09/01/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten.

For the first time in over two

years, North and South Korea engage

in formal military talks.

After months of rising tensions,

representatives of North and South

meet to try to defuse tensions

around the border.

And in a dramatic gesture,

both countries agree to appear

together at the Winter Olympics

in South Korea next month.

I'm live in Seoul on what has been

a day of dramatic change

in the temperature of relations

between North and south.

We'll have the latest

on the talks which represent

Also tonight.

More women and MPs from ethnic

minorities become ministers

on the second day of

Theresa May's reshuffle.

A court is told that the football

coach Barry Bennell was a predatory

paedophile who engaged

in the systemic abuse of young boys.

The intelligent suitcase.

We look at the latest

applications of technology

at the Consumer Electronics Show

in Las Vegas.

Everyone is listening

and I am in the same room

as the Royal couple right now.

And a Royal visit to a radio station

which trains hundreds

of young people in media

and employment skills.

Coming up on Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News,

Manchester City have to dig deep

in their League Cup semifinal

against Bristol City.

Good evening.

For the first time in over two

years, North and South Korea have

engaged in formal military talks

to try to defuse tensions

between the two countries.

The South has asked the North to end

any hostile acts while the North

agreed there was a need to guarantee

a peaceful environment

on the Korean peninsula.

The North will also send

a delegation to the Winter Olympics

taking place in South Korea next

month.

It represents a sudden and dramatic

change after months of tension.

Let's join our correspondent Rupert

Wingfield-Hayes in Seoul tonight.

It was just last week that North

Korea's dictator in his new year

message made the sudden and

unexpected announcement that he

wanted to open talks with South

Korea and that he was willing now to

send a delegation to the Winter

Olympic that is begin here in South

Korea next month. Well, today those

talks happened and they produced a

result that not many people would

have predicted just a few weeks ago.

The skiers on the slopes

of PyeongChang today were moving

a little slower than they will be

in a month's time.

Then, the world's best will be

flying down these pistes.

And now we know that

when the Olympic Games open

here on February 7th,

there will be a full

North Korean team competing.

They will march in side by side

with their South Korean compatriots.

TRANSLATION:

I think with sport,

we can put everything aside

and everyone should do their best

to achieve their goals

in the competition.

North Korea is just 50 miles

away in that direction,

and the North has really completely

overshadowed preparations

for the Olympics here.

Some teams have

threatened to pull out.

Ticket sales have been slow -

you can see this place isn't exactly

humming with skiers.

So there is immense relief

here that the North and the South

are now at least talking.

This morning, North Korea's chief

delegate, Ri Son Gwon,

strode across the demarcation line

that divides the two Koreas.

He warmly shook the hand

of his South Korean counterpart.

"The weather is cold", he said,

"but despite the cold,

the people's desire for improving

relations is unfrozen".

It's hard to overstate how dramatic

and rapid this shift has been.

It's only a month since North Korea

test-fired this huge new missile,

boasting that it could hit any city

in the United States.

Off the coast of Korea,

US aircraft carriers massed,

their decks swarming

with supersonic strike aircraft.

It felt like this region

was teetering on the brink of war.

So is Pyongyang's sudden

change of heart real,

or just a tactic to avoid

war with America?

North Korea would like to gain time

in order to avoid a potential

immediate retaliation

by the United States against its WMD

facilities and eventually re-engage

in the provocation cycle

so that it can threaten the

United States with nuclear action.

The Winter Olympics may be

a cover for Kim Jong-Un,

a convenient excuse for him to step

back from the brink.

But here in the South,

any chance to talk is better

than the terrifying alternative.

Let's pick up on the final point,

what do you read into the wider

significance of what's happened

here?

Well, I guess the big question

here is can these talks lead

anywhere down the road to North

Korea getting rid of its nuclear

weapons? At this stage it's very

hard to tell what is going on in the

mind of Kim Jong Un. He has stated

that he wants his country to be

recognised as a full nuclear state.

South Korea and its ally the United

States have insisted that its

nuclear weapons programme must be on

the table if negotiations are to

succeed. So, this is very, very

early days. It will be a very long

road. But I think the situation here

in the last year has been so tense,

so frightening for people here in

South Korea and the whole of this

region, that the feeling is these

talks have to be given a chance and

that in a process that will take

years, if there is any success at

all, then that nuclear weapons

programme has to be on the table and

has to be up for negotiation from

the North Korean side. If it's not,

then these talks will fail.

Rupert,

many thanks.

The Government reshuffle carried out

by Theresa May has resulted in more

women and MPs from ethnic minorities

being appointed ministers.

The Prime Minister said the changes

meant the Government would look more

like the country it served and gave

opportunities to a new

generation of ministers.

Several long-standing ministers

have lost their jobs

as our deputy political editor

John Pienaar reports.

Allowed through the door

at Number Ten today for a quick peek

at the new look cabinet.

Nobody moved.

Almost nobody moved yesterday,

because Theresa May

couldn't make them.

Where is she?

There she is.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary,

was in the way and wouldn't budge,

just like yesterday.

The new faces in the top team

were happy enough, though.

There's lots of energy,

lots of ideas.

It was a really important

meeting this morning,

with a sense of renewed vigour.

And the losers?

I did what I thought

the right thing to do was.

Justine Greening, now ex-Education

Secretary, had no regrets.

She wouldn't switch jobs.

Now she's jogged off.

You have to be careful

about who you alienate.

You can't make too many enemies?

No, you can't.

That is the simple truth

of all reshuffles.

But I do think the Prime Minister

has balanced it well.

We have stability at Cabinet level,

and we have new blood coming

through into the other

layers of government.

So the balancing act,

she's got right.

Bringing the Tory Party closer

to people was today's mission,

making government look more

like the electorate and somehow

retrieving old loyalties that

were junked by potential voters.

Excited about the prospect

of joining the government?

Very.

So for those judged

the brightest and the best,

the guessing game was over.

You live in hope these days.

Are you pleased with your new job?

They left Number Ten

happier than they went in.

Some couldn't bear to wait

for the official announcement before

passing on the news.

Congratulations, what have you got?

Altogether, 14 MPs were given jobs,

eight of them women

and five from ethnic minorities.

Meanwhile, another

plan went wrong today.

Toby Young, appointed to the board

of a new university regulator,

resigned under pressure.

He had helped set up free schools,

but past inflammatory comments

and tweets forced him to step down

before he could start his new role.

An embarrassment to the Government,

but a relief to critics,

including Tories.

Clearly, due diligence wasn't done.

I made it clear I thought

it was the wrong thing to do

because of some very extreme things

that Toby Young had said

in the past on eugenics,

on the disabled and the way

he described working class people.

Newly appointed and promoted

ministers are looking happy tonight.

They always do.

But this reshuffle, the ministers

Theresa May couldn't move or sack,

has been as much a mark

of her political vulnerability

as the sign of strength

her party wanted.

Tory MPs can only hope

for a tighter grip at the top

in what will be a defining year.

British politics is as volatile

as it's been in modern times.

Unpredictability is the new normal.

John Pienaar, BBC News, Westminster.

Steve Bannon, the former White House

advisor to President Trump,

has resigned as executive chairman

of Breitbart News,

the right-wing news organisation.

Mr Bannon has recently been

quoted in a new book

criticising President Trump's son.

Breitbart said that Mr Bannon

was a valued part of its legacy

and they'd always be grateful

for his contributions.

Our North America editor Jon Sopel

joins us from Washington now.

What do you make of it, Jon?

One of

the things it means is this is an

elegant lesson in what happens when

you cross the Trump family, if you

look at what Steve Bannon was quoted

as saying in Michael Wolff's book

published last week, he said Donald

Trump Junior had been treasonous in

a meeting he held at Trump Towers

with a number of Russians with links

to the Kremlin. Ivanka Trump, he

said she was as dumb as a brick. Now

Steve Bannon was the chief

strategist of the White House. And

the intellectual underpinning of

Donald Trump's Make America Great

Again and America First policies. He

was promising that later this year

in the mid-term elections he would

be running a raft of populist

candidates against established

republicans, he was going to burn

down the republican party. Well it

looks like he has burned himself

down by giving these quotes. Now

what's happened was over the past

week that donors have been pulling

money out of Breitbart News. When

the book was published Donald Trump

said he not only lost his job, he

has lost his mind. Well, now he has

lost his platform as well.

Many thanks, Jon. The latest there

at the White House.

The trial of Barry Bennell,

the former football coach, has been

told that he was a predatory

and determined paedophile whose job

had given him unfetterred access

to large numbers of boys.

Bennell, who's now known

as Richard Jones, has already

admitted seven charges of indecent

assault between 1979 and 1991.

He's pleaded not guilty to a further

48 counts of historical child sex

offences as our sports editor

Dan Roan reports.

A successful former coach

in the 1980s, Barry Bennell worked

with some of the most promising

young footballers in

the northwest of England.

Youth team coach at Crewe Alexandra,

he also had links with

Manchester City and Stoke City.

But today, Liverpool Crown Court

was told the 63-year-old,

who now calls himself Richard Jones,

was also a predatory,

determined and devious paedophile.

For the prosecution,

Nicholas Johnson QC told

the jury that Bennell,

who appeared via video link

because of ill-health,

engaged in a course of conduct over

many years involving systematic

and persistent sexual abuse of pre

or peri-pubescent boys.

He had pretty much unfettered access

to large numbers of young

lads who dreamt of life

in professional football.

Although it seemed that

Mr Bennell was a skilled

and relatively successful coach,

he said, he had a much darker side.

The court was told that Bennell

had previously served

two prison sentences,

both here and in the United States

for serious sexual offences

against junior footballers,

but that he insisted the current

complainants were maliciously making

up stories about him,

seeking attention or compensation.

The court was told that Bennell

subjected boys to hundreds

of assaults and even carried out

some of his crimes here,

in one of the changing rooms

at the ground of Crewe Alexandra.

But several alleged victims

also played for clubs

linked to Manchester City.

One alleged he was abused when aged

between 11 and 13 more than 100

times after Bennell introduced

himself as a scout for the club.

Another claimed he was abused

at Bennell's house and on football

tours, where horror movies would be

played to soften up his victims.

And one complainant,

who threatened to report the abuse,

said Bennell told him that nobody

would believe him and that,

"I've got people playing

professional football now that I've

done these things to -

you're nothing".

The jury was told they would have

to decide between Bennell's version

of events or believe

the prosecution's case that he'd

committed sexual offences on a large

scale against very vulnerable lads.

The trial continues.

Dan Roan, BBC News, Liverpool.

Five men and a woman have appeared

in court charged with belonging

to the banned far-right group

National Action.

The six who were arrested during

raids across England last week

appeared at Westminster Magistrates

Court.

They'll appear at the Old Bailey

later this month.

The Director-General of the BBC has

been asked to appear before MPs

to answer questions about gender

and pay at the Corporation.

Lord Hall will face

questions by the Culture

and Media Select Committee.

The request comes after the BBC's

former China editor Carrie Gracie

resigned from her post,

complaining about unequal pay.

She's also been asked

to appear before MPs.

The number of people waiting more

than four hours in Accident &

Emergency departments in Scotland

reached a record high

in the last week of 2017.

New figures show only 78%

of patients were seen

within the Government's four-hour

target, the lowest proportion

since weekly data started

being published three years ago.

Our Scotland editor,

Sarah Smith, reports.

Busy Accident & Emergency

departments in Scotland

mean patients are facing

record waiting times.

In the last week of the year,

over 20% waited for more

than four hours to be seen.

Nearly 300 waited longer than 12

hours, figures described

today as a "disgrace."

The figures out today

are for the week ending in Hogmanay,

a very, very challenging week

for our health service,

flu really beginning

to kick in that week.

For example, 40% increase in calls

to the Scottish Ambulance Service

on Hogmanay alone.

Of course, our staff are working

extremely hard on the front-line

to keep patients safe.

In the week between Christmas

and New Year, only 78% of people

visiting A&E were seen

within the target of four hours.

That's compared to 92% for the same

week the year before.

The delays are not because of

increased patient numbers,

only 635 more people attended

A&E departments.

One reason given for

the increased waiting times

is a surge in flu infections.

Cases of flu in Scotland

are running at more than double

the rate in England,

more than twice as many

as there were last year, and that's

now a significant concern.

I just wasn't sure.

Patients with flu take longer

to assess and require treatment

in individual rooms,

as staff try to minimise

the spread of infection.

The team have had to work extremely

hard all the way over Christmas

and the New Year period.

Worse than before?

I would say so.

I've been doing this job for many

years and I think it's probably one

of the busiest times we've had.

The Health Minister,

visiting a hospital in Perth,

insists the Scottish NHS

is performing well overall,

with far fewer cancelled operations

than south of the border.

In Lanarkshire, some of the NHS

admin staff have been volunteering

on the wards to help

the overstretched nurses.

I was a bed buster.

What's a bed buster?

It was basically going and helping

the ward staff to strip down

the beds after a patient had been

discharged, so that it's cleaned

and made up and ready

for the patient to come into,

and do that as quickly as possible,

to save the nursing staff

doing it themselves.

NHS spending is significantly higher

in Scotland, about £160 more

per person than in England.

Greater integrated health and social

care is meant to mean

fewer delayed discharges,

less bed-blocking, but today's

figures show that the winter health

crisis has hit Scotland hard.

Sarah Smith, BBC News, Perth.

The Syrian army has accused Israel

of launching a series of strikes

on targets close to the capital

Damascus.

It says both Israeli warplanes

and missiles were deployed

and claims it brought

down one plane.

Israel has refused to confirm

the military action.

Our chief international

correspondent, Lyse Doucet,

is in Damascus with the latest.

What's your assessment of what's

going on?

Well I think the reality

is that Israel's main target was not

Syria itself, but Syria's, two of

Syria's most important rallying

lice, that's the hez hez forces that

happen to be Israel's most important

enemies in this region. The Israeli

jets and the missiles are said to

have struck an arms depot north-east

of Damascus, which is used both by

the Syrian military and Hezbollah

forces. Israel never comments on its

air strikes against its neighbours

Syria. Today the Israeli Prime

Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,

happened to speak to Nato

ambassadors and emphasised Israel

has a longstanding policy to stop

any sign that Syria could be

transferring what he called "game

changing" weapons across the border

into Lebanon. Israel is now striking

Syrian territory every few months,

but the timing of these strikes

seems to be particularly

significant. They come just two-days

after what was regarded as a very

important meeting of the Israeli

security cabinet and the main item

on the agenda - the growing threat

along the Syrian-Israeli border.

Because that border now is largely

controlled by Syrian rebels. But the

Syrian army is gaining ground. That

doesn't just mean the Syrian army

will be closing to Israel's borders,

but also its allies, hez hez and

Iran. That is not a threat that

Israel takes seriously. When I asked

a spokesperson about it and said

Israel always attacks when its

enemies, the Syrian rebels are

losing ground. He warned, as the

military did in a statement about a

greater escalation of a war in this

region. What thing is certain, Huw,

none of these players in one of the

region's biggest proxy wars want to

be drawn into another major

escalation. They all know the risks

of an accidental tumbling into that.

Lyse many thanks once again for the

latest there in Damascus. Lyse

Doucet there for us.

A teenager has been arrested

on suspicion of murder and two

others are being sought by police

after a shop worker

was attacked in an argument

about cigarette papers.

The victim, Vijay Patel,

died in hospital yesterday.

Our special correspondent,

Lucy Manning, reports

from north London.

He worked hard in this shop

in the quiet suburbs of north

London, but one punch was to end

Vijay Patel's life.

On Saturday night, Abdullah Rahimzai

was working alongside Mr Patel

when three teenagers were told

they couldn't buy cigarette

papers unless they could

prove they were 18.

They threatened me to break

the window, so that's why I ask him.

I wish I didn't send him

to the window, but because of

the threat the guys made,

I asked him only to see.

When I reached the door,

he was already knocked down.

He was hit one punch.

The family released this photo

of Mr Patel in hospital before

he died to try to help catch those

who killed him.

For his relatives in Slough,

disbelief a night at work

could end with such violence.

He was just the greatest man.

He was innocent, he was kind.

He loved everyone and that's why

we all loved him as well.

He was the pillar of the house.

You know how you take out the pillar

and the house is not

there, it's like this.

Everyone is broken down.

Mr Patel had come from India

a decade ago, working

all hours to help his family.

He came to this country

so he could support his family,

so he could support his children.

He could give them a better life,

so they could get the best

education as well.

So they could have

better lives ahead.

A better future ahead as well.

Police say Mr Patel

was murdered for trying to make

others obey the law.

It was a completely unprovoked

attack on a man just

doing his job here.

The police have now arrested

a 16-year-old and are looking

for two other teenagers.

Mr Patel's nephew, the same age

as the boy arrested,

can't understand why

they attacked him.

One punch and one family left

with nothing but their grief.

Lucy Manning, BBC News.

More than 170,000 people

are expected to visit this year's

Consumer Electronics Show in Las

Vegas.

The tech companies' latest

developments include

driverless taxis and new

advances in artificial

intelligence, including some

uncannily human robots.

Our technology correspondent,

Rory Cellan-Jones, is in

Las Vegas with the latest.

Every year we see thousands of new

products here. We try to spot the

big trends. A couple of years ago it

was virtual reality. This year it's

very clearly artificial

intelligence, trying to make

products ever smarter. The other

trend, the Chinese are everywhere. A

big Chinese stand behind me, lots of

other major Chinese companies who

are competing with the American

giants for dominance of AI - the

technology of the future.

A powerful and largely invisible

technology is on the march.

It's learning how to drive,

it can recognise individual faces,

and it knows an awful lot

about our personal preferences.

That technology is artificial

intelligence and, in Las Vegas this

week, tech firms are showing off how

far it's come.

Hey, Sophia, can we shake hands?

In a Las Vegas university lab, I'm

meeting Sophia, a humanoid robot.

How sophisticated do

you think you are as a robot?

I want people to perceive

me as the robot I am.

However, I wouldn't want to trick

people into thinking I'm a human.

I just want to communicate

with humans in the best possible

ways, which includes

looking like one.

Sophia, who's had advance

notice of my questions,

has few practical uses right now,

but her creators believe she

represents a big step on the road

to artificial intelligence.

Our aspiration is to bring

the machines to life,

to create living, intelligent

systems and there you'll see

the greatest revolution

in artificial intelligence.

As this giant tech show gets under

way, China's spending on AI

and robotics is much in evidence,

this suitcase recognises

and follows its owner.

Here's China's biggest force in AI,

the search giant Baidu,

laying on a lavish Las Vegas event

with the slogan - "AI is changing

the world at China's speed".

It calls itself China's Google,

it's already a leader

in technologies like facial

recognition, and Baidu

is confident China can challenge

America's AI dominance.

China is quickly catching up

and the gap is closing,

but China has a lot more people,

much larger scale.

It's a big market.

So I think that's a foundation

for China to prevail in the AI age.

Google, which usually keeps a low

profile at this show,

has chosen to put its name

everywhere across Las Vegas,

stressing its leading role in AI.

We are trying to do our

best to stay ahead.

There's lots of great

competition, lots of excitment.

What it means is that there's a lot

of investment going into this area,

a lot of the best minds

working on it.

So I think you're going to see

the field advance pretty quickly.

It's arriving quite slowly.

Out in downtown Las Vegas,

I've booked a ride in

an autonomous taxi -

no steering wheel, no pedals,

no driver, and it's made

by a French transport company.

It's not just America and China

racing to get ahead in AI.

Rory Cellan-Jones,

BBC News, Las Vegas.

The Government has rewritten

its ministerial code of conduct

following widespread allegations

of harassment at Westminster

which emerged last year.

The code states that inappropriate

behaviour "will not be tolerated."

The amended code also sets out

ministers' duty to report any

meetings that they conduct overseas.

Thousands of skiers

and tourists have been trapped

in the Swiss Alpine resort

of Zermatt because huge falls

of snow have blocked

road and rail links.

The avalanche risk has been raised

to its maximum level, forcing

the closure of the slopes.

A number of villages in southern

Swizerland have been cut off

after more than six feet of snow

fell in 24-hours.

Virgin Trains has said it

will no longer stock copies

of the Daily Mail newspaper

on its West Coast route.

The firm said it made the decision

after staff expressed concern

about the paper's editorial stance

on issues such as immigration,

LGBT rights and unemployment.

The Daily Mail said the decision,

in its view, was "disgraceful."

Our transport correspondent,

Victoria Fritz, has the story.

They're designed to sell papers,

but headlines like these

are precisely why the Daily Mail

will no longer be sold

on Virgin West Coast Trains.

Staff at the train operator raised

concerns over the paper's editorial

position on issues like immigration

and LGBT rights.

A memo circulated to

staff in November said:

It was removed from on board

shops immediately.

But was that their call to make?

I think it represents censorship.

I think that people should

have a choice of what paper

they want to read on the train,

even if it's a paper I don't

personally want to read myself.

If you want to buy the Daily Mail,

they can buy it outside.

If you don't like it,

don't travel with them, I suppose.

I don't think it's a terrible

thing they've stopped

selling the Daily Mail,

to be honest.

Why not?

I just think it's a terrible paper.

Virgin Trains is not the first

to distance itself from the paper.

Last year, Paper Chase apologised

to followers on Twitter after users

complained about a promotional deal

that was run on the front page.

It smacks to me a bit

of censorship really -

we know what's best

for our commuters.

The Daily Mail claims that

at the time no other reason

was given other than to save space,

restricting sales to

just three newspapers -

The Mirror, The FT and The Times.

The Daily Mail is

a provocative paper.

It's a lively paper,

it's a very successful paper.

It sells around 1.4,

1.5 million copies a day.

Some people criticise

the fact we may use the word

"Muslim" in a headline.

We follow a very strict code set

down by the media regulator.

After all, only 70 copies

of the paper are sold a day

on Virgin West Coast Trains,

but this decision speaks

volumes about how

we engage with views that

are different from our own.

Victoria Fritz, BBC News.

Prince Harry and his fiancee,

Meghan Markle, have visited

a radio station at Brixton,

in south London, where they met

presenters and staff from Reprezent

FM, which trains hundreds of young

people every year in media

and employment skills.

Our royal correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell, was there.

His report contains

some flash photography.

They travel with all

the paraphernalia of royalty,

but Harry and Meghan

are the new Royal couple

determined to do things just

a little differently.

So this was a visit

to a radio station, housed

in old shipping containers.

CHEERING

Believe it or not everyone

is listening and I'm in the same

room as the Royal couple right now.

This is Reprezent FM in Brixton,

south London, set up 10 years ago

to help tackle inner city issues,

like knife crime.

It gives young people a purpose

and trains them to be broadcasters.

I can see why your show's

so popular because you're

so thoughtful in the approach,

but also so engaging to listen to.

Thank you.

Inside the station, Harry and Meghan

were getting to know

the broadcasting class of 2018.

Outside it was apparent that

royalty's newest recruit is reaching

new audiences herself.

The support from Brixton,

it was just a lot of people

of colour that were just

cheering her on.

Obviously you could tell

that she was quite surprised

the reception she got.

She looked shocked, didn't she?

I thought that, yeah.

Yeah, because everyone was shouting

for Meghan and not really Harry.

Get out of the way.

We want to see Meghan!

"We want to see Meghan",

demanded the crowds in south London.

Expect to hear a lot of that

between now and the wedding

in May, and beyond.

Nicholas Witchell, BBC News.

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.

Here's Evan Davies.

Tonight, Virgin West Coast says

it'll stop selling the Daily Mail

on its trains because it doesn't

like the paper's values.

The decision went down with some,

but angered others.

Just today's example from a vicious

culture war under way here.

Is it healthy debate or hateful?

Join me now on BBC Two.

That's Newsnight with Evan.