05/01/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Reged Ahmad.

America's National Intelligence chief says Russia made an aggressive

attempt to interfere in the US election.

James Clapper appears at a Senate investigation into hacking attacks

He says Russia continues to be a serious cyber threat.

It also entailed classical propaganda and disinformation, fake

news. Did that continue? Yes. Two

people are killed in a car bomb explosion near a court building

in the Turkish city of Izmir. New research suggests that living

near a busy road increases the risk And the bad boy prince -

Letters written by Princess Diana reveal that her son Harry

was routinely in trouble at school. America's Director of National

Intelligence, James Clapper, says there were multiple motives

for cyberattacks during the US presidential election,

but he says any interference did not He's referring there to whether US

voting machines were manipulated. Mr Clapper, and other senior

intelligence and security figures, were giving evidence before

the Senate Armed Services He described Russia

an an existential threat Mr Clapper was also asked

by the committee about WikiLeaks He insisted that Assange had put

American lives in danger. James Clapper's comments

were in contrast to incoming president Donald Trump

who on Wednesday seemed to back Assange's view which cast doubt

on whether Russia was the source Mr Trump has since insisted that

he's a big fan of US Intelligence. During the hearing, Mr Clapper

was asked directly about Mr Trump and whether his behaviour had

undermined the intelligence There is an important distinction

here between healthy scepticism, which policymakers, to include

policymaker number one, should always have foreign intelligence,

but I think there is a difference between scepticism and

disparagement. An intelligence report into alleged

Russian hacking is set to be Let's speak to our correspondent

in Washington, Laura Bicker. Laura, a lot came out of today, but

what is the biggest thing that we should be thinking about? This was a

sobering assessment of a side bar, a series of cyber attacks jawing the

US election. Now, what these top intelligence chiefs are saying is

not only did they aggressively hack the US election and they say they

have not seen hacking aggressively like this in past elections, but

this is a threat that is growing. Not just from Russia, but from

elsewhere. And they had a warning for their success that they needed

to do better and that is certainly what the National intelligence

agency director, James Clapper, had to say. But will his successor list?

Because it's successor, Donald Trump, seems to be looking

elsewhere. He has dismissed the evidence from various intelligence

communities. 17 separate intelligence agencies, that Russia

hacked into the US election. He dismissed it in the past, saying

that these are the same and chief Sue said that Sadam Hussein had

weapons of mass destruction, and he said it could beat Russia, China, or

some 14-year-old sitting in their bedroom somewhere. And then of

course, recently, he looked as if he was siding with Julian Assange. As

you mentioned there, the founder Wikileaks. And to that, the

Democratic senator Claire McCaskill had this to say. This information,

this goes back to the 60s. The funding that they would share or

provide two candidates they supported, the use of this

information. But I don't think that we've ever encountered a more

aggressive. -- disinformation. Or direct campaign to interfere in our

election process than was seen in this case. Laura, there is a much

anticipated meeting tomorrow between intelligence chiefs and Donald

Trump. Yes, there is. President Obama has already been briefed on a

full report by these intelligence chiefs. Donald Trump will get that

tomorrow and next week the public will get an unclassified version. It

will be interesting to see the reaction of Donald Trump tomorrow

because he is coming under increasing pressure, not just from

intelligence chiefs but also from his own party. What will he say? And

what will the tweet after he has seen that report? Laura, from

Washington, thank you very much. Two people have been killed and five

wounded in a car bomb explosion The blast took place outside

the city's courthouse, with armed attackers opening fire

before detonating a bomb. Two of the attackers were shot dead

by police and a third Officials have blamed

Kurdish militants. This CCTV footage silently conveys

the scale of the fatal blast Now the mangled wreckage of the car

bomb litters the police checkpoint, where several people

have been killed and injured. Turkish police say the bomb was

detonated after officers attempted to stop a vehicle in front

of the courthouse in is near. Eyewitnesses described

what happened next. TRANSLATION: I was at the security

cabin and a black car approached and He got out of the car

and exploded the bomb he I ran into the market

and lay down on the floor. Police at the scene shot dead

a man they suspected following a shoot out involving

the police and a number of men The area has now been

sealed off for further The governor of Izmir has

already saiD he believes that Kurdish separatists, the PKK,

are behind the attack. The group, however, has not

claimed responsibility. TRANSLATION: The terrorists

were captured dead. Along with them, two

AK-47 rifles, an RPG7, and eight sets of ammunition

as well as hand grenades. It was just a week ago

in Istanbul that 39 people were killed in a terrorist

attack carried out by the so-called As security forces grapple

with today's events in the normally peaceful

seaside town of Izmir, Turks are again left

with a sense that they are no longer safe

in their own country. Now a look at some of

the day's other news. Syrian state media say at least ten

people have been killed by a car bomb in the government-controlled

capital. Videos show a number of damaged cars and buildings on what

would normally be a busy street. It is not yet clear who was behind the

attack. The Iraqi military says it's opening

a new front in the fight It's trying to re-capture towns

near the Syrian border in the west. For weeks the army has been

engaged in a major fight against the militants

in the northern city of Mosul. German authorities are investigating

whether there were security failings relating to the truck attack

on a Christmas market in Berlin. The security services had

dropped surveillance of the Tunisian Anis Amri

despite identifying him as potentially dangerous,

and known to be living under Police in Israel have arrested two

people accused of inciting violence against judges who convicted a young

soldier on Wednesday of manslaughter, for shooting dead

a wounded Palestinian attacker. The military court's decision

to convict Sgt Elor Azaria on Wednesday has sharply divided

opinion, with some threatening Four teenagers have been arrested

in the US city of Chicago after a man was tortured in a video

broadcast live on Facebook. Police say the man has special

needs and have described the video as "sickening"

and a possible hate crime. Catharina Moh has more -

and just a warning you may find some A graphic attack,

streamed live on Facebook. A man bound, beaten,

and tortured in Chicago. The assailants can be heard

shouting racial slurs. It makes you wonder

what would make individuals I have been a cop

for 28 years and I've seen things that you shouldn't see

in a lifetime but it still amazes me how we still see things

that you just shouldn't. In one part of the half-hour video,

they use a knife to remove part of his

scalp and he is forced at knife-point to say,

"I Police say the victim has

mental health challenges. They found him wandering

the streets disorientated. Like I said, I mean,

it took most of the night for him to calm down enough to be

able to talk to us. He is an acquaintance of one

of the subjects and apparently they For teenagers have

been arrested, two Police say he may have been

kidnapped for up to 48 hours If you looked at the video,

they were just... Investigators don't believe this

was a racist attack. They believed the victim

was targeted because he has special needs and that it is possible

the suspects were trying to extort Police in Austria say they're

still looking for about six men suspected of sexually

assaulting 18 women during New Year's Eve celebrations

in the western city of Innsbruck. The men, thought to be

from Asia or North Africa, groped and kissed the women

as they watched a firework display. The assaults come a year

after hundreds of women were attacked in the German city

of Cologne during 2015 New Europe is like a celebration in

a Innsbruck. It was here, among this crowd, that 18 met -- and women who

had come to watch the fireworks were assaulted. Lycee it was done by a

group of five or six men. They touched the women inappropriately.

The man who is leading the investigation told the BBC that the

number of assault and the fact that they were carried out by a group was

unprecedented in Innsbruck. The police are checking CCTV footage.

The suspects are believed to be between 25 and 30 years old,

possibly from a shot or North Africa. Their nationalities are not

clear. It is but they are still in Innsbruck. Police say their research

includes refugees are tours. The assaults happened despite heightened

security in the city. Last year in neighbouring Germany, hundreds of

women were assaulted on new year in Cologne. Anti-immigrant sentiment in

Austria has grown after the refugee and migrant crisis in 2015. When the

country to gain about 1% of its population. -- took in.

There have also been reports of New Year's Eve

It's been described as the mass molestation case in the south

Several women have been telling the media they were

One incident was caught on CCTV of two men on a motorbike

But the police commissioner has now told the BBC there's no evidence

to support allegations of widespread sexual assaults.

People are pushing and shoving and they were

touching and grabbing and

groping and everything was happening on that

street, and not only with

They were using their arms and legs to slap them.

But I felt so helpless but still I was not able to do anything.

We have seen about 70 camera footage is. And we have not found any case

which is molestation case. A British woman who dedicated

her life to helping survivors of sexual violence

after she was raped has died. Jill Saward was 51

and suffered a stroke. She was assaulted in 1986

by burglars who broke into her father's vicarage in Ealing

in West London. Having already been partially

identified by different media outlets, she went on to become

the first rape victim to waive her right to anonymity,

when she wrote a book People who live near

major roads could be That's according to a decade-long

study by scientists in Canada, which found one in ten cases

could be linked to The researchers say more work is now

needed to understand the link. Our Medical Correspondent Fergus

Walsh has the story. Two of the downsides

of living near a major road. But a greater likelihood

of getting dementia? Well, that's the theory

behind a new study. This research shows I think

for pretty much the first time, there is a link between

living near a busy main road - we are talking a busy A road or dual

carriageway - and having But I think shows that this

could be a new risk factor we haven't really

considered before. A study of 2 million

Canadians found around 10% of dementia cases in urban areas

could be linked to exposure to heavy The researchers found that living

within 50 metres of a major road increased the risk

of dementia by 7-11%. At 100 metres, the

increased risk was 4%. Leeds is like any urban

centre, congested and Keeping the mind active is one

of the benefits of this crossword club, so are members

worried that city living might be main road, you could do yourself

a great deal of damage. In the same way that

when unleaded petrol was introduced, the connection between

lead and brain damage was then proven so I would not

be at all surprised. Around 850,000 people

in the UK have dementia. It gradually robs them

of their memories and brain But the origins of the condition

are not well understood. This research doesn't prove that

heavy traffic causes dementia. It makes a fascinating link that

requires further investigation. But there are already

many reasons to avoid the polluted

air in our cities. It can cause serious breathing

difficulties and trigger a heart attack or stroke

in those already at risk. Last year, British scientists

found tiny pollution particles in samples

of brain tissue. Another hint there may be

a link between traffic and For now, the best

advice, to reduce your dementia risk is to exercise

and eat healthily. Six letters from Princess Diana have

sold for more than ?15,000 One handwritten letter from Diana

to ex-Buckingham Palace steward Cyril Dickman revealed Prince Harry

was "constantly in While another detailed how young

Prince William would swamp his baby Bidders from as far away

as Australia, Japan and the US all wanted to get their hands

on a piece of the royal Joining us now is Luke MacDonald,

the director of Cheffins Fine Art auctions, where the letters

were sold. First of all, what were your

favourite bits of this particular collection? Well, I think the

letters you have just mentioned, two of which were extremely personal and

clearly written to Cyril Dickman, the head student at King Palace, who

they were obviously very close to and that is what really I find so

fascinating and so nice. I think it is what people find so interesting.

The letters themselves are very personal. I just wonder whether the

royal family expressed any interest in getting hold of them and keeping

them, given they detail what Princess Diana thought of her

family. Before she died. We certainly made the palace very aware

of the letters and we do know that they were... That they knew about

them. But I think that they already have quite a lot of their own

correspondence and photographs and so forth, so now. These letters

weren't bought by the family. They were sold to collectors. Locally and

abroad. It is 20 years since Princess Diana has passed away. What

do you think these kinds of insides tell us about the Princess? I think

they show a very personal sides and one that many people can relate to

as a mother of small children and she was very much loved, the

people's Princess, and I think people can relate, 20 years on to

the time when she sadly did pass away and was killed tragically in

Paris. I understand part of the wedding cake was sold at auction as

well. How unusual is it for this kind of collection to come up? Well,

I think quite unusual. Quite unusual to have so many items and have such

a personal connection with one person, if you see what I mean.

Cyril Dickman was head steward at Buckingham Palace for 50 years and

new the Queen for all that time, obviously, and her young family and

saw the young royals grow up and I think there was a special

connection, so this collection itself was unique in that respect. I

can't imagine that piece of wedding cake is very edible. Do we know

anything about who bought it and what they may want to do with that?

I don't know who bought it, actually, as it happens. It will be

just as a souvenir, isn't it? And unique. 17 years all is, almost. --

70 years old. All in its original wrapping, unopened, clearly. And as

they all were. There were four pieces. Princess and's wedding,

Charles and Diana's wedding, and I can't remember the other one now.

Possibly Andrew and Sarah. Yes, the Duke of York's wedding. I can't

remember now. It has been quite a busy day. We hope whoever has got

those pieces of wedding cakes enjoy it in whatever form. Thank you very

much. The biggest technology show in

the world is underway in Las Vegas. as it's known, has attracted

nearly 4,000 exhibitors Most interesting, perhaps,

is the range of products designed for the home,

which claim to use Here's our Technology

correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. In a penthouse suite at a ritzy

Las Vegas hotel, smart There's a smart speaker

for children, where There is even Nora,

described as a smart snoring This little device is paired

with a pad under the pillow which detects me snoring and moves

just enough to stop me without The big theme this year

is turning the advances in artificial intelligence

into products. This one is meant to

be a shop assistant. While this is designed

as a companion for children Even into this toothbrush,

which learns how you Artificial intelligence

is not just gathering So then you learn where your

weaknesses are, where your strengths are, and the purpose

is to become better at taking care of your

oral health. This walking stick is also

smarter than it looks. An in-built mobile

phone Sim card means And then when it detects it,

it will alert the family or the So they can come and

help these people. And this clever mirror helps

anyone to try out make-up. From the Las Vegas strip

we met someone, a young entrepreneur for Manchester,

who has just flown in. His instant translation

headphones aren't quite ready. They'll eventually be

tiny earbuds, but he It is really important

because we will be able to showcase what we have

been working to the whole public and to the whole world, to let them

know that this is something that started years ago, with small starts

and the dedication and passion. The odds are against

Danny, a one-man band taking on giants

like Apple and Google, but like plenty of people here this

week, he is betting that he has a product that

can change the world. Before we go we will show these

pictures of a five-month-old baby elephant taking a dip in Thailand as

part of the rehabilitation process to heal her injured foot. It was got

in a trap set by local villagers in November. The wind and her health

has removed significantly, although she still refuses to put weight on

her legs, so the treatment is being undertaken so that she can avoid

having to use a prosthetic leg, which could take up to two months.

That is all for now. Don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some of the team on Twitter -

I'm @RegedAhmad. Good evening. Some changes on the

way over the next few days. We are losing the call, frosty nights and

we are losing a lot of the sunshine as