18/12/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten:

President Trump outlines

a new security strategy -

focusing on economic stability -

identifying those countries

challenging America's wealth.

The President said the world had

returned to an era of competition

between the great powers.

And he singled out China

and Russia as competitors,

challenging America's

influence and wealth.

We will stand up for ourselves

and we will stand up

for our country like we have never

stood up before.

We'll have the details

and reaction to the President's

speech in Washington.

Also tonight:

An inquiry into the murder of

a refugee in Bristol four years ago.

Police and the City Council are

accused of 'institutional racism'.

In South Africa: The Deputy

President, Cyril Ramaphosa,

is elected leader of the ruling

party, the ANC, and promises

to fight corruption.

In the US, a high-speed passenger

train has de-railed.

Some passengers died,

dozens of others were injured.

And: In an ever-ageing world,

we visit California,

to see how they're embracing

the challenge of active

life in old age.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, we'll bring you highlights

of tonight's only Premier League

game - Everton against

bottom side Swansea.

Good evening.

President Trump has outlined

a new National Security Strategy -

focusing on economic stability -

identifying Russia and China

as competitors, bent on challenging

America's influence and wealth.

He said Washington had 'no choice'

but to deal with the challenge posed

by North Korea's weapons programme.

But he broke with tradition by not

mentioning the threat posed

to the US by climate change,

as our North America editor,

Jon Sopel, reports.

For two years now, Donald Trump has

talked incessantly about America

First. Today, in unveiling his

national-security strategy, he gave

a slogan, flesh and bones. What he

was keen to do was stress what a

break with the recent past his

election represented. He was the

change make-up.

With the strategy I

am announcing today, we are

declaring that America is in the

game and America is going to win.

But to seize the opportunities of

the future, we must first understand

the failures of the past. Our

leaders engaged in nation-building

abroad while they failed to build up

and replenish our nation at home.

The document says that Russia and

China wants to shape a world

antithetical to US values and

interests, in line with the

intelligence agencies unanimous view

of the threat posed by Moscow with

their interference in last year's

election. But the President is

notably did not phrases like that in

his speech.

We also face rival

powers, Russia and China, that

looked a challenge American

influence, values and well. We will

attempt to build a great partnership

with those and other countries, but

in a manner that always protects our

national interest. But while we see

such opportunities of cooperation,

we will stand up for ourselves and

we will stand up for our country

like we have never stood up before.

He rounded on Kim Jong-un's North

Korea, a problem he promised would

be dealt with. No countries were

mentioned individually but he

mentioned Pakistan for criticism and

its stance against terrorism. And

new in this definition of national

security was an emphasis on the

importance of security -- the

economy and fair trade, central

themes of Trump the campaign.

For

the first time, American strategy

recognises that economic security is

national security. GDP growth, which

is way ahead of schedule and my

Administration, will be one of

America's truly greatest weapons.

But the speech had nothing to say

about climate change, something that

Barack Obama had deemed a threat to

national security. America has in

the past six months experienced the

worst hurricane season in decades,

with terrible flooding in Texas and

Puerto Rico. And is now experiencing

the most widespread Bristol buyers

in Californian history that some see

as evidence of a changing climate.

-- forest fires. It criticises the

owner is regulation of things like

the Paris climate change deal which

this President has withdrawn the US

from. Donald Trump won over this

audience and supporters will like

what they heard. But the rest of the

world will want to study closely

what he said and what he does.

Let's speak to Jon, in Washington.

What is your reading of how much of

this speech constituted genuinely

new thinking?

Well, I think what we have got in

this speech and in the document is a

sort of distillation of some of the

themes we have heard Donald Trump

speak about repeatedly on the

campaign trail and even in his tweet

and other opportunities he has had

to speak. I am sure if desk, there

are areas of continuity which you

might find is rising. -- you go

through this. Donald Trump was

stressing the change his new

approach would bring. The speech was

much more geared for Trump

supporters in the US he would have

liked what they heard and the

characteristic tough language Donald

Trump deploys on these occasions.

But the diplomats were poorer over

this and think, maybe some of the

differences are not as great as he

would have you believe. At the end,

it you will have diplomats around

the world studying this closely. But

does it mean they can give up

looking at Donald Trump's messages

on a daily basis?

Absolutely not.

Many thanks once again, from the

White House.

A highly-critical report,

into the circumstances surrounding

the murder of an Iranian refugee

in Bristol four years ago, has

concluded that Bristol City Council

and Avon & Somerset Police showed

"institutional racism"

in their handling of the case.

Bijan Ebrahimi was beaten

to death by a neighbour,

after he was falsely accused

of being a paedophile.

Mr Ebrahimi had made repeated

complaints to police,

but an official report has accused

the authorities of "repeatedly

siding with his abusers".

Our correspondent,

Jon Kay, has the story.

He came to Britain for safety,

but Bijan Ebrahimi was brutally

beaten to death and his body

set on fire.

Don't you dare take

pictures of me, all right?!

This is the neighbour

who killed him, Lee James,

now serving life for murder.

But this was not the first attack.

Today's report says

time and time again -

at different addresses,

over several years -

Bijan alleged he'd been abused

and attacked by a number

of different people.

But this report says

he was treated as a nuisance

by the authorities in Bristol,

with police and council staff often

siding with his alleged abusers,

rather than helping him.

Absolutely shocking and disgusting.

Now Bijan's sisters have been told

there was a collective failure

by Avon & Somerset Police

and Bristol City Council, which

amounted to 'institutional racism' -

a phrase used nearly 20 years ago,

in the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.

These are not the words

that we should hear

in this day and age.

You don't want to see,

you don't want to hear

any more about it.

It's been dealt with

so many times before.

And seeing this happening

again is truly shocking.

We are very angry, as my sister

said, and it's very shocking

and upsetting as a family.

Today's report says no

individual members of staff

here at Bristol City Council,

or at Avon & Somerset Police,

were intentionally racist

themselves, but it says both

organisations had an ingrained view

of Bijan Ebrahimi which affected

the way they treated him,

and that he didn't get the support

or the level of service

that he should have received.

The report says as an Iranian man,

Bijan was put at a disadvantage,

because the way the authorities

dealt with him was discriminatory.

That's why, it concludes,

there was 'institutional racism'.

It is a word that Israeli used and a

finding that is rarely found because

one would hope that institutional

racism is not a common problem. But

the family's concern is that it is

much more common than it is found.

Last year, two members of police

staff were jailed for misconduct.

The force apologised

to the Ebrahimi family then and,

along with the City Council,

has now accepted

today's report in full.

They say lessons have been learned.

Bijan's death won't be in vain,

and that it will be the basis

of this authority, and I'm sure many

institutions around the city,

having a look at what they do

and the way they do it.

Nearly five years after he was

killed here, Bijan Ebrahimi's family

say his voice has now

finally been heard.

Jon Kay, BBC News, Bristol.

The governing party in South Africa,

the ANC, has elected a new leader.

Cyril Ramaphosa will take

over the leadership

from President Zuma,

who's facing allegations

of corruption.

The election of Mr Ramaphosa,

a wealthy businessman

and former trade-union leader,

comes at a significant time

for the ANC, which is facing

a decline in popularity -

as our Africa editor,

Fergal Keane, reports.

SINGING

A profound shift has taken place

in the politics of this nation.

As they waited this afternoon,

as Cyril Ramaphosa and his opponent,

Dr Dlamini-Zuma, waited,

there were rumours he was ahead.

The traditional healer

was blessing his opponent.

It was in vain.

We declare Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa

as the new President

of the African National Congress.

A 179-vote margin enough.

The moment Cyril Ramaphosa

became President of

the African National Congress.

He promised to clean out

corruption in the party,

because this was never just

an ordinary election,

it was a struggle for

the soul of the ANC.

He was swept to the stage. And with

the joy of supporters who believed

Cyril Ramaphosa will return the ANC

to the moral vision of Nelson

Mandela. Hallelujah, she called out.

It was echoed around the hall.

How

do you feel? Great! A change.

Africa!

How are you?

I am very

happy!

President Jacob Zuma must be

worried, but he managed smiles.

Several of his old allies also won

senior positions. The new Deputy

President has been accused of and

denies political corruption and

murder. Embraced by Cyril Ramaphosa,

but how keen will he be to wage war

on corruption? In three decades of

serving Cyril Ramaphosa, it is his

tactical skill which has seemed the

greatest strength. As a union leader

fighting for rights under apartheid.

As the ANC's key negotiator bringing

about the end of white rule.

We are

prepared to meet President is de

Klerk at a fairly high level.

And in

Northern Ireland, where he helped to

oversee the decommissioning of IRA

weapons. This old friend from the

struggle days says people are

impatient for change.

Politicians

sometimes tends to ride roughshod

over people. Take people for

granted. And hope that they will get

away with it. I don't think that the

current leadership will get away

with this. It might be painful in

the beginning, but in the medium to

long term, I think the people will

prevail.

In the next few days, Cyril

Ramaphosa will outline his vision

for a party and country. It will

take all his political skills to see

it through.

A brief look at some

of the day's other news stories:

Police in Suffolk have arrested

a man, after a car was driven

into the gates of a military base

used by the US Air Force.

Shots were fired by American

personnel during the incident

at RAF Mildenhall.

The suspect, who's 44,

suffered cuts and bruises.

Police say the incident

wasn't terror-related.

Police in Lebanon have arrested

an Uber driver in connection

with the murder of a British embassy

worker in Beirut.

The body of Rebecca Dykes was found

by a motorway on Saturday.

Officers say she had been strangled

and sexually assaulted.

Her family say they've been

devastated by her death.

The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally

has been named the new Bishop

of London, making her the most

senior clergywoman in the history

of the Church of England.

She became a priest in 2001,

after spending over 35 years working

as a senior nurse for the NHS.

Bishop Sarah will be the third woman

to run a diocese and will take up

a seat in the House of Lords.

Two people have been killed

in a fire at a luxury hotel

on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Police say the Cameron House Hotel

has been extensively damaged.

Around 200 guests were led

from the hotel after the alarm

was raised early this morning.

In the US, a high-speed

passenger train has de-railed

in the state of Washington,

killing several passengers.

Carriages fell from the tracks

onto a busy highway below.

Some 80 people have

been taken to hospital.

Our correspondent, James Cook,

reports from Los Angeles.

Emergency, emergency. We are on the

ground.

The engineer calling for help on the

radio on Amtrak train 501 has

survived a deadly crash.

What

happened?

We were coming round the

corner, to take the bridge. We went

on the ground.

Is everybody OK?

I'm

still figuring that out. We've got

cars everywhere and down onto the

highway. ?

Other survivors spoke of

a rocking and creeking noise as the

train took the curve at speed,

followed by turmoil.

I grabbed onto

the train in front of me for dear

life. My laptop and phone went

flying. People were screaming. It

was crazy.

Some passengers were

asleep. Others were sipping coffee,

when the train careered off the

track onto the rush hour traffic on

the I5 below.

Mull pull cars and

trucks were struck by train cars

that went onto the road. The people

in the vehicles, even though when

you see the pictures, it's pretty

horrific, at this point nobody in

any of the vehicles is a fatal.

The express was taking a faster

route from Seattle to Portland for

the first time. Safety concerns were

still being raised as recently as

two weeks ago. People who live

nearby are now demanding answers.

Well I'm just wondering if they did

any dry runs on this before the

passengers aboard? That's my only

concern. But yeah, it's a terrible

thing.

This is the latest in a

series of deadly rail accidents in

the United States. President Trump's

initial response has been to use the

crash to push his plan to improve

American infrastructure, but it's

far too early to say what actually

caused this tragedy

Inmates at Liverpool Prison

are being kept in the worst living

conditions inspectors have ever

seen, according to a leaked

report seen by the BBC.

Prison inspectors found rats,

cockroaches, and exposed electrical

wiring, when they made

an unannounced visit to the prison.

A lack of leadership -

at all levels, including

central government -

was identified as the prime

cause of the problems.

Our social affairs correspondent,

Michael Buchanan, reports.

Behind the walls of Liverpool

Prison, more than 1100 men live

in squalid conditions.

Rats and cockroaches are rife.

Pools of urine seep

from broken toilets.

If you put a dog in a place

like this, people would come

and take you away and lock you up

for cruelty to animals.

Darren Hurley spent just over

two years in the prison

after being convicted

of drugs offences.

Released in the summer,

he told me what life

on the inside was like.

Cockroaches, rats.

Rubbish just getting left

inside the buildings,

instead of being put out at the end

of the evening.

Does it smell?

Oh, yeah, it smells terrible.

Basically, like living in a tip.

The report we've seen

followed an unannounced

inspection in September.

The inspectors wrote

they could not recall having seen

worse living conditions,

with a backlog of more

than 2,000 maintenance jobs.

Inmates were locked up more

than 22 hours a day,

drugs were easy to get,

and violence and self-harm

were on the rise.

I think it's as bad

a report as I've ever seen.

This former Chief Inspector

of Prisons is exasperated

by the failings.

I ask the head of the Prison

Service, how on earth do it he allow

the prison to get into that state?

Because the management was clearly

incompetent in the prison itself.

And how could anyone come up

from headquarters and go

into Liverpool and see that and not

feel ashamed and do

something about it?

Somebody I showed this

report to said to me this

is England's worst jail.

I wouldn't dispute that.

The inspectors agree,

blaming the failure at Liverpool not

just on the governor,

but on senior officials

at the Ministry of Justice.

Local prison managers had sought

help, says the report,

but their requests had been met

with little response.

Perhaps most damningly,

the inspectors write,

"We could see no credible plan

to address these basic issues."

This serving Liverpool prison

officer says the Ministry

of Justice are responsible.

It's not the fault of the staff.

It's not the fault

of the management.

This is firmly with the MOJ

and the Government.

Start investing in our prisons and

give us the resources to do our job.

The Ministry of Justice said

they wouldn't comment

on leaked documents,

though they did appoint

a new governor recently.

But former prisoners we have spoken

to, released in recent weeks,

say the conditions inside remained

dire - a Victorian era jail

providing Victorian living

conditions in modern Britain.

Michael Buchanan,

BBC News, Liverpool.

The Prime Minister has told

the House of Commons that "there can

never be a place for the threats

of violence and intimidation

against MPs".

She made the comments after it

emerged that some MPs have received

dozens of abusive e-mails

and messages because

of their views on Brexit.

Our political correspondent,

Vicki Young, has more details.

These are just some of the abusive

messages received by this

Conservative MP in recent weeks.

E-mails and tweets full of personal

abuse, accusing her and colleagues

of treason for voting

against the Government

in a Brexit vote, even saying

"they should be hanged".

Anna Soubry and others have

reported it to the police.

This is something new.

We have not seen anything

like this in the past.

It's all about saying to people

like me, "You will not vote

in the way that you have voted

and if you do, I will

threaten to hang you.

And if you do, I'm going to threaten

that you should be deselected."

It's disgraceful behaviour

and it needs to stop.

Today the Prime Minister said

these kind of attacks

on MPs were unacceptable.

There are many strongly held views

on all sides of this chamber.

And it is right and proper

that we should debate them and do

so with all the passion

and conviction that makes our

democracy what it is.

But there can never be a place

for the threats of violence

and intimidation against some

members that we have

seen in recent days.

Our politics must be

better than that.

A number of Conservatives have

featured prominently on newspaper

front pages for voicing concern over

Brexit.

Some MPs say there's a direct

link between this kind

of coverage and online abuse.

What we've got here is a toxic

triangle: The divisiveness

of the Brexit issue,

the Telegraph and the Mail

identifying certain honourable

members as targets and framing

the attack on them, and then,

facilitated by social

media, the mob following.

Making death threats or other

threats of violence against people

on grounds of their views is,

whether the authors know it

or not, a kind of fascism.

Research has suggested Diane Abbott

was the victim of almost half

the abuse directed at female MPs

on Twitter during the last

election campaign.

Nobody who has ever sat

at home and seen literally

hundreds of abusive tweets

flood their timeline can

underestimate the psychological

pressure it puts on us all.

Tonight the Daily Mail said it

supported the Government

in its efforts to tackle abuse

on social media, but it said it

shouldn't be used as an excuse

to prevent proper debate.

Some MPs, though, are genuinely

concerned that the threats that

are made against them

could ultimately put people off

entering public life.

Vicki Young, BBC News, Westminster.

A senior European Union official has

warned that the future of the border

between Northern Ireland

and the Republic presents

a contradiction at the heart

of the UK's approach to a new trade

deal with the EU.

That's the view of Pierre Moscovici,

the European Commissioner

for Economic and Financial Affairs,

who said the UK's intention to keep

an open border could be incompatible

with leaving the EU Customs Union.

But Theresa May insisted today that

Britain could secure what she called

a "bespoke trading relationship",

as our economics editor,

Kamal Ahmed, reports.

Just 310 miles long,

the border between Northern Ireland

and the UK and the Republic

in the EU and the place

where the complexity

of the negotiations on any new trade

deal becomes clear.

If Britain and the EU have

no agreement on goods,

like milk and fuel, flowing freely

across this border, then how's it

to be kept open, as all sides want.

Today a warning on this

Irish problem -

if there is no customs agreement,

then are border controls necessary?

How can you have no border,

no hard border, and not having,

at the same time, internal market

and customs union, because goods can

come through that border.

It's hard to imagine

that there is no hard border,

at the same time, no internal market

and no customs union.

There would be

a contradiction there.

THE SPEAKER:

The Prime Minister.

The challenge for Theresa May:

She wants to leave the customs

union, which allows free movement

of goods across the EU.

Can that circle be squared?

We believe we can actually deliver

on that no hard border between

Northern Ireland and Ireland

through the overall relationship

that we negotiate between the UK

and the European Union.

Failing that, we will look

at specific solutions that match

the unique circumstances of Northern

Ireland.

And just because matters

are complicated, it doesn't mean

they are impossible.

We have done what many said

what could not be done,

demonstrating what can be achieved

with persistence and

perseverance on both sides.

And I will not be derailed

from delivering the democratic

will of the British people.

THE SPEAKER:

Jeremy Corbyn.

Her opponents are not so sure.

We welcome progress to the second

phase of negotiations,

but that should not hide the fact

that this agreement comes two

months later than planned,

and many of the key aspects of phase

one are still unclear.

Can Britain get what it wants,

which is a bespoke deal,

Canada, plus, plus,

plus we have spoken about?

Is that possible?

There cannot be a cherry-picking

and at one moment the UK will have

to choose its own model

of relationship with the EU.

Some speak about Norway, which is

a part of the internal market.

Others about Canada.

Well, there is a long way

between Norway and Canada.

310 miles long and one

of the many knotty problems

310 miles long and one of the many

knotty problems as Britain

and the EU inch their way

towards a new relationship.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.

Australia's cricketers

have been celebrating

after regaining the Ashes.

England were bowled out for 218

in the Third Test in Perth,

giving the Australians

an unassailable 3-0

lead in the series.

As Andy Swiss reports,

the result raises some serious

questions for the England camp.

It had been coming for

a while but for Australia still just

as sweet, for England

just as painful.

Joe Root's side had begun the day

with an unlikely lifeline.

Overnight rain had leaked

onto the pitch, an army of leaf

blowers were deployed.

It caused a three-hour delay.

Australia soon made

up for lost time.

Jonny Bairstow clean bowled by one

that barely bounced.

Dawid Malan, one of England's few

successes here, breifly gave

them hope with a gritty 50.

When his resistance ended,

England's last hopes left with him.

When Chris Woakes was caught

behind, Australia's

victory party could begin.

England once again whacked

at the WACA, once again faced

with Ashes failure.

It's bitterly disappointing.

One of the most frustrating things

is we haven't been blown away.

We've not been

completely outplayed.

We've put up some really

good performances,

just for not long enough,

simple as that really.

Well, once again, the scoreboard

in Perth makes sorry reading

for English cricket.

To lose the Ashes after just three

matches will be a crushing

disappointment, but this is a team

that's had problems both

on and off the pitch.

Their star player Ben Stokes didn't

even travel here, after an incident

outside a nightclub.

Other big names like Stuart Broad

and Alistair Cooke have struggled.

England were the underdogs here.

As it turned out, with good reason.

I've not been surprised

with what I have seen.

If you look at the England

tool box that you arrive

in Austalia to play with,

for me,

they were missing

a spanner, screwdriver.

They didn't have

anyone with real pace.

Not having their best

player in Ben Stokes

was always going to be a big issue.

The challenge now for England

is a grim one: to avoid

the dreaded whitewash.

But after being outbatted,

outbowled and outclassed, it could

be a long few weeks.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, Perth.

We live in an ageing

society, and the latest

figures from the Office

for National Statistics underline

the scale of the challenge ahead.

One in eight people

in the UK is projected

to live to at least 100.

That's around 8.5 million people.

So how should we prepare

for what's being called

a new generation of super-agers.

In the first of a series of reports,

our medical correspondent,

Fergus Walsh, has been to California

to see how they're

tackling the issue.

On your marks...

To me, I don't think about age

as being a handicap.

Set...

It's just a process.

Go.

You live, you die - so why not live?

Irene O'Bera is 84.

She makes old age look

like an irrelevance.

Irene's been breaking world

records for four decades.

It takes effort.

When she's not training at this

track near San Francisco,

she's in the gym.

Her philosophy is simple.

Live the life you love,

and love the life you lead.

And a quitter never wins,

and a winner never quits.

And I want to be a winner.

We're living in an ageing world.

By 2050, the number of people aged

65 and over is projected to triple

globally to 1.5 billion.

In the UK, the number of people aged

80 and over is projected to more

than double to 7.5 million by 2050,

and the number of centenarians

to increase sixfold to 94,000.

It's a whole-body movement...

So what can we do to increase

our chances of spending

those extra years in good

health, like Irene?

Bien, quatre-vingt dix-neuf...

It's not just about exercising

the body, but also the mind.

That's because keeping the brain

active can lower the risk

of developing dementia.

Oui, oui - alors, elle

a peut-etre exaggere, hein?

I joined a French language class

in Berkeley, across the bay

from San Francisco,

where all the students

are in their 70s.

My mother had Alzheimer's,

so, I mean, there's part of me

doesn't want that to happen to me.

I do believe that, um, intellectual

stimulation is important.

And science may be able to help.

In the hills above Silicon Valley

sits the Buck Institute.

Researchers there are working on how

to delay the way our bodies age.

This is our building...

This could increase

the healthy years of life,

free of conditions like cancer,

arthritis or heart disease.

We predict that there will be drugs

that will treat ageing, instead

of each disease individually.

People themselves would be

able to look forward

to the last decade of their life

still being vibrant,

engaged, healthy.

Just like Irene, who challenged me

to a friendly race.

She can run 100m only seven seconds

slower than Usain Bolt.

So despite my 27-year advantage,

the winner was never in doubt.

That was fantastic!

So I've just been beaten

by an 84-year-old,

but I've been beaten

by a super-ager,

and I think that's pretty inspiring.