to be

the presidential nominee for a major party, but many Democrats backing

Bernie Sanders have told us they think Clinton is part

On the Republican side some have told us they want anyone but Trump.

It's left a large share of American voters feeling disappointed,

if not angry, at the options for their next leader.

I'm probably going to vote for Hillary,

but I'd rather not have to

because I want more optionsthat are actually more representative

of what people want and not a lesser than

If the best that we can do for people that are

going to represent usis Donald J Trump

and Hillary Rodham Clinton, I

Maybe being involved within the Washington world

for so long I think that can kind of have a bit of a

dehumanising effect after a while in that it doesn't

seem like she really has the ability or feels like she

has the ability to think for herself as a person

and so I think that when

she's trying to cater to what can and cannot be

done that there isn't going

to be any of the real change that we need

I guess she's really the only person to vote

I mean, once the Republican Party chose Trump, I mean who else

I mean, as a woman, it's definitely a step

I truly believe it's anything but Trump, but

I think Hillary Clinton is a better choice, for sure.

The Democrats convention in Philadelphia is about to

I'm joined now by Michael Scherer, the Washington

I hope you can hear me. I hear it is quite noisy there. I just wanted to

ask you how much of a problem for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are

these people who do not see anything they particularly want to vote for

in either of these candidates? It could be a big problem but polls

show that about 90% of Bernie Sanders voters in the primary

support Hillary. What is different about this primary is that the real

die-hard activists, the people who work all year to get Bernie Sanders

elected, our year and it is not even representatives. That said, if this

sort of anger at Hillary Clinton continues, it will be really

problematic, not just the people who voted for Bernie Sanders, but for

young people and minority people who Hillary has to find a way to

motivate and she has not been able to so far. How unified or otherwise

would you say the Democratic party is right now? We heard jeers at the

name of Hillary Clinton in this convention. That is right. Both

parties are not very unified. But been surprised by how un-unified the

Democratic party is. It is too soon to know what consequences that will

have. If you're watching the Republicans in Cleveland, you would

see a similar disunity so it is bubbly going to hurt both candidates

and we have a long way to go before we know who will turn up at the

polls. But what this will come down to is turnout. It is about

motivating people who are not your regular voters and a lot of young

people are listening to their friends and they are saying that

Hillary is just part of some giant machine of corruption, even if they

are progressives, that will be a big problem for her. I want to ask you

about a story that is beginning to really get some traction now. This

row breaking out Clinton's campaign spokesman saying it is the first

time a major presidential candidate had encouraged a foreign power to

conduct espionage against a political opponent. I am talking

about Donald Trump and what he has apparently said about Russia. Yeah.

It was a remarkable press conference this morning. I think it is not as

the Clinton campaign. I think a lot of Republicans and political

observers are sort of still getting their bearings after he said it.

What he said was that he has nothing to do with the hack of the

Democratic National committee and does not know if Russia was behind

it but then he added that if Russian hackers could find the 30,000

e-mails that Hillary Clinton says she deleted because they were

personal correspondence not work correspondence, they should put them

out quick. It was essentially the Republican nominee for president

asking for a crime to be committed by a foreign power against the US.

It was quite a remarkable statement. And reduce the damaging? You know,

Donald Trump has been making remarkable statements for six months

now. -- who do you see a damaging? And in a lot of cases this has not

damaged him. I do not know if it will change the race dramatically. I

think it will remind people who are not yet on board list on why they

have concerns and it will play into Hillary Clinton's message on trumpet

which is that he is just not prepared for the job. At the same

time, I think that Trump has shown that there is an anger, a

frustration, a fury with the way the rules and politics are set up in

this country and that breaking them helps him. It motivates his

supporters and then again he may be able to pull other people into the

process by speaking like this that he has not been able to before. The

other thing to mention is that Trump often says the things we're sort of

a glint in his height, almost as if he's kidding when he says that. It

is interesting because with the whole campaign he has gotten away

with a lot of things that other candidates would never be able to

get away with. He said a day after the Republican convention to the

National Enquirer that John McCain, the former Republican nominee, is

not the kind of war hero he likes because he got captured. These are

things that just would not be acceptable in any other year but

this is not any other year. It certainly isn't. Only a day after

history was made, we have the first female President candidate, it is

not even really top of the agenda. Where are we? What is going on? You

was asked about Hillary been the first female nominee in his press

conference today and we will hear a lot more about that tonight with

President Obama and Joe Biden and her vice presidential pick Tim Kane

speeding so I do not think that will go away but it is certainly a

strange time. Thank you. As we mentioned there Barack Obama,

Vice President Joe Biden and Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine

will speak in the coming hours. As always we will have live

updates and analysis There will also be plenty of content

on our smart phone app. The Russian Olympic Committee chief,

Alexander Zhukov, says international federations have approved more

than 250 Russian competitors to take This comes after a report

into state sponsored doping. 108 Russians have been banned so far

- including all but one The Russian President Vladimir Putin

has once again criticised the decision to barr

some competitors, saying medals won at Rio 2016

will be devalued and that the Games He made the comments at an event

with Russian athletes, Here's some of what President Putin

had to say. TRANSLATION: I think that your

colleagues would understand that the quality of their medals will be

different now because it is one thing to win against strong, equal

competitors and it is a different thing when you compete with someone

so obviously lower in class. Such a victory has a completely different

taste, if any. Meanwhile, the man in charge

of security at the Rio Olympics has told the BBC the threat

of a terrorist attack An extra 80,000 security personnel

have been brought in to patrol the streets of Rio de Janeiro

and the Olympic venues. As our Brazil Correspondent,

Wyre Davies reports, there's concern the country

is a soft target for criminals. Rio has a reputation

as one of the world's Within sight of the beaches where

Olympic volleyball and triathlon events will take place, armed police

patrol narrow alleyways which by night revert to the control

of violent drugs gangs. They let off fireworks to let us

know they're watching. After a quiet couple of years,

violence has returned to many Rio is a much safer

place today than it was 20 years ago, but even in the last

year or so, in these pacified favelas, the drugs gangs

have moved back in. There have been more

murders and more attacks. And with the Olympic games taking

place down in the tourist areas

on Copacabana beach, there is a real concern

that some of this violence could spill

over during the games themselves. In this Olympic city,

shocking numbers of innocent victims are killed

in crossfire, often by police. Children are taught to dive

for cover at the And petty crime invades

the tourist beaches below. Police officers warned

they might not be able to guarantee Welcome to hell,

their stark message to visitors at Rio's

International Airport. We police officers are hiding our

badges, our wallets, our guns because they

are being hunted. But city and state officials say

that with an extra 80,000 security personnel on the streets,

Rio will be safe during the games. But says Rio's security chief,

there is one overriding concern. TRANSLATION: For me,

the biggest threat is terrorism. Brazil is not an obvious

target, but we have a weakness and it is

our immense borders. The BBC recently saw evidence

showing just how easy it More than 70 Syrian nationals were

able to acquire genuine Brazilian passports from crime gangs

and corrupt officials. Training exercises are designed

to ease concerns, but with 10,000 miles

of often porous land borders, Brazil would be a soft target for anyone

seeking to disrupt the games. Rio de Janeiro is still

one of the world's most beguiling cities

and will provide a stunning backdrop

for the Olympics, but it has

an ominously dark side too. Stunning aerial video has

been released showing what is believed to be the world's

deepest underwater sinkhole. Researchers in China studying

the so-called Blue Hole - in the South China Sea -

believe that it's 300 metres deep. The team says it looked at things

like tidal water levels and temperature to

work out the depth. Until now, the deepest known

Blue Hole was Dean's Blue Hole, which is two hundred

and two metres deep, We end on an object lesson on how

not to invest your money. A man from Georgia in

the United States who won three million dollars in a lottery

has pleaded guilty to using the money to invest

in a crystal meth ring. 45-year-old Ronnie Music Junior

used his windfall to buy the drugs, then supply them

to others who could The local Attorney described it

as an "unsound investment strategy". Mr Music is expected to serve years

in a federal prison. If you want to get in touch with us

here at BBC World News, But for now from me and the rest

of the team, goodbye. Hello there. If your gardens didn't

get enough rain today, you could be in luck tomorrow, when the next

batch of rain pushes