10/02/2018 BBC Weekend News

This is BBC News,

the headlines at midday.

A review into Oxfam

is ordered by the Department

for International Development -

the charity denies covering up a sex

scandal involving aid

workers in Haiti.

Israel says one of its fighter jets

has crashed after coming under

Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

The pilots escaped.

Triple world champion short-track

speed skater, Elise Christie,

sets an olympic record

in her opening heat

in the 500 metre event.

Good afternoon and

welcome to BBC News.

The government is reviewing

all its work with the charity Oxfam

over claims the charity covered up

the use of prostitutes by some

of its staff in Haiti.

Ministers have condemned

what they call the "appalling abuse

of vulnerable people"

after the earthquake

in the Caribbean country in 2010.

Oxfam insists it publicised

the action it took against the aid

workers involved, some

of whom were fired.

However, several went

on to work for other

charities, who were unaware

of their past behaviour.

Oxfam denies it gave good references

for any staff who were sacked.

Jessica Parker reports.

An advert from the

charity giant, Oxfam.

It got nearly £32 million

from the UK Department

for International Development

in the last financial year,

but amid the sexual exploitation

scandal, the Government

said last night...

The allegations surround

the the behaviour of aid

workers here in Haiti

following the devastating

earthquake in 2010.

A Times newspaper investigation

found inappropriate behaviour,

including the use of prostitutes.

The charity has denied a cover-up

and said that it publicly announced

an enquiry into the claims in 2011.

It said the behaviour of some

of its staff had been

totally unacceptable,

but that allegations that

underage girls may have been

involved were not proven.

Four staff members were dismissed

and three were allowed

to resign as part of

the external investigation.

-- internal investigation.

Was this the first time that

you ever heard of exploitative

sexual behaviour going on at Oxfam?

No, no, no.

I can only think of one or two

examples that come to mind,

but we had already agreed that any

sign that anybody was doing this,

there would be an investigation.

That investigation was noted

and went to our trustee

board once a quarter.

Today the Times reports fresh claims

that Oxfam failed to warn other aid

agencies about the staff,

allowing them to take

other jobs in the sector.

While there is a wide

acknowledgement that hundreds

of Oxfam staff have done nothing

wrong, the charity does now face

serious questions about its past

and what that could mean

for its future.

A little earlier I spoke

to Oxfam's current chief

executive, Mark Goldring.

He wasn't at the charity then,

and told me Oxfam had gone

public with the incident

when it was investigated.

Oxfam was actually

proactive in going to the British

public, the Department

for International Development

and the Charity commission

to explain that there had

been serious misconduct

and that we had taken action.

What Oxfam did not do is describe

the detailed nature of the offences,

which included the use

of prostitution, but also included

other activities such as bullying

and misuse of Oxfam property.

With hindsight, you could say

that we should have said more,

but at the time, Oxfam was very

unusual, no media coverage at all,

we went public and said

that we were concerned that public

money had been misused,

public trust abused,

we have investigated this,

money was not misused

but people have misbehaved

and we have taken action.

You say that people had misbehaved,

and it was related to inappropriate

sexual behaviour, did you not say...

The understand that people would

have thought,

People had been hitting on staff

members and they have

given the push.

They might see that as a different

light from exposing the people

that your aid workers had supposedly

gone to help?

Yes, I do see that.

And in 2018, we are in a different

place to be worked into that 11

in terms of the sensitivity

on those issues.

That is why it would have been

better to have said more.

But, the team will try to balance

delivering a large-scale life-saving

operation in very difficult

circumstances, with being

transparent with the British public

and they made a call at the time,

which they thought

balanced those interests.

Israel says one of its fighter jets

has crashed after coming under

Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

The F16 came down in Israeli

territory, and both pilots ejected

and were taken to hospital.

Israel said it had been responding

to the launch of an Iranian

drone into its airspace.

Our Middle East correspondent

in Jerusalem, Tom Bateman,

has been giving us more details

about the incident.

Well, Israel says that this

was a drone carrying out

a military mission sent

by the Iranians inside Syria.

What is notable is where the drone

was, because we have heard

in the past about so-called

spill-over from the fighting

in Syria across Israe's northern

border, but according to the Israeli

military, this drone was many miles

from the border with Syria.

from the border with Syria.

It was south of the Sea of Galilee,

which would put it closer

to the Jordanian border shared

with Israel, than the Syrian one.

So, that would be significant,

and in response to this,

Israel have set up a combat

helicopter which shot down this

drone, and then they went to attack

the place from which they believed

the drone was launched inside Syria,

and as its fighter jets

were returning, Israel says

they came under massive

in their words, anti-aircraft

fire from Syria.

One of their jets crashed.

It is not clear if it was hit

by the anti-aircraft fire or not,

but Syrian state TV says

that it was shot down.

The Israelis do not use

that form of words.

Two pilot were ejected,

and one is seriously wounded.

The background to this

is is incredibly complicated

The Defence Minister,

Tobias Ellwood, has suggested two

members of the so-called

Islamic State group,

who are from London, should be tried

at the International Criminal Court

in The Hague.

The BBC understands Alexanda Kotey

and El Shafee Elsheikh,

whose cell is thought to have

murdered more than 20 hostages have

been stripped of their British

citizenship.

North Korea's leader Kim Tribune has

invited the South Korean leader to

visit him. This will be the first

meeting in 12 years, and was made by

the North Korean leader's sister

while visiting the south for the

Winter Olympics as part of the

delegation from Pyongyang. It's been

seen as a direct challenge to US

administration, President Trump have

urged caution rather than engagement

with North Korea in the hope that

sanctions will be more effective.

The action has begun

at the Winter Olympics

in Pyeongchang in South Korea.

The highlight so far, for Team GB,

has been Elise Christie's

performance in her opening heat

in the 500 metres short

track speed skating.