14/08/2017 BBC News at Ten

President Trump finally condemns the racist violence

in Virginia at the weekend which left one woman dead.

He'd been criticised for not specifically denouncing

the extremists after a car rammed into people protesting

Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name

are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis,

A massive mudslide and flooding in West Africa kills at least 300

people in Sierra Leone - the death toll is expected to rise.

The Government is planning to push for a temporary customs

union after Brexit to try to stop chaos

Celebrations in Pakistan to mark the 70th anniversary

of the country's creation - but it brings back memories

of the violence that tore through communities.

I'm in Lahore, and we will be asking whether 70 years on, Pakistan can

claim to be a country at ease with itself.

And the bongs of Big Ben - why they will fall silent

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News,

Cristiano Ronaldo gets a five-match ban for pushing the referee

who sent him off against Barcelona last night.

President Trump has condemned the white supremacists and neo-Nazis

who took part in the weekend's violent demonstrations in Virginia.

One woman died when a car was driven into a group

of people who were protesting against the far-right

Donald Trump has faced criticism for failing to speak out

in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

But this afternoon, he said racism was evil and those who caused

violence in its name were criminals and thugs.

Our North American editor Jon Sopel reports.

Vacation suspended, the president return to Washington this morning

from his holiday to meet the director of the FBI and the Attorney

General following the weekend violence in Charlottesville.

Meanwhile in the University of Virginia town, there were scuffles

outside the court where James Alex Fields appeared this morning on

murder charges after a car ploughed into antiracism protesters. Oh my

god, people are badly hurt. Oh, my God. The president "Everyone's to

blame response" and silence until now lit a firestorm of criticism. So

why has Donald Trump been so unusually tongue tied over this?

Well, the number of fully paid-up white supremacists maybe small. The

number who have sympathies is probably far larger, and they were

among the most vociferous supporters of him last November. Certainly, his

surrogates have condemned the far right, but Donald Trump reluctantly

so today, 48 hours on, a dramatic shift in language from the embattled

president. He sounded tents. There was no freewheeling as he gripped

the lectern gripped every word on the autocue, his eyes barely moving.

Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals

and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and

other hate groups that are pertinent to everything we hold dear as

Americans -- they are repugnant to everything we hold dear. We are a

nation founded on the truth, that all of us are created equal. We are

equal in the eyes of our Creator. We are equal under the law, and we are

equal under our constitution. While he said the right things today, I

say, did that come from his heart or from his staff telling him what they

thought he should say? Ron Cristie was a senior adviser to John W Bush

and is now a Republican strategist. Has the president repair the damage?

No. He has hurt himself with people like me you look at his actions and

words and deeds and say he didn't go far enough. He didn't measure the

sensitivity of what was happening in Charlottesville, Virginia, and rice

to the occasion. And one other person for whom this was too little,

too late is Kenneth Frazier, the boss of one of America's biggest

pharmaceutical companies, and he has resigned from the

President'sindustry forum, saying: Within minutes, Donald Trump fired

back, saying on Twitter: Mr President, can you explain why

you did not condemn those hate groups? Donald Trump has bent to

criticism, something that has not happened often, but why it has taken

two days to name these groups - well, those that question still

hangs. How much pressure was he undertook

condemned the extremists today? It's hard to exaggerate the pressure the

president has felt in the past 48 hours. You could almost see the

tension as he gave that statement in the White House this afternoon. And

also the chorus of criticism from across the Republican Party. Not

just the usual suspects, far wider than that. So it became inevitable

that Donald Trump had to say something today that would meet the

concerns of those people. One other thing to note that was interesting

was that what Donald Trump said on Saturday wasn't just an oversight,

an omission. That had been carefully thought through and it was decided

that he wouldn't say that. One other thing he didn't mention today was

that this was an act of domestic terrorism, which is something the

Attorney General and the vice president have both described the

events in Charlottesville as being. The danger for Donald Trump is that

on the one side, he has now offended the far right and he may not have

done enough, maybe too little, too late for the centre ground. So that

is the political danger. But events move at such a pace in Washington

that I suspect that by the end of this week, we will have discussed

about 15 other topics. Jon Sopel in Washington, thank you.

At least 300 people are feared dead in West Africa after a massive

Torrential rain caused a hillside to collapse

on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown, burying houses in mud.

The number of casualties is expected to rise,

with hundreds of bodies thought to be still trapped

Our correspondent Umaru Fofana is in Sierra Leone,

Our diplomatic correspondent James Robbins reports.

Snatched video on a mobile phone shows a torrent of mud and water

carrying away everything in its path.

This driver risked his life on a bridge all but overwhelmed

Freetown is an overcrowded coastal city with few defences

They come every year, but not usually with quite such ferocity.

About 250 bodies have been recovered so far.

The authorities fear there could be many more trapped

I went down to the spot myself and you could see people

using their bare hands, pulling up corpses from beneath the mud.

The road itself to the disaster area is almost impassable with massive

rocks, and this area, called Mount Sugarloaf, caved

in in the early hours of this morning and it has covered literally

dozens of houses and hundreds of people, according

to the country's vice president who just spoke to me,

There are some ambulances parked here, but it is now a recovery

Many victims lived in the flimsiest of homes, little more than shacks,

A British charity has been helping to build far stronger houses,

and its head, back in Britain, explained today how

it is the poorest in Sierra Leone who are often the most defenceless.

People build houses all up the sides of cliffs,

with inadequate materials because generally, people

People are trying to reclaim land from the sea and then the water just

Six out of ten people in Sierra Leone live

Survivors often risk everything to salvage a few possessions,

trying to hang on to whatever they can despite the rising waters.

The Government is pushing for a temporary customs union to be

put in place when Britain leaves the European Union

to try to smooth the way for business and prevent chaos

There have been warnings about the extra pressure that ports

could be under if they face a big increase in bureaucracy for goods

Tomorrow, the Government is publishing its proposals -

the first in what are being called "future partnership papers" -

to try to ensure an orderly exit from the EU.

Our correspondent Adam Fleming reports.

This is Europe's second busiest port, Antwerp. Needless to say the

temporary deal will look a lot like the current one. Under the customs

union, the EU has one external border for the import of goods from

abroad. If import taxes, known as Paris, are paid, they are paid when

that product enters that area. It can then move around between

countries, with no further charges and very few checks. The British

government wants something similar as possible to this arrangement for

a temporary period after in March 2019. Because it also means products

created inside the EU will remain tariff free, crucial for British

businesses from cars to drinks. What we don't want is Brexited come up

against any borders with this kind of thing, whether it is bureaucratic

or imports. That could change the way we work with Europe. But how

will the two sites were together further in the future? The

government will propose two scenarios. The first option, it

describes as a highly streamlined customs arrangement. In plain

English, using as much technology and is little red tape as possible

to speed the flow of goods between the UK and the EU. Easier said than

done, according to the man who represents logistics firms here. You

need more. This is a people's business. You can play technology is

taking over everything, you can make agreements as much as you want, but

there are still custom peoples who will be in the game as well, and

they will have strict agreements on how it is going to happen. You can't

give that to a computer or to a system. That is impossible. The

second option, the government calls a new customs partnership. That

would be an unprecedented deal between the EU and the UK, where

both sides would agree to do virtually everything the same when

it came to customs, which would mean there would be no need for a board

of goods between the two. And throughout, the UK will seek the

power to do something it can't as a member of the EU - clinch trade

deals around the globe. But all of it needs the agreement of EU

leaders. Likely? Just ask running the docker -- Ronnie the docker. It

is going to be hard, I think. Do you think they want to punish the UK?

No. Maybe they want security for the next guy, otherwise if you play it

well, another country will say, oh, it is not bad to leave the EU. And

one of the hardest to convince will be the Irish Taoiseach. When Brexit

threatens to drive a wedge between north and south, or between Britain

and Ireland, we need to build more bridges and fewer borders. The Irish

say they can't accept anything that brings any kind of border back to

the island of Ireland. This is just the start. The UK's reflections on

what it once in the future. Pleasing everyone at home, in Antwerp and

elsewhere will not be easy, and the EU doesn't even want to stop talking

about this until other issues are settled first. Adam Fleming, BBC

News, Antwerp. Our political correspondent

Ben Wright is in Westminster. So why's the Government

pushing this idea now? I think the government is straining

to show that it does have a route map for Brexit, that ministers are

broadly going in the same sort of direction on these big questions and

not scrapping over the steering wheel. They're clearly have been

differences within the Cabinet on the question of how an interim

temporary customs arrangement with the EU will work on Brexit day in 18

months' time. This is designed to show that thinking is being done,

that there is a plan and political unity and clearly, it is intended to

reassure businesses that there will not be chaos. That is what the

government are aiming for but as Adam said, my many questions about

how these plans can be put into effect, and that will depend on

negotiations in Brussels. That is a second reason why the government has

started to talk about customs proposals. They want to try and

hustle EU negotiators into talking about trade and customs and the

future relationship between the EU and the UK much sooner than Brussels

intend, because Brussels thinks more progress has to be made on the

narrow terms of divorce first, on the Brexit Bill Britain will have to

pay and the rights of EU citizens. On the border between Northern

Ireland and the Republic. And ministers he said that doesn't make

sense, particularly on the Ireland question. They say you can't talk

about how the border will work unless you have cracked some of

these questions about customs and trade. That is why they are trying

to subtly bring it on the table. Negotiations will resume at the end

of August, and I think this is the UK Government trying to get on the

front foot. Ben, thank you. Celebrations have been taking place

in Pakistan as the country marks the 70th anniversary

of its creation. At midnight on 14th August 1947,

British colonial rule came to an end in India and the country

was divided into two independent nations -

India and Pakistan. The partition led to the movement

of around 12 million people in one Many Muslims headed to west

and east Pakistan, while millions of Hindus and Sikhs headed

for India's new borders. It led to violent sectarian fighting

in communities that had Reeta Chakrabarti is in

Pakistan for us tonight. I am in Lahore and it has enjoyed

one long St party today that has only just ended. Pakistanis have

been celebrating the end of British colonial rule and the splitting off

from India. Pakistan was a homeland for the subcontinent's Muslims, but

there has been an ongoing debate about what kind of country it should

be. I have been looking at the hopes of Pakistan's founding father and

how differently his vision has been interpreted today.

In Pakistan's former capital Karachi, Mohammad Jinnah's home is

Jinnah led the creation of Pakistan, but today his legacy

Just what sort of nation did he envisage?

Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor General.

As the British left colonial India, Jinnah was desperate to secure

The answer was a separate state, Pakistan.

Our objective should be peace within and peace without.

But peace seems often to have eluded this nation,

Poverty and security remain major issues and the debate over

For this leading politician, Jinnah's vision was for

a secular Pakistan, one that hasn't been fulfilled.

I think Mr Jinnah would still be looking at moving us forward

He made it very clear, it tolerated all religions,

but we haven't been exactly the epitome of total

That's because others see Islam as central to Jinnah's vision.

The constitution, they say, is Islamic in nature and successive

governments have failed to implement it.

What otherwise was the point they ask of creating Pakistan?

TRANSLATION: Jinnah rebelled and struggled against secularism.

There was secularism already in India with the Hindus

and the British and Muslim identity was at risk.

That is why he made Pakistan, an independent Islamic state.

But others say Pakistan's real problem is not

Its might is on display every evening at the border with India,

with troops strutting and goose-stepping in a full-blooded

Over a third of Pakistan's 70 years have been under military rule.

The military were supposed to be a subordinate

I think he never, never could have imagined that the military

would have played such an important role and would have dominated

He would be turning in his grave if he came to know that.

The military was in ceremonial mode today with an airshow

to mark the anniversary of Pakistan's creation.

It is a public holiday and people were out in force in a mass show

Jinnah's resting place is this magnificent mausoleum

in Karachi, a fitting tribute to the first leader.

He bequeathed to his people self-government and a democracy,

but Pakistan still struggles with what its true

Along with independence came partition with shocking violence on

both sides. Our Pakistan correspondent has been speaking to

those who fought, those who fled and those who gave shelter to potential

victims of slaughter. A warning, his report contains some distressing

In 1947 as British colonial rule ended, India was divided

Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims who had lived in relative peace

Amongst those involved in the violence was Muhammad Akram,

He helped attack a Hindu politician who had been calling for calm

TRANSLATION: Someone struck him on the head with a brick.

"Whoever doesn't hit him isn't a real man."

Me and the rest of the crowd beat him to death.

Do you ever regret your role in the killing?

Up to 1 million people were killed in 1947,

many of the most brutal attacks were on the trains carrying

refugees into and out of Pakistan, across the divided

Naseem Begam is the eldest of five generations of her family living

The train she and her five-day-old baby were travelling on to Pakistan

TRANSLATION: We hid under the luggage.

They came on board slashing everyone, cutting their faces,

There were piles and piles of bodies.

Naseem lost almost all of her immediate family in the unrest.

The horrors she witnessed continue to haunt her.

I still clearly remember how they used to strip

Even now I feel scared that any time someone might come and kill me.

Atrocities were committed by both sides across the country,

even here in these peaceful valleys north of Islamabad hundreds

But amidst the horror there were heroes as well.

Mehboob and his father secretly hid their Sikh neighbours

TRANSLATION: One night there was a knock on our door,

She said, "For the love of God save us.

Mehboob is proud of what he and his family did.

He remembers fondly the time when Sikhs and Muslims

In Pakistan, though, many prefer to look to the future

With each anniversary of partition there are fewer left

There is optimism in present-day Pakistan, particularly among the

young generation, but the challenges remain. Last month, the Prime

Minister was forced to resign over corruption charges and security is a

big issue, two big bomb attacks in recent weeks. Tomorrow night I will

be reporting from Amritsar in India as that country celebrates its 70th

For now from Lahore, it is back to you.

A brief look at some of the day's other other news stories.

Ryanair is urging airports to do more to clamp down

The call follows a BBC investigation which found

the number of people arrested on suspicion of being drunk before

or during their flight increased by 50% over the past year.

A cyclist has gone on trial at the Old Bailey accused of running

over and killing a pedestrian in February last year.

Charlie Alliston, who was 18 at the time, was said to be

going at nearly 20 miles per hour when he allegedly

Mrs Briggs, who was 44 and a mother of two,

suffered brain injuries and died in hospital days later.

A ?200 million plan to build a bridge covered with trees over

the River Thames in London has officially been abandoned.

The Garden Bridge Trust said it failed to raise funds

after the project lost the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

More than ?40 million worth of taxpayers' money has already been

A car has crashed into a pizzeria near Paris killing a young girl

The incident happened in the town of Sept Sorts east of the capital.

Our Europe Correspondent James Reynolds is in Paris for us tonight.

France has been on high alert after a string of terrorist related

A French Interior Ministry spokesman has told the BBC that the driver was

a 32-year-old citizen, not previously known to the authorities,

he is in detention, and there theory is he was trying to kill himself.

That is from conversations with him and they are working on the

understanding that his motive was personal and not political. That may

change the scale of the reaction, but it will not do anything to

lessen the fear and the grief of those caught up in his actions. This

is a nervous time in France. Just last week a man drove a car into a

group of soldiers in a Paris suburb. There is a national holiday coming

up tomorrow and the entire country remains, as it has done for several

remains, as it has done for several years, on alert.

A rise in crime in the countryside is turning farmyards

That's the warning from insurers after rural crime levels rose

by a fifth in the first half of the year.

Last year England bore the brunt of rural crime

Next was Northern Ireland where countryside crime came

Followed by Scotland with 1.6 million and Wales, ?1.3 million.

Our Midlands Correspondent Sima Kotecha is at a farm

on the Warwickshire-Leicestershire border.

For farmers, it's an added pressure - having to constantly think

about their vehicles and animals being stolen by criminals targeting

So this was the dome that was stolen.

Just weeks ago, Will had his GPS systems stolen off his tractors,

It makes you feel sick that someone has been in your shed.

But they can just get in and take everything.

And it is stolen to order as well, I would say.

Because you're not going to sell it at your local car boot.

Today's crime report says theft in rural parts of the country has

been worse this year than in the first six

We're seeing gangs of very well-organised thieves targeting

tractors and equipment that's worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It is easily transportable to Europe.

They can get there in a matter of hours, and also it is being

As this form of crime increases, there are concerns that thieves

And that is putting more pressure on farmers to remain one step ahead

So now they are installing multiple CCTV cameras,

electronic gates and, in some cases, they are using DNA

markers on their sheep to protect them from rustlers.

David is a dairy farmer who makes cheese.

Last year, equipment was stolen from his workshop.

Do you think farmers are doing enough to keep their farms safe?

You shouldn't have to do so much, should you, but we are certainly

I think we just need more police on the ground, really.

And I know that is probably a tall order under the current climate.

We can only protect ourselves to a certain extent.

We have been broken into twice and we have had a horse trailer

You know, how can you protect yourself against that?

Ask any farmer and they will tell you life is tough.

But the additional threat of theft makes that burden even

Bernard Kenny, the man who tried to stop a right-wing extremist

from murdering MP Jo Cox, has died.

Mr Kenny - seen here in the middle at a memorial event -

was stabbed when he tried to intervene.

He was awarded the George Medal for his bravery.

Next Monday, the bongs of Big Ben will fall silent for four years

so that repairs can be carried out on its tower.

It'll be the longest period its been silenced since it

But Big Ben will still be heard during important national events

such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday.

Our political correspondent Leila Natthoo reports.

These chimes have filled the Westminster air for more

than a century and a half but soon, a four-year pause as the great bell,

Big Ben, is silenced, so crucial repairs can

If you can imagine running your car for 160 years nonstop,

24 hours a day, it will need looking at, so that is what we are doing.

We will be able to at this time, because it is such a long stoppage

period, check absolutely everything on the clock.

Still ticking, for now, but the clock mechanism needs attention.

It is connected to the hammers that strike the bells.

Piece by piece, it will be dismantled.

And because the whole tower is being renovated, too,

the construction workers cannot be subjected to the regular ringing.

It's deafening to be at this close range without these

But from next Monday, Big Ben and all the four smaller

quarter bells will get a rest, depriving Westminster

Repairs on the tower have already started and soon, the scaffolding

Not quite the same sight to come and see.

Big Ben is Big Ben and people want to see Big Ben,

That would definitely be a bummer, for sure, to come all the way

But you have to look at the advantages.

If we are going to secure the tower for the future,

for future generations, that far outweighs the inconvenience

of having scaffolding up to two or three years.

Big Ben will still be able to herald special events like the New Year

and Remembrance Sunday, but in the long break

from its constant ringing, a strange silence will descend here,

in the absence of its reassuring sound.

Leila Natthoo, BBC News, Westminster.

Tonight more detail on the government's trade plans after

Brexit. But can they sell them in Brussels? Join me now on BBC Two.

Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.