29/09/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Ben Bland.

We are live in the press conference in New Jersey where the governor has

been speaking about the train crash. Let's return to the press

conference. I'd like to thank the team for their outstanding response

to this tragedy, thank the lieutenant governor for being here

and all for first responders. We know what happened, we don't know

why it happened. As Governor Christie said, the train came in at

too high a rate of speed, it didn't stop, it came through the barriers.

When you see the destruction up close, the silver lining is that

there is only one fatality that's far because the destruction really

is significant, and the power of the train coming in is obviously

devastating in its impact. The 100 injured and the fatality and the

critically injured, we remember them in our prayers and we hope that

there is only one fatality and it stops there. The NTSB will do a full

investigation as to what happened exactly and we will let the facts

speak for themselves and if there's something to learn from those facts

after that investigation, then we will be sure to learn and

incorporate that lesson. The Commissioner and chairman Pendergast

are working hand in glove in a seamless approach where New Jersey

transit is working with the NTA, the Port authority to expedite tonight's

commute and tomorrow's commute, because, as the governor said, the

structural damage to the station itself, and we don't yet know how

long that damage will take to repair or what the consequence of that

damages. I'd like to applaud all the first responders, who did a

magnificent job once again. And I'd also like to take this opportunity

to say these are difficult times over these past weeks and months.

Between terrorist attacks, natural disasters, we've had our hands full

in this country. We've had our hands full in the north-east. I want to

thank the police who did an extraordinary job in apprehending

the suspect in connection with the Chelsea bombing. They really did a

fantastic job and I want to thank the coordination and Corporation of

our neighbours and partners in making that happen. Today is another

situation for us to deal with but I also believe as many challenges as

mother nature sends us or our enemies send us, we are up to

handling them. We will handle them one at a time but when we worked

together, there is nothing that we can't accomplish, and nothing we

can't overcome. And we will do that with today's tragedy as well. With

that, I'll turn it back to Governor Christie. The Commissioner for

transportation and the German of New Jersey transit will address some of

the transit issues we will be confronting in the days to come.

Good afternoon. As Governor Christie mentioned earlier, the train service

is going to be resumed at this station this afternoon. We expect to

run a full rush-hour service. There is a couple of pilot trains that

will run in the next hour or so but all indications are go, safety

inspections have shown is there's no reason we can't run the system at

full rush-hour capacity. For the afternoon, New Jersey transit will

be expanding bus, rail and light rail services as much is possible to

make up for the closure of the rail line at Hoboken. We will increase

services on the bus lines. Customers will be notified where to get their

services. A bus shuttle will run between Hoboken and Secor crustacean

on a load basis. The Hudson Bergen light rail is currently suspended

into and out of Hoboken... That is the press conference taking place

live in Hoboken about the train crash. We heard earlier from

Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. He emphasised they were

not going to speculate on the causes at this early stage, that an

investigation is in progress. We also heard from the governor of New

York, Andrew Cuomo, who talked about the structural damage to the

station, obviously saying it is impossible to say how long it'll

take for that to be fully repaired. Andrew Cuomo also said the train

obviously came in at two higher rate of speed, he said it was unclear at

this stage why that was. One moment it was a normal commuter

journey, the next, chaos. A train has crashed into a station

in New Jersey in the United States, leaving at least one person dead

and up to 100 injured, These images from the station

at Hoboken show the scene after the train smashed

into the buffer stops causing part Dozens of people are being

treated in hospital. Investigators are trying to work out

the cause of the crash but they say the train appeared to be

travelling at speed. The BBC's Nick Bryant

is at the scene and has A packed train entering a crowded

station at the peak of rush hour. A routine morning commute

changing in an instant Passengers said the train just

didn't slow down as it entered the station,

ploughing through ticket barriers and into the reception area

of Hoboken station. And everything from

the ceiling came down. Jumped a little bit

on to where we were standing, so it crushed that little centre

where people would normally be standing, and threw

them into where we were. Then I saw another, and then I saw

a couple of people... I didn't see many bodies until I ran

over there and then I saw people getting up and getting helped up,

bleeding all over the place. Such was the impact of the crash,

part of the roof caved in, making it all the more difficult

for the emergency services to reach There are reports of people pinned

under collapsed concrete pillars. Hoboken is in New Jersey,

across the Hudson River Many commuters use this busy station

to travel into Manhattan, and many tend to pack the front

carriages of the trains to shave Nearby hospitals were told

to prepare for a mass Orthopaedic injuries

and internal injuries, and some deep lacerations

being treated by our trauma In addition, there are a handful

of other patients who are currently being evaluated for their injuries

in the emergency room. Approximately 40 patients

are being treated as well for walk-in types of injuries, and

they are being evaluated as well. The cause of the crash isn't yet

known but New Jersey Transit hasn't completed installing what's called

positive train control, a safety system designed to prevent

accidents by automatically slowing or stopping trains that

are going too fast. It had been ordered to install

the system by the government, It there have been a spate of train

accidents and often the cause has been locomotives going too fast.

Commuters are inevitably -- inevitably asking, why is it taking

so long to install the safety mechanism, especially when America's

National transport safety board was calling for its introduction over 25

years ago? The BBC's Nada Tawfik

is at the scene. We heard the update on the situation

in the press conference a short while ago but what more you hearing?

The press conference is still ongoing as Andrew Cuomo and Chris

Christie take questions from the press. What we heard is to Governor

is saying they can't rule out what the cause of this train crash was,

that they can't speculate at the same time. They have to wait for

further investigations into that. They confirmed one person has died

and that 108 people have been injured. They said there are still

people in critical condition in hospital 's Barclays pray and hope

that number doesn't go to more. It was also interesting to hear Andrew

Cuomo talk about how there have been several difficult weeks for New York

in Jersey, between the bombings in New Jersey and New York, he

mentioned the natural disasters in this, and he said that they would

get through this just like anything else, they would take anything that

mother nature brought towards them. The governor is still taking

questions here, but I think what you're going to be hearing from the

press are questions about the safety, what caused this. The

conductor of the train is still in hospital with injuries. We don't

know if he's spoken to authorities but it is why there wasn't a

mechanism installed on this train. This is one of the busiest

transportation hubs in New Jersey so why the proper mechanism will want

in place to prevent this type of accident. The governors are still

speaking and we're hoping to get more on that. Give us a sense of

what the station would have been like at that time, at rush hour. Is

it a station you are familiar with and have travelled through?

Absolutely, I am a resident of New Jersey and have gone through this

station several times. You have the Path train here in this train

station. Along with New Jersey's transit system. You have to transit

system is going through Hoboken. There's also the ferry people can

transferred to to get to New York. Just to give you a sense, this is

the fifth busiest train station in New Jersey. You have thousands of

people going through here in the mornings. People who are getting off

to go to New York but also other parts of New Jersey, since this is

such a busy transportation hub. When we spoke to eyewitnesses, they talk

about the chaos, the screening, the panic, the injuries they'd seen, and

the governors described how the path station, which was a bit further

removed from weather train crashed, would be able to resume but because

of the structural damage to the station with the roof partially

collapsing the trains for New Jersey transit would be running any time

soon. So it is what we expected but, again, it is such a chaotic... It

was such a chaotic scene here this morning because of the number of

people that go through this station. OK, thank you very much for the

update. Tensions are escalating

between Moscow and Washington over the crisis in the Syrian

city of Aleppo. US Secretary of State John Kerry has

threatened to end existing cooperation with Russia after heavy

bombing continued in The UN has warned of a humanitarian

catastrophe in Aleppo, unlike any witnessed so far

in the five-year civil war. Let's get more from our

correspondent Barbara It seems that patience is running

out, and tempers fraying. All of this isn't going to help the

situation at all, is it? No, it isn't. The Americans are really

scrambling to try to figure out how to respond to the situation because

they had this carefully crafted peace plan which took months and

months to work out with the Russians which was supposed to get a

ceasefire, and then move onto political negotiations to end the

conflict. They were taken by surprise at how quickly that

surprised and by how ferocious the resumption of violence has been with

these air attacks. Both Russian and Syrian planes on Aleppo that is

creating this humanitarian catastrophe of proportions we

haven't seen before. So John Kerry was saying a little while ago the US

was on the verge of cutting off any talks, any attempts to talk with the

Russians about a resumption of the plan. He said it is irrational to

sit here and say were trying to seriously revive this when the

Russians have shown no seriousness in doing so. He didn't close it off

completely. He said they would have to pursue other alternatives for a

period until the warring parties are ready to take a different approach.

The administration is looking at what it could do to respond to this

unprecedented upsurge in violence. I just wonder how serious this threat

is from John Kerry. Is it just sabre rattling to put pressure on Moscow

or do you think they really would walk away from cooperation with

Russia? Well, what he's talking about is closing the diplomatic

channel for the moment that the two pursued on Syria. Of course, they

would still have contacts with Russia on other issues. It is this

effort he's led. He's kept saying, I'm keeping this channel open,

trying to revive the ceasefire, I want to talk to the Russians but he

is saying there's no sense saying that because the Russians, at least

according to how they are behaving in Aleppo, and serious about

reviving peace talks. He's messaging the Russians but it is a message

they are not picking up. Alongside that, we are hearing the White House

has asked the National Security Agency to look at any other options

with which to respond to this crisis, including the possibility of

military options. That has been discussed at staff level, no

recommendations and no suggestions of large-scale military commitment,

in keeping with Mr Obama's long-term resistance to that. But perhaps some

kind of action that would give a stronger mission to -- message to

the Syrians and the Russians. OK, thank you very much.

Now a look at some of the days other news.

The Indian army says it has launched strikes against suspected militants

along the de facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety but each

The decades-old dispute has seen an increase

The net worth of the US Republican presidential candidate,

Donald Trump, has slipped by an estimated $800 million over

the past year, according to figures published by Forbes magazine.

It attributes the loss largely to the declining value

But it still reckons Mr Trump is worth $3.7 billion.

New research has found that a small proportion of children with HIV

do not develop Aids, even without treatment.

Tests on 170 HIV-positive South African children revealed

that the immune systems of some were apparently able

Many of Europe's economies are struggling at the moment

and in Italy the frustration is especially acute.

The recovery has stalled and growth was zero

That's led Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to stake all on a referendum

Under the plan, the country's parliamentary system

would be restructured, with the upper house

stripped of its powers, the number of senators would be cut

Mr Renzi has promised to resign if he loses,

and latest polls give the No campaign a narrow lead.

The BBC's Europe Editor Katya Adler asked Mr Renzi if holding

the referendum wasn't too dangerous a political gamble.

I know in 2016 you expressed your referendum in EU, it's a risk.

But jokes apart, I believe this is a great challenge for Italian

people because this constitutional reform reduces the red tape

of bureaucracy, gives stability to the Italian

institutions, and, finally, solves the problem of...

The relationship between central government and

So, for a lot of reasons, this is a great challenge

We wind back a few months and David Cameron wasn't worried.

He must have told you at the EU summit, I'm not worried

He lost and his political career was finished.

But I think this is a very different referendum.

I think this is a very great opportunity for our citizens

to reduce the costs of the politicians.

To reduce the level of bureaucracy in Italy.

Also populists will vote for our position.

Isn't there a risk, though, that the Italian people won't vote

We've seen in so many European countries, we look

over to the Atlantic at the United States, there are more

and more angry people, people who feel they've been left

behind, and who are angry at the establishment,

and even though your name is the Demolition Man,

you want to change it today, but you sitting here,

The risk is Italians may just vote against you as part

But, at the same time, there is a question.

The question of referendum is do you want to reduce the establishment?

I think the real decision for anti establishment will be to vote yes.

Will be to vote as government propose.

Obviously, there are a lot of risks, but it's impossible to manage

a political experience without a risk.

It's impossible to have a great challenge in the Italian

The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Elderly people who regularly take common painkillers, such

as ibuprofen, are at increased risk of heart failure.

New research analysed the effects of anti-inflammatory drugs given

But younger patients are unlikely to be affected, as our

Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh explains.

For 40 years, Ann Nutt has struggled with rheumatoid arthritis.

She needs medication to help her control chronic joint pain.

She is prescribed diclofenac but research says these

and similar painkillers, like ibuprofen and naproxen,

Do I stop taking them and lose part of my independence or do I carry

on taking them and, perhaps, put myself at a greater risk?

That's the decision most of us out there are going to have to make

The research has examined 27 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory

drugs being taken on prescription by 10 million people in Europe.

Overall, the drugs increased the risk of being admitted

to hospital with heart failure by 19% compared to

But the study didn't show the underlying or absolute risk.

All medicines have potential side-effects, but the warnings

from this research really only apply to the elderly.

The average age of the people in this study was 77.

For them, doctors need to be careful when prescribing painkillers.

As always, it's a balance between risk and benefit.

A leading pharmacist sought to reassure the public.

Younger patients occasionally take these drugs, short courses,

and there's no evidence this is a problem.

Older patients are generally getting these drugs prescribed

by their doctor and their being monitored closely anyway.

If people do have concerns, they should speak to their

Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatories

But for the elderly and those at risk of heart disease,

Let's return to our top story, the train crash in Hoboken in New

Jersey. These are the pictures immediately after the crash.

Witnesses will play a vital role in piecing together what went wrong. A

number of the survivors and shocked onlookers spoke to the media in the

immediate aftermath. Here is what they told us.

When it comes into the station normally, it slows down, and it

lightly rolls in. And it didn't do that today. And I felt the train

car, it was off the track. And then the impact occurred. I had no idea

what the front of the train could look like. I mean, I'd never seen

anything like this in my life. And I saw the ceiling coming down, and it

crumpled, and the passengers on the first car with the glass broken

trying to get out, I knew that this was... More serious than New Jersey

transit has ever had. The minute we turned around,

we were approaching the station, I was thinking, the train

is going to slow down. At first, I thought

something exploded or... Because, typically,

there is warning, and I just heard people screaming,

and then I saw a big train coming. And the trend is basically

came straight into me, came off the tracks,

and straight towards where So, at that moment, when I saw that,

I panicked, I turned around and ran. All I could see was the ceiling

collapsing, the pipes coming down, and then, when it all calm down,

I walked back towards fair. You see people coming off the train

that were injured. Some people ringing their loved

ones, telling them that I don't know how I survived, I'm lucky to be

alive, there's people dead on the. I'm assuming it must

have been coming fast. And I walked into Dunkin' Donuts

to get a coffee. As soon as I got in line, you heard

like a bomb. Everybody froze and I said, oh,

my God, I heard water, So I ran outside and I just saw

people jumping out of the train, You don't really believe it's

happening in front of your face. I walked past that area where it

happened 100 times a day. And I could never imagine that

happening. I just couldn't believe

what I was seeing. There certainly were some major

injuries from things falling. People bleeding from

the head or wherever. And, basically, running

away from the area. They were coming through the

windows, you know? People helping, people bleeding. I think the people

who got hurt other people in the station. These are the images of the

aftermath of that train crash, that's our top story that we've been

following, as it developed. That trend that crashed in New Jersey

during the morning rush hour at Hoboken station. We have had the

latest from the governor of the state who said the numbers are one

dead and 108 injured, some of them critically, including the train

engineer. That is all from the programme. Next is the weather.

The first widespread gales of the autumns swept into day. Another

rather weaker system beginning to take shape further west, coming into

play at