07/09/2016 World News Today

Hello and welcome to BBC World News with me Karin Giannone.

In two hours' time Rio's Paralympic Opening Ceremony gets underway.

It's been a difficult run-up, beset by problems, but athletes

and organisers are now confident they'll be a success.

It seems like years ago now but it is about four weeks ago, or five

weeks ago, that we started to realise the mess they were in. I

will be live in Rio with all the latest on the mood amongst the

Paralympians, with just hours to go until the start of these games.

In other news, residents of the besieged Syrian city

of Aleppo are bombed again, just hours after

It comes as opposition groups meet in London

Apple unveils its latest iPhone 7, so does it have that headphone port?

Fears for the future of London's nightclubs after one of its best

known venues, Fabric, is closed amid claims

The countdown is on to the Opening Ceremony

Over the next 12 days, 4,300 athletes will be taking part,

from 161 countries, competing in 23 sports with 528 gold

New heroes will emerge and memorable performances will take place.

The organisers will be hoping the ceremony in a few hours' time

will draw a line under a chaotic build-up.

There's been controversy over a lack of funding, poor ticket sales,

the Russian team being banned over the doping scandal,

and questions over the way athletes are classified.

From Rio, our correspondent Nikki Fox reports.

Just over two weeks since the flame was put out on South America 's

first ever Olympic games, the city 's most iconic landmark has been lit

up once more. This time it is in the colours of the Paralympics.

Expectations were high following London 2012, undoubtedly the most

successful Paralympic games to date. There were a record number of

tickets sold and more people tuned in than ever before and the

Paralympic movement was as strong as it has ever been. The build-up to

Rio has been beset with serious problems. One month ago, when the

International Paralympic Committee revealed there was no money, many

fear the Paralympic movement was about to take a backwards step. We

should not be taking out our begging bowls. We understand that people are

living in difficult times but what we don't understand is why we have

to be an afterthought every time, why should this games be staged on a

shoestring? Despite emergency measures like moving events and

removing transport facilities, ticket sales are on the up, and the

athletes are ready. The British team and their famous faces, their one

and only concern now is winning. People might be looking negatively

but I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised and when they

see the performances of British athletes especially, going out and

get a gold medals, I think it will be forgotten about. Over 4000

athletes from 161 countries will join thousands of volunteers. The

games are about to begin, but perhaps here in Rio, the Paralympic

movement has already passed its hardest test.

Well, Nikki has also been speaking to the President

of the International Paralympic Committee, Sir Philip Craven,

about the troubled build-up to the games in Rio.

It seems like years ago now but it's about four weeks or five weeks ago

when we started to realise the mess that they were in,

particularly from a financial point of view, no money.

I think the organising committee in Rio were in a state of hyper

stress and we had to get hold of some of the facts.

And once we got some of the facts, we could get to work.

And we made close contact with the acting federal government,

of course, at that time and the city authorities through the mayor,

I've just been to the village now and the athletes are all pretty

happy with where they are at, and we're going to have great games.

There was a real sense, wasn't there, that it was dire,

Did the IPC have any warning signs that this was happening,

that this money was being diverted to the Olympics?

Well, those are your words, actually.

I think what happened was the organising committee ran out

of money and therefore the consequence was pretty serious

for the Olympics but absolutely dire for the Paralympics.

And so, I'm not talking about whether money

Sir Philip Craven, who is present on the International Paralympic

Committee. Let's go live to Rio now

and our correspondent Kate Grey. What is the atmosphere like?

Well, as I stand here, looking over the newly relaying to Paralympic

part, I can hear final reparations taking place with drums in the

background, and that feels real sense that the Paralympic spirit has

arrived, despite all of the problems there has been in the lead up with

overspends at the Olympic Games and wondering whether they would be able

to finish their news and bring the teams to these games, it feels now

that all of that has been put to bed and they are ready to put on a great

show. I went for a wander along Copacabana beach yesterday at the

Olympic rings have been replaced and the public were taking photos and

they are starting to embrace these games and the increase in ticket

sets sales has shown that the Brazilian people are ready to

support the Paralympics and fill up the stands.

So the opening ceremony, what are we looking out for?

There are over 4300 athletes competing here across 528 gold medal

events, so there is so much action to look out for. I had to mention

the poster boy of these Paralympic games for Rio, Daniel Diaz, he is

competing in the aquatic centre behind me in nine events and he is

Brazil's most successful Paralympian so he has nothing to prove that he

will go out there and give his home crowd something to cheer about. He

is one of the most hunted down in the swimming pool because no one can

touch, he is a bit like Michael Phelps. As we move into the

athletics Stadium we have the likes of the German long jumper who was a

Paralympic champion and in recent years he has been jumping distance

that would allow him to compete against able-bodied athletes

although he has not been allowed to compete

in an Games so he will be one to watch because he is hoping to

qualify at the World Championships able-bodied competition next year.

Finally I have to mention Tatiana McFadden, one of the great Olympic

-- great American hopes who wants to add another gold to the three she

won at London 2012. Kate Grey there is herself a former

Paralympic swimmer. Well, you'll remember Russia

received a blanket ban on attending the Paralympics

because of a state-sponsored So Russia has decided

to hold its own event. An opening ceremony has already

taken place in Moscow for a Russian competition described

as the Alternative Paralympics. The BBC's Oleg Boldyrev

was at the ceremony. As the Paralympic games are about to

open in Rio here in Moscow we have something we call the competent --

compensation games, special event for the squad that was banned from

Rio. A ceremony here is greeting all the teams in track and field,

fencing, archery, rowing and other sports. It is a three-day event

which will involve 260 Paralympic athletes from Russia. Of course they

are disappointed. This thing is bigger than Rio. Of course the mood

is ruined, we were preparing for a sporting battle and now we have two

weight. We prepared for four years and for some this is a shock that is

enough to make them consider quitting sport. What will Russian

Paralympians do now there was no sporting schedule? Most of them say

they will stay on and fight on and they are hoping a decision and a

solution will be found soon but at the moment all they have is this

three-day event in Russia. Now a look at some of

the day's other news. Philippine officials say

President Rodrigo Duterte and President Barack Obama have met

informally at the gala dinner Relations between the two men had

soured after President Duterte used rude language

when referring to Obama. It led to the US president

cancelling a formal meeting Denmark will buy data leaked

from the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal,

the country's taxation Over 11 million documents

previously leaked from Mossack Fonseca to international media

revealed huge offshore tax evasion. In this latest development,

an anonymous offer to sell data involving up to 600 Danish citizens

was made over the summer There are reports of a bomb attack

on the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo a day after dozens

were hospitalised following It comes as Syria's main opposition

groups meet in London to try to find Our Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen

sends this report from You may find some of

the images distressing. Another air attack on East Aleppo,

which is held by an assortment of rebels. Civil defence workers pulled

out casualties, as they have done countless times before. The attack

was close to the place where local reports say the bombs containing

poisonous chlorine gas were dropped on Tuesday. The Syrian government

always denies using chemical weapons, despite many accusations.

This side of the city is at the moment the government 's biggest

target. The Syrian army is trying to surround eastern Aleppo and seal it

off, an attempt to impose a siege to starve out the anti-government

forces that oppose it. Casualties were taken to a makeshift hospital

and the fighting and the attempts to impose a total siege mean they are

short of medical supplies. The regime blames the bloodshed on

foreign companies -- countries intervening to destroy Syria. It

denies accusations that it writs of election skier and says that

President Assad has no plans to leave office. We elected our

President and our Parliament and our local administration units, but

these Western countries will recognise only what they want or the

results that they want. We have a very strong government, we have

sustained a six-year war against Syria and I assure you we shall

continue as long as the intervention takes place. In London, backed by

Britain, the Saudis and others, a Syrian -- coalition has produced the

most detailed blueprint for power, including President Assad and his

clique leaving. They don't expect to get any time soon from Damascus. If

Asharq Al Asad continues to drag his feet and refuse to engage seriously

then obviously there will have to be a plan B that will involve more

stepped-up military activity. This is the centre of Damascus and this

part of the capital could not look any more different to the east side

of Aleppo. There is huge war damage a few miles away and across the

country but this is the regime 's showcase. Now, if the demand to step

down had been delivered by a victorious army at the gates of his

palace then President Assad in Syria

appears to be far from over. Hair raising rescue journeys have been

happening every day in this country for more than five years. These were

civil defence workers in rebel held eastern Aleppo, racing to save

casualties in the attack on Tuesday that local experts say contained

chlorine gas. One Syrian general I have spoken to set the war could get

much longer, perhaps another ten years.

Our Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet,

is at the Foreign Office in central London where the talks

We heard the Syrian government view on foreign intervention, what is the

opposition perspective on outside involvement?

You can see behind me that a briefing is going on as the French

Foreign Minister is talking two French journalists who attended and

were on the sidelines of these talks, hosted by the British Foreign

Secretary, Boris Johnson with the Syrian opposition. They believe this

is the best plan for looking forward to a future for Syria, the most

detail they have ever presented for Security and political transition

that would ensure a stable transfer of power that would avoid the kind

of collapse that has been seen in neighbouring states like Iraq and

Libya. Yet again, you can see the French Foreign Minister is here and

there were more foreign in -- foreign ministers from the West and

the Arab world inside the Foreign Office today, this is a conflict

that draws in more outside powers than any other conflict anywhere in

the world and we have been hearing reports today that the Turkish

president has been speaking to the US president and possibly Turkish

troops moving further into northern Syria and helping in the attack

against one of the last places held by so-called Islamic State in Raqqa,

that would be a controversial move despite it being a priority for the

West to get rid of the remains of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

We have had so many years searching for a police -- peace process, what

is different this time? No one expects Syria to go to a

negotiating table any time soon but what is new about this plan is the

kind of detail it improves and it is meant to be an answer to those,

including the Russians and the Iranians, who say that if President

Assad goes then Syria would collapse. Now they are saying we

have a plan to keep the institutions in place and we have a plan that

will include some members of the Syrian regime, but not all, and not

president Assad. I have been speaking to the Syrian opposition

spokesperson. No ,we don't expect Assad

to come to us and say, yes, I'm moving out,

but that's why we are here. We want to hear

from our friends, that really in this war are

decision-makers and they can really Russia is playing a big

role there, Iran is playing a big role,

but unfortunately negative, they are Russia is taking advantage

of this situation because they know that Mr Obama only

has another few months and he wants to do something, and we don't want

them to do anything against our You don't want to trust the talks

now taking place between the Secretary of State, John Kerry,

and the Russian Foreign It is not the American side

we don't trust, but we fear that they will listen to

the Russians and agree on what the The Russians, they work

for the regime and they want to do anything for this regime,

not the Syrian people. That is our fear, but we hope

that the Americans will be aware of that, because you know,

things will not end when this administration leaves

the White House and there is a new administration, but in

the end it's American policy, foreign policy,

and they really have to do things right

and not trust the Russians when it The opposition spokesman expressed

some concerns about those talks between Lovegrove and Kerry but now

we have heard there is some progress and there was talk about a deal by

Friday which would mean a temporary truce across all of Syria. If that

happens then it would provide a small speck of light in a very dark

war. Thank you very much.

There are concerns over the future of London's status as a global

centre for nightlife after one of its biggest clubs,

It had its licence revoked following the deaths

of two teenagers from suspected drug overdoses.

Half of London's nightclubs have closed in the last eight years.

For nearly 17 years it's been at the forefront

of London's clubbing scene, hosting the biggest DJs, attracting

international crowds, but the party is over at Fabric nightclub.

Today there were flowers outside of the news is that its

licence had been revoked over concerns about drug use at the club.

Its owners have called the decision a travesty.

Yes, it's a shock, and we are absolutely devastated

for the people involved, devastated for the consequences of it but more

than anything we are frustrated and angry.

Airports aren't held responsible for drug mules coming

The Calais ferry isn't responsible for people trafficking

and the hundreds of tonnes contraband they transport

No one is held responsible and they just pick

on nightclubs because we are just a soft target.

The club was already temporarily closed after the

deaths of two teenagers over the summer and decided to shut it

permanently Islington Council said there was a culture of drug use

which the management and security seemed to be

The Metropolitan Police argued that keeping Fabric open could cause more

There have been six here in the last four years and

Supporters of the club says Fabric does all it can to prevent drug use

and they will probably now just move elsewhere.

Shutting the doors of this club isn't going to stop those

young people going and doing drugs, they will just go and do it in the

In this club there are four medics and a resuscitation team.

Many people's lives have been saved by Fabric's professionalism.

They will now be in a park or a pub that doesn't have

50% of nightclubs have closed in London in the last eight years.

The city's mayor Sadiq Khan says he is disappointed by the Fabric

decision at a time when he is trying to promote the night-time economy.

A fund has already been started to help the nightclub launch

It's the best iPhone that we have ever created! This is iPhone seven.

Yes, Apple has unveiled its latest handheld device, which it hopes

will again dominate the smartphone market.

With me is our technology reporter, Chris Foxx.

They are just announcing everything now, they let some details slip on

Twitter earlier today and release details they may not have been ready

to do. The phone is going to be water resistant so you can take it

into the bath tub of that is your thing and it looks as though the

headphone socket will disappear so your old headphones that you are

used to using will not fit in the phone because it had to go to make

the phone water resistant. It also has a new dual camera on the phone

with two cameras on the back instead of one so they can do clever things

like have one that is wide angle so you can take pictures of all of your

friends with all of the main or the other camera will give you a

close-up. They are new features on the phone.

They are new features for Apple, but has anyone else done this before?

Well, yes, they are billing it as revolutionary but Samsung 's top

handsets have been water resistant for some time and the dual camera

function, there are already phones out there with dual camera

functions. LG have a phone with a dual selfie mode and there is

another phone that has a dual camera in the back which lets you refocus a

picture once you have taken it, so if you took a picture and you

weren't happy with the bit that was in focus, it can calculate a

work-out the depth and refocus things a little bit. Apple have just

said that Sony 's revolutionary because it can do that blur the

background and keep you in focus, but not so revolutionary, it is

already out there on other android handsets.

We will let you get back to listening what Tim Clark -- Tim Cook

Barely a day goes by without Russia's Vladimir Putin

being mentioned in the contest for the American presidency.

On Tuesday Donald Trump claimed the Russian leader looks

The day before, Hillary Clinton accused Mr Trump of having a bizarre

attraction to dictators, including Putin.

So, is Donald Trump the Kremlin's man?

Who would Russia like to see in the White House next year?

Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg reports.

Outside the US Embassy in Moscow, it's a modern version

She's a pro-Putin activist, and, as you can see,

And just to prove it she has brought along her Donald Doves.

TRANSLATION: As Secretary of State,

Hillary Clinton caused a new Cold War.

Maria says, Trump as president brings hope of a new world order.

And from the sound effects, Moscow stands to benefit.

Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did get along with Russia,

And a President Trump may recognise Crimea as part of Russia.

I'm going to take a look at it but the people of Crimea

from what I've heard would rather be with Russia than where they are.

We are not involved anyhow in this campaign, we are not supporting

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or others.

Politicians are people, in American policy, in any sort

And yet if you take a look back over the last 100 years or so of Russian

history you would be hard pressed to find a Russian leader and a US

presidential candidate who have more in common,

than Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

And since Trump says nice things about Russia and its leader,

while Hillary Clinton is more hardline on Moscow,

it's not surprising that polls here show more Russians want him

No one sings Donald Trump's praises louder than Russia's

Philipp Kirkorov has known Donald Trump for more than 20 years.

He was one of the judges at Trump's

If Donald Trump would-be president then their relationship

between our country will be much, much better,

closer and I pray for that

because I miss something very special between Russia and America

I missed this because it's too big nations, two big countries,

Donald Trump called him Russia's Michael Jackson

and he's hoping to call Trump America's president.

The controversial trip by Donald Trump last week to Mexico has

brought about the resignation of the Finance minister in Mexico who is

widely seen as the politician who coordinated the meeting with the

president which has angered Mexicans and the Republican president has

vowed to build a wall along the Mexican-American border and make

Mexico paid for it. If you want to get in touch with us

here at BBC World News,