17/05/2014 BBC Weekend News

West African leaders promise to wage total war on Boko Haram - the

militant group who kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. The

leaders meet for a summit in Paris - Britain's Foreign Secretary urges

them to develop closer ties. We need all those countries to be bringing

together information and intelligence, this is very relevant

to finding the school girls, not just the long-term defeat of Boko

Haram. After a disastrous year for the

Co-op Group, members unanimously back plans to change the way the

organisation is run. Uncovered in Argentina - scientists

discover bones that could belong to the largest type of dinosaur ever to

have walked the Earth. And, Arsenal win the FA Cup, but

only after an epic battle against Hull City at Wembley.

Good evening. West African leaders meeting in Paris have promised to

wage total war on the Islamist militant group who kidnapped more

than 200 girls in Nigeria last month. The Foreign Secretary,

William Hague, urged West African nations to develop closer ties if

they want to defeat Boko Haram. Christian Fraser reports.

The leader of the most populous country in Africa, but how much of

the north-east of Nigeria does he control? As the President arrived

for the summit this afternoon, Boko Haram was wreaking more havoc in

Nigeria and Cameroon. Testimony underlines the Reg -- it underlines

the regional nature of the threat. We need those countries to be

bringing together information and intelligence so that this is very

relevant to finding the school girls, not just to the long-term

defeat of Boko Haram. To that end, the five west African nations agreed

to co-ordinate their patrols and pool intelligence on the search.

Total war, said the President of Chad. That newfound resolve may whab

the West is looking for -- may be what the West is looking for. Will

it bring the girls home? That's one of the reasons why you see all of us

here meeting with the President of France to see how we can work

together. In a way, today's summit has already delivered a meaningful

result and that's getting Nigeria and Cameroon, the two biggest

countries, around the same table to discuss the problem. Politically

speaking they don't see eye-to-eye. One French official told us until

now Cameroon has been largely ignoring the problem, despite a

growing number of attacks within its own borders.

This French priest kidnapped in Cameroon and held for two months,

says finding the girls won't be easy. In his experience, the

fighters move at night and the Nigerians he says aren't up to the

task. They are afraid to fight them really on the ground. The traffic

came in the evening and there was no plane. And where the families sit

and wait no visit yet from the President who says he is committed.

Haven't got anybody about this issue. Since one month, nothing has

happened. Still the Nigerian Government rules out a prisoner swap

but taking them by force is surely not an option.

Members of the Co-operative Group have unanimously backed plans to

change the way the organisation is run. The decision follows a

disastrous year, in which the Co-op reported losses of ?2.5 billion. The

shake-up was proposed by the former City Minister, Lord Myners, who

welcomed today's vote. Our business correspondent Ben Thompson reports.

From across the country they came to Manchester this morning to save a

battered business. They left tonight one step closer to just that.

Today's vote marks a start of a long and painful process of reform. There

is a lot to do. Some of it we can do straightaway, some will take a

little more time but there are some that is urgent and we are going to

get on with that. But the unanimous vote surprised even the man whose

damming report highlighted the need for that massive reform. I think

100% vote is extraordinary. I thought the vote would be much

closer than this. So I think it's a message there to the board and to

the management that they should come together rapidly with a set of

proposals. But what exactly has been agreed?

There will be new directors with more co-operate experience. Members

will have new powers to hold that board to account. And they'll now

get a vote each rather than electing officials who vote on their behalf.

But what difference will today's vote have on the day-to-day

business? One of the biggest independent co-operatives says the

challenge is rebuilding trust amongst members. They've got to be

sure it's an organisation which reflects their values which they're

proud of and I hope that - I am confident that in a few months' time

that feeling will reemerge. Whilst today's vote is significant, it

isn't binding. The more difficult painful reforms will be addressed at

a later date. They're likely to involve job cuts, store closures and

difficult decisions about the Co-op's founding values and winning

support for those could be much more difficult.

India's new Prime Minister-elect, Narendra Modi, has received a hero's

welcome in Delhi, the day after a landslide victory by his party in

the country's elections. Some Indians, though, are still fearful

he will undermine the country's secular traditions because of his

Hindu nationalist roots. But Mr Modi has pledged to bring all of India

with him. Andrew North reports now from the capital.

Narendra Modi, the man set to be India's next Prime Minister riding

into Delhi in triumph. The day after he won an election landslide with

his promise that good days are coming for India. At his party

headquarters he said it was a new era. With your sweat, you have

helped our party's symbol bloom again and given new hope. I

congratulate you all. His ambitions were clear from an

early age when he joined a powerful but controversial Hindu nationalist

movement. That's one reason many voters were

wary of him. But far more Indians were impressed by his economic

record running his home state and his strongman leadership style. He

has already proved in his state how a leader can change a state and if

you get a good leader who has risen, who has power, who has change he can

change a nation also. It will not happen in one day. People given a

five-year mandate, it will take time. We are quite optimistic about

Narendra Modi and going to change. There is an atmosphere of almost

religious fervour. He defined himself as the outsider who kept

Delhi at a distance. Now he is coming here on a surge of euphoria

and expectations after his stunning election victory. The celebrations

continued . He says he wants to take all of

India with him, but those who didn't vote for him still want to see more

signs he means that. The Turkish authorities have called

off the search operation at the Soma mine where 301 miners are now known

to have died. There have been fresh clashes in several major cities

between police and protesters. The Turkish government and Soma mine

officials deny that negligence was the reason for Tuesday's explosion

and fire. The authorities in Bosnia and Serbia

say at least 25 people have died in flooding caused by the heaviest

rainfall in the region in more than a century. Three months' worth of

rain has fallen in just three days. Thousands of people have been

evacuated from their homes after swollen rivers flooded roads, cut

power supplies and caused more than 200 landslides.

Scientists in Argentina have discovered a set of bones they

believe could belong to the largest type of dinosaur ever to have walked

the Earth. The creatures are thought have had long necks and tails and to

have weighed around 77 tonnes. Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh

reports. Argentinian researchers made the big

he is discovery of their -- biggest discovery of their lives, quite

literally. Some of the largest dinosaur bones ever discovered. Here

we have the femur, the largest bone, goes from the hip to the knee. Here

we have the femur, this is where it attaches to the hip. The bones are

incredibly well-preserved. The little bumps on the surface are

what's left of the animal's lick aelement -- ligaments and muscles.

These creatures are thought to have been the biggest to walk the earth.

They're believed to have reached six metres in height and 40 metres in

length. They weighed 77 tonnes, that's about the same as ten fully

grown elephants. A BBC natural history unit team

obtained this exclusive footage just as the bones were up earthed --

unearthed. Those bones are the ones supporting all the body weight. We

need to get accurate estimate of measurements of these bones in order

to estimate how heavy this animal was. We are really trying to see if

it was the largest dinosaur ever found. The researchers calculate the

size of the dinosaurs by measuring the circumference of the bones. 79.

Wow. These animals were the largest of a group that lived 100 million

years ago, a time when giant creatures walked the earth.

Now after a nail-biting day at Wembley, and with all the rest of

the sport, here is Olly Foster. Arsenal's nine-year wait for a

trophy is over but they had to come from two goals down at Wembley to

beat Hull City and the 133rd FA Cup Final was decided in extra time as

the Gunners won 3-2. Here's our sports correspondent Natalie Pirks.

One kiss was all it took. Nine years of gloom to lift. Arsene Wenger no

longer a specialist in failure but boy were Arsenal were to made for

it. Every underdog has their day and Hull's started at lightning speed.

James Chester after two minutes. Steve Bruce almost couldn't believe

it. Arsene Wenger ditto. It was about to get even better for Hull

City. The ecstasy, and the agony of football. Hull City's plan to rattle

Arsenal was working beautifully until Cazorla did this. With the

clock ticking down, Koscielny was in the right place at the right time.

2-2 and extra time loomed. Arsenal have won every game that Aaron

Ramsay has scored in this season but this was surely the most precious.

Hull had almost upset the odds, but it was Arsene Wenger who triumphed.

To score the winner is mind-blowing but I am more pleased for the team

and that we have actually won a trophy. The relief at the end was

clear as nine years of agony evaporated. Arsene Wenger is yet to

sign a new contract but that can wait, there's a victory parade to

come first. The Chief Executive of the Premier

League, Richard Scudamore, is facing a further call to resign following

sexist comments he made in a series of leaked private e-mails. Heather

Rabbatts, an independent Football Association board member, says that

he should seriously consider his position and that there is growing

evidence of a closed culture of sexism. Mr Scudamore has apologised

for what he called an error of judgement, after the e-mails were

exposed in the Sunday Mirror. FA chairman Greg Dyke told the BBC

today it's a matter for the Premier League. The remarks were un

unacceptable, but the process has got to be done by the Premier League

because he's not an employee of ours. He is an employee of the

Premier League. The process has got to be done by the Premier League.

But they were pretty horrible remarks that didn't need to be said

but they were said in a private e-mail.

History's been made in the Scottish Cup final. St Johnstone have their

name on the trophy for the first time. They beat Dundee United 2-0 at

Celtic Park as Chris McLaughlin's reports.

Celtic Park the venue but this was very much a Tayside tussle. A first

for St Johnstone, fans came expect expecting a celebration. At the end

of a first half full of chances Steven Anderson took his and sent

the Saints wild. United came out looking to level, only the woodwork

denied them. It looked like two for St Johnstone

shortly after but this mar a aDan -- Maradona impression was spotted by

the officials. MacLean sealed it. 2-0 and no way back for United.

We worked so hard for it. We have had so many semifinal defeats and to

win at the first attempt in a final is incredible. And so it's

jubilation for these St Johnstone players, they're history-makers and

from here it's on to a very big party in Perth.

In Rugby Union, this year's Premiership final will be between

Northampton and Saracens after Sarries beat Harlequins in their

semi-final. They trailed by six points at the break but scored 20

unanswered points in the second half - including this Chris Ashton try -

to win 31-17. Elsewhere, Leinster reached the Pro12 final after they

beat Ulster. That's all the sport. Thank you very much. You can see

more on all of today's stories on the BBC news channel. That's all

from me, good night. Good evening. If you spent your

money on a sunshine mini break this weekend, you might be disappointed

to find out that Suffolk was warmer than Ibiza and Crete today. A cool

day with cloud across Scotland and Northern Ireland. More rain for

western Scotland tonight. Heavy rain