20/02/2018 Beyond 100 Days

You're watching

Beyond One Hundred Days.

Nearly seven years after the war

in Syria began there is no

end to the bloodshed.

A new offensive close

to Damascus is driving

the death toll even higher -

with hundreds of thousands now

trapped in eastern Ghouta.

More than 200 have

been killed in just

three days of fighting.

UNICEF says it no longer has

the words to describe the suffering

of Syria's children.

New developments in the Trump

Russia investigation,

the 19th person to be charged

is a London based lawyer.

Also on the programme.

Populism in Europe.

Another test for the established

order as voters in Italy

prepare to go to the polls.

And Colonel Sanders'

secret recipe for...

disaster.

The KFC shops without chicken.

Hundreds of fast food stores

remain closed in the UK.

Get in touch with us

using the hashtag...

'Beyond-One-Hundred-Days'.

Hello and welcome -

I'm Christian Fraser in London

and Jon Sopel is in Washington.

Seven years into the Syrian civil

war the battlefield grows

ever more complicated.

Turkey has made incursions

in the north, Russia and Iran

are fighting with the regime,

and the US has sided with Kurdish

militias that helped

to defeat Islamic State.

The rebel territory that once

spanned the country has now shrunk

to small pockets in the north-west,

the south, and the eastern Ghouta

region just oustide Damascus.

This week over 200 people have been

killed in Eastern Ghouta,

its the deadliest period of fighting

in Syria in three years.

Today the United Nations called

for an immediate ceasefire.

Our Middle East Editor

Jeremy Bowen reports.

This could be the beginning

of the end of a rebellion

in Eastern Ghouta that

began in 2012.

All the other smaller rebel-held

enclaves around Damascus have been

starved and bombed into submission.

EXPLOSION.

Now, it looks to be

Eastern Ghouta's turn as the regime

pushes for decisive victory

around the capital.

All the other smaller rebel-held

enclaves around Damascus have been

starved and bombed into submission.

EXPLOSION.

Now, it looks to be

Eastern Ghouta's turn as the regime

pushes for decisive victory

around the capital.

Activists say this is

as bad as it's been.

We can hear the shout and crying

of women and children

through the windows of their homes

under the missiles and mortars

dropping on us like rain.

There is nowhere to hide from this

nightmare in Eastern Ghouta.

A generation has been

born into the war.

Dozens have been killed

by it in the last few

hours in Eastern Ghouta.

Over the years of siege,

they've set up a network

of underground hospitals.

This girl, named in Arabic,

Angel, escaped the worst,

but will have to go back

to the streets to get home.

In

In

And this is her area.

With the regime

dropping what appears

to be a barrel bomb,

unguided - an indiscriminate killer.

The Syrian regime denies

attacking civilians.

It says it's trying to liberate

Eastern Ghouta from terrorists.

Eastern Ghouta is a sprawling mix

of concrete suburbs and farmland,

starting about nine miles east

of Damascus' city centre.

The Syrian rebels that have

controlled it since 2012 include

several Islamist militias,

including one with its

roots in Al-Qaeda.

Eastern Ghouta is surrounded

by Syrian government forces.

Before the war, it was just a short

drive from the Syrian

presidential palace.

Officially, it's been designated

a de-escalation zone,

that is an empty phrase.

Force decides what happens in Syria.

After seven years, Syria's war isn't

ending, but it's changing.

President Assad, with the help

of Russia and Iran, is now secure,

but Syria is linked into a web

of war and power politics,

which guarantees more bloodshed.

How many times in the last seven

years have Syrians dug

through the rubble for survivors?

There's talk of safe

corridors out for civilians,

but based on past form,

the regime wants victory

in Eastern Ghouta and

the surrender of the rebels.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.

and war which is threatened to go

out and clear the forces.

Why has

that such dangerous implications?

Can return to the northern border

which is under the control of the

Kurdish militia.

Yes, this is the

third area along the border

controlled by the militia. The Turks

essentially have had enough. They

launched an incursion as you do go

towards the east to drive militias

away from that area. A couple of

weeks ago they launched another

incursion to drive the Kurdish

forces out of this area entirely.

They have not made a huge amount of

progress so far. They have not

reached the main town of the area,

but Turkish government is saying

that is there even, they would take

that time. Today we saw a new

development. It was broadcast on

Syrian state media that the Syrian

military would get involved. Not the

regular army but the militia which

has been doing much of the fighting

on behalf of Syria. They went into

the region. The Turks say they were

heading towards the main city and

got close and then shelled them. I

think the idea was not to kill them

but to warn them off.

We are

concerned because generally speaking

these big powers now in Syria

filling the holes are still there.

If we look at the map, we're in a

third stage of the war, rebels have

been defeated, so-called Islamic

state has gone and we have the major

powers, America, Turkey and Russia

and Iran in the mix, weird is from

here?

This is the fear that these

powers using proxy forces, either in

support of the rebels or in support

of the rebels, both of those battles

are almost over so they are facing

up against each other. This

particular conflict pits the Turks

against the hated states, so two

Nato allies. The US have to make a

decision. -- the United States.

Essentially, if they become too much

trouble, will be quietly let them

go?

That begs the question, what is

the US strategy in Syria? Originally

it was just to defeat IS but what is

it now?

It has moved on. Originally

it was to make sure that the

coalition defeats IS and that has

happened but the US is saying that

even though they have been defeated

territorially, IS could still come

back so US troops need to be there

to make sure that does not happen

but you have the Russians and the

Iranians who backed President Assad.

They are saying we came at the

invitation of the sovereign

government, you did not. You have no

reason to be here any more. The US

government does not really have a

strong chance to that statement.

Thank you. No sign at the moment of

any solutions.

Special counsel Robert

Mueller has unveiled

new charges in the Russia probe.

Alex Van Der Zwaan is accused

of making false statements

and misleading investigators -

regarding his communications

with Rick Gates, a partner of former

Trump campaign manager

Paul Manafort, who has also been

charged in the probe.

On Friday Mueller

indicted 13 Russians.

President Trump has been tweeting

about the investigation ever since.

Among today's numerous entries

was this one: (TWEET) I have been

much tougher on Russia than Obama,

just look at the facts.

Total Fake News!

For more on the investigation

and the president's response

we are joined by David Frum -

former speechwriter for George W

bush and author of Trumpocracy.

On that last tweet, is it true

Donald Trump has been tougher on the

Russians?

It could not be a more

extreme version of the truth.

President Trump thinks no one can

remember more than 12 hours in the

past but throughout the election of

2016, President Trump implored

Russian help and benefited from it.

His campaign delivered on a series

of leaks, including the sanctions

that Congress almost passed for

helping Trump which have not been

implemented.

The tendency is to

focus on the personality of Donald

Trump but your book says focus on

what is happening. You argue there

are constitutional scenes which are

starting to split?

Exactly. United

States is a big bureaucratic state,

one person can only do so much on

its own. Donald Trump is at the

centre of the system which failed to

stop and no enables them. There is

hope that a lot of institutions will

check him but it is just a fancy way

of seeing acting together and it

does not happen automatically.

Remember the question about how many

people does it take in Poland,

Romania or Albania to screw in a

light bulb? That is just like the

question about institutions.

Regarding the Russian investigation,

a lot of people are saying that

Russians have infected the American

political system but perhaps the

disease was already there and the

Russians have exacerbated the

problems?

That is also true. We talk

about pre-existing conditions which

enabled Donald Trump. American

democracy has been going wrong for

some time. Democracy has gone wrong

around the world. We're in

democratic recession. If you ask

people, is it indispensable to live

in a democratic state? People in the

1930s, 90% say yes. Let's say yes

after that. -- less safe. Characters

like Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen

are taking advantage of decay in

democracy.

The title of your book is

Trumpocracy, is it possible to have

a Trumpocracy and a liberal

democracy?

We are going to have

issues. Democracy is a system of

power that does not accept a lot of

restraints. It also challenges the

idea of universal voting. One thing

which has happened in United States

is that the Republican parties of

which I am a member, has signed up a

radical agenda which does not meet

the popular task. This means it will

be increasingly difficult for people

to vote, in ways that gradually

shrink who the electorate is.

Thank

you so much for being with us. A

great pleasure to have you.

It's not just the United

States where the Trump

name is making waves.

India has been hosting the eldest

son of the President -

Donald Trump Jr -

who is on a promotional tour

to sell Trump-branded flats

to wealthy Indian customers.

But his visit is also raising

questions about the Trump

family's business interests,

and the lines between personal

profit and politics.

As Rajini Vaidyanathan

reports from New Delhi.

Trump has arrived, have you?

That's what these front page ads

across a number of national

newspapers are asking

as they promote Donald Trump Jr's

visit to India this week.

India is an incredibly important

market to our brand.

It is now home to the largest

portfolio of Trump properties

outside of North America.

The President's son is here to sell

some of the Trump Corporation's

apartments in India,

including a number of flats

which will be built here,

which is a suburb of Delhi,

about an hour from the city.

When they are finished they will be

a 47 storey high luxury

luxury apartment building.

With a price tag of over $1 million.

They can be seen from everywhere.

Anyone who pays a deposit for a flat

this week also gets an invite

to dinner and a conversation

with the man himself.

There are concerns that

even if he's not a politician,

this amounts to selling access

to the President's son,

that said, the buzz

around this visit is

attracting potential buyers.

This is a criminal lawyer

who is considering a purchase.

Because of its brand

value, we were more

attracted to this project.

That is correct.

Do you like the Trump family?

Of course, in India,

the majority of people

like the Trump family.

What do you like about them?

The way they carry themselves.

It is the way they

project themselves.

This project is going to be

a masterpiece, not just for the city

but also for the Trump portfolio.

We do not know what is on the menu

for Friday's dinner but Indian media

is reporting that Donald Jr has

a particular liking for Dal makhani

and chicken tikka masala.

On Friday he will be delivering

a speech on Indo Pacific

relations at a conference

where the Indian Prime Minister

will also be speaking.

That has raised some questions,

why is Donald Jr, a nonpolitical

member of the family and not part

of the administration,

delivering what appears to be

a foreign policy speech

when he is here in

India to sell flats?

Our reporter is spending a bit of

time delay. It is so fascinating.

Ethically, how do you separate

everything, business from

government? There are no

hermetically sealed boxes where you

can do this because it is a family

business and it is a brand with the

name Trump.

I remember the first day

of becoming president and he stood

in front of the table with all these

files of his businesses and he said,

I am putting these all to one side

when I am president, they will be

assigned to the family but perhaps

that is no dividing line between the

president and the family.

If you add

a diplomat coming to Washington,

which hotel will you stay in? At the

Marriott, Hilton or Trump Tower?

Complicated.

Anyway, let us move on.

The Environment Secretary,

Michael Gove, has signalled

the government will support moves

to ensure a special deal for EU farm

workers after Brexit.

Speaking at the National

Farmers Union conference

in Birmingham he outlined his plans

to replace the present

system of subsidies -

with funding for issues such

as conservation and animal welfare.

At present - payments amounting

to £3bn a year to UK farmers

are based on the amount of land

that they own.

Campaigners say the government

should criminalise

"upskirting" as a sexual offence

after police data showed one

complainant was 10 years old.

The practice of covertly

photographing under the skirts

of women is currently not recognised

as a specific offence.

Figures released following a Freedom

of Information have found there have

been just 11 charges related

to upskirting since 2015.

Another athlete from

the Winter Olympics

in South Korea has been

banned for doping.

29-year-old

Slovenian men's ice hockey player,

Ziga Jeglic has tested positive

for the asthma drug, fenoterol.

Jeglic scored the shoot-out winner

against Slovakia at the weekend.

He's been ordered to leave

the Olympic Village within the next

24 hours and reportedly accepted

an anti-doping rule violation.

There is always an air of chaos

about Italian politics.

There have been more than 60

different heads of government

since the Second World War.

And the election in two weeks time

will be no different.

The electoral rules will prevent any

one party from taking power.

So, whatever happens on March 4th,

there will be a period

of coalition building,

which as we have seen in Germany

is never straight forward.

So here's a quick explainer.

The populist Five Star movement

is leading in virtually

every poll and looks set to gain

the largest number of seats

in the lower house,

the chamber of deputies.

The ruling centre

left Democratic Party

is trailing in second place.

And even with the support of two

smaller centre left allies

"More Europe" and "Together" looks

to be short of the votes it needs.

Then, there is Forza Italia,

the centre right party of Silvio

Berlusconi.

He is banned from holding office

but he remains the leader

of his party and a powerful figure

in Italian politics.

With the support of the smaller

populist parties on the right,

Lega Nord, the Brothers of Italy

and Us with Italy, they could end up

with the biggest share of the vote,

BUT without a parliamentary

majority.

MARCHELLO SORJEE is

Political Editor with

the La Stampa and joins me.

Good evening.

5-star movement,

promised to take on the endemic

corruption in Italian politics and

now finds itself embroiled in its

own scandal, tell us about that.

According to the polls, the 5-star

movement continues to be the first

party for votes. I think the

electors say that the scandal

regarded 1.5 million euros. But 21

million have been returned. Sue the

electors see 5-star is essentially

an anti-corruption party and to

maintain the integrity of MPs

against the MPs they see are totally

dishonest. It is important the

scandal because in the south of

Italy, the competition is between

the 5-star movement and

centre-right. This could affect the

way people vote. The shape of

constituencies could change the

results of the election.

We have

seen in France and Holland the

populist parties have been seen off

but, it shows people how it works,

the 5-star moment might not have

enough votes. Might not other

parties on the right to form a

majority?

At the moment, the 5-star

moment -- movement is rejecting any

alliance. It is really difficult

that one single party could win the

election. Because the vote is to

thirst proportional and one third

single. So to win elections, a party

or coalition needs 40% of the votes

and 70% in the constituencies. It is

impossible to take 70% of the seats

in the constituencies. If the 5-star

movement changes its plan after the

vote and for example, goes to an

alliance with leg, probably they

would go to a new government.

If the 5-star movement becomes the

biggest party in the Parliament,

what does that mean for the European

Parliament -- for the EU because

they are not pro-European?

I think

the Italian elections have always

been important. We cannot forget in

Italy there was the most important

Communist Party. I think this time

the Italian elections are important

to Europe because they are similar

to France, Germany and UK elections.

In the era of populism and

uncontrolled migration from Africa,

the Italian election is important.

Thank you very much for coming in

and we will hear from you a lot more

in the run-up to the election.

Right, forget Brexit,

the biggest crisis facing the UK,

right now, is the chicken

shortage at KFC.

Branches around the UK have remained

closed today much to the frustration

of regular customers.

Sima Kotecha has been

on a chicken hunt in Birmingham.

For chicken lovers and fast-food

fans it is another day of sadness.

Hundreds of KFC stores

closed across the country

because of a shortage of Britain's

most popular bird meat.

Absolutely unbelievable, how could

you run out of chicken in a KFC?.

of chicken in a KFC?.

This KFC in the centre of Birmingham

is open but it has a limited menu.

It serves only chicken popcorn.

The chain says almost 600

remain closed around

the country and it is not clear

when they will be back open.

KFC says it has happened because it

has changed distributors.

It used to use South African owned

company Bidvest to transport

chicken but recently changed to DHL,

and that is why they say they have

had some teething problems.

We saw this coming weeks ago,

people last week were earning money,

working on a good product,

providing good customer service

and today they will struggle

to put food on the table.

Then looking at the people working

in the 900 KFC stores,

they have been sent home

with no pay.

DHL says due to operational reasons

a number of deliveries in recent

days have been incomplete.

They moved what looked

like a relatively uncomplicated

supply chain to a more complicated

one and they do not seem to have

pressure tested it at all.

For any organisation to do that

seems bizarre at best.

Customers have complained

and social media.

The chain says some staff

will still be paid but many

of its outlets are franchises,

so it is likely they

will make losses.

Fried chicken is not everybody's

favoured but for those who love it,

patience is wearing thin.

KFC says more deliveries

are being made each day but it

expects disruption at some

restaurants for

the rest of the week.

I guarantee she has never delivered

a piece to camera like that, there

is only popcorn at this restaurant.

Is this that happened when I was a

student, there would be hysteria at

our student -- student digs. If you

look at the KFC website, they have

drawn a useful map with all the

towns which have chicken and all

those which do not. So if you have

to sign a shop with chicken, you can

find on the map. They will send the

lorries round another time.

This is Beyond 100

Days from the BBC.

Coming up for viewers

on the BBC News Channel

and BBC World News -

We speak to a Florida high school

student preparing to march

for greater gun control in the wake

of last week's shooting.

And the underdog comes out on top -

shock as one of Europe's best

football teams is

bested in the FA Cup.

That's still to come.

That's still to come.

Hello there. Plenty of fair weather

on the way for the British Isles for

the next few days, even into next

week but it will be cold. Today we

had a weather front in the East,

bringing patchy outbreaks of rain

and drizzle and a little more of

that to come this evening and

overnight. Close will keep the

temperature is up. A few spots

reaching pleasing but further north

and west with clear skies we will

get overnight lows of minus two or

minus three. That weather front is a

short lived a feeling the East, high

pressure is eroding it over the next

24 hours. By Wednesday it will

practically have gone. High pressure

will dominate for the next ten days.

More on that in a moment. For

Wednesday, a largely fine day, still

from cloud left over from that

weather front. Perhaps the odd spot

of drizzle in the England and Wales

but most boys will get brightness. A

little colder than today with highs

of seven or eight degrees. Thursday,

high-pressure holes weather France

I'd be out in the Atlantic. Fine

weather. -- weather fronts. Just for

degrees in Norwich on Thursday. It

will feel colder. That wind will

come into play by the weekend and

next week, notice easterly winds

remaining strong for London and

Cardiff. A fine weekend to come far

as but the era coming our way comes

all the way from Siberia,

particularly cold at the moment,

that cold air are starting to push

across the British Isles come Monday

and Tuesday and we will feel it.

Next week a lot of fine weather and

decent sunshine with widespread

frost. That wind will be especially

raw.

This is Beyond One Hundred Days,

with me Christian Fraser in London -

Jon Sopel's in Washington.

Our top stories.

It's believed up to 200 are dead

in the suburbs of Syria's

capital Damascus as government

forces attack the last

rebel stronghold.

A British-based lawyer has been

charged with making false

statements to investigators looking

at links between Donald Trump's

election campaign team and Russia.

Coming up in the next half hour.

The UK Brexit Secretary

David Davis tells

business leaders in Vienna

that the UK doesn't want

to undermine its neighbours

when it leaves the EU.

FA Cup team Wigan Athletic

pull off a huge

upset, beating top of the league,

runaway leaders, Manchester City

in last night's fifth round tie.

Let us know your thoughts

by using the hashtag

'Beyond-One-Hundred-Days'

When senior figures in the British

government meet this

Thursday at the Prime Minister's

country residence, Chequers,

to discuss Brexit, they will be

taking part in one of the most

crucial discussions thus far.

At stake, the pivotal question:

what does the cabinet want

the future customs arrangements

with the EU to be?

Today in Vienna ahead

of that Thursday meeting,

the Brexit Secretary David Davis

said the UK wants "close,

even-handed co-operation" with EU

regulatory authorities,

even after it has

withdrawn from the bloc.

Brexit will inevitably mean a change

in the way companies do business.

Brexit will inevitably mean a change

in the way companies do business. It

has two before we are to make good

on the referendum result and Cava

power for Britain to strike at seven

trade deals, have its own

immigration policy and make our

Courts sovereign once more. My

message to you in this room is that

these goals will not change the kind

of country that Britain is. A

dynamic and open country. That

supports businesses to grow,

innovate, in a competitive, open and

fair market. One leading a race to

the top and global standards.

Trade as frictionless

as possible, is the phrase

ministers keep using.

But what kind of framework

would reassure investors.

Over the next month in the run up

to March 29th, by which point the UK

will have just one year left

until it leaves the EU,

we are going to talk

some of the country's

leading business brains.

And we are going to start today,

with Scotland's first

billionaire, the investor Sir Tom

Hunter.

The idea of making our own

decisions, getting rid

of bureaucracy in Brussels,

and getting on with it

would appeal to me.

But we are nearly two years down

the line from taking the vote

and things are not that much

clearer.

We still do not have the facts

of why this is good for Britain.

As a businessman do you think

that we should have some freedom

and pull away from the customs union

so we can do our own trade deals

with whoever we like,

and businessmen like that kind

of freedom, or do you think

we should tie ourselves

to our biggest market even if that

takes away some of that freedom?

As a businessman I want to do

the easiest way of doing business

with Europe and indeed the rest

of the world that there is.

No tariffs, no regulation,

as little periods to do

these deals as we can.

It just seems to me that there is no

clarity and the one thing businesses

hate is uncertainty.

So how does that affect West Coast

capital, your company?

You invest them in a broad portfolio

of companies in retail,

in property, technology,

do you look at certain sectors

of the British economy

and say that is high risk

because of all the uncertainties

there are, do you stay away

from those sectors and pick others?

We do invest in companies

who are doing business in Europe

but some of them are having to take

on extra overhead, building

a new logistics warehouse in Europe,

in the eventuality

of what may happen.

You are already seeing

that happening?

I'm already seeing that happening.

But frankly these companies

are having to guess,

having to second-guess

the politicians as to where

we're going to end up.

And I know that some of

the companies are not making these

investment decisions.

So some people are

just doing nothing.

But would you invest in them,

would Brexit stop you from investing

in British companies?

I do know of some companies

who are putting off

investment decisions today

because of the uncertainty.

I must ask you since you are one

of the billionaires in Scotland,

not the only any more,

I think there are now a couple.

There are plenty now.

OK so Nicola Sturgeon post Brexit,

argued that because Scotland had

voted to remain the question

of another independence referendum

was back on the table.

Can you make an argument

for Scotland going its

own way post Brexit?

My argument at the present time

is look at all the uncertainty that

voting to leave Europe has caused.

And try and put that

in the context of Scotland

trying to leave the union.

I think we would be in an unholy

mess if we did that today.

I'm not saying never.

I'm saying definitely not now.

So let me press you just to finish,

if you were sitting round the table

with a Board of Directors and had

to get a deal tomorrow on Brexit,

what would you be pushing for?

Well from a business point of view

I want to have friction free trade.

So I do not want regulation,

I do not want any tariffs,

I do not want any red tape.

So can Brexit deliver that

for British business?

And if a politician made

the argument which said

to me in the short-term,

up to three years, we may be worse

off but in the long-term,

over ten years, we will be better

off, that is an argument

that I would listen to.

But I have not heard that

articulated from any

politician as of yet.

So is there a model

which might satisfy Sir Tom

and investors like him?

Some senior figures

in the Conservative Party

are warming to a solution that's

been put forward by the UK's

Institute of Directors.

The IoD is advocating

leaving the customs union,

in line with the PM's

Lancaster House statement,

and the UK instead signing up

to a bespoke, partial

customs union with the EU.

The agreement would cover

industrial goods and some

processed agricultural goods,

which would remove they say any need

for technical information relating

to the ORIGIN of products.

That could be combined

with a free trade

agreement, which would allow trade

in certain goods to be

as frictionless as possible,

including with Ireland.

The author of the IoD

proposal is Allie Renson,

she joins us from our Dundee studio.

Great to have you with us. So not

the customs union, not a customs

union but a partial customs union.

Yes I think we need to separate out

what is inevitable. We are living

customs union, it is difficult to

see how the UK could stay part of

it. It is in the EU treaties. And

then it is difficult to make the

argument that we should be in a full

customs union and part of EU trade

agreements because they do not

negotiate trade agreements with

other people. So we need that

flexibility anyway and the question

is how you square that with trying

to avoid costly rules of origin

applying to manufacturing and

industrial goods. This is how we see

a way of squaring the circle to a

degree.

But isn't it is not without

friction but slightly less friction?

Well we are clear in the report it

does not remove all barriers to

trade with the EU and far from it.

You would have to look at the

regulatory relationship we have with

the single market once we are

outside it. There is a lot of

technical facilitating solutions we

need to be added on to make that

border in Ireland frictionless but

it removes a huge barrier to trade

for manufacturers concerned about

the supply chain being disrupted by

having rules of origin applied to

trade with the EU.

The Prime

Minister tells us not to look at

models that already exist but the

model you describe sounds pretty

similar to the Turkish model.

Structure in terms of what it covers

potentially is the same starting

point. The differences when some

people argue that without constraint

the EU would be hampered in finding

trade agreements with third

countries, Turkey has been somewhat

unable to do the same in terms of

getting reciprocal market access

every time the EU does a trade

agreement. But the EU and Turkey

have different starting positions

with respect to their global trade

ambitions. So I think this is a good

base on which to build and try to

fix some deficiencies that exist in

the Turkish model which actually are

already being addressed between

Turkey and the EU.

The Prime

Minister said -- says she will lock

them into Chequers until they come

up with a solution. Is this the

right balance then?

I think it is

part of the puzzle and important

bits of it. But the reason we were

keen to get the message out is to

say that being in a partial customs

union does not mean in any way that

you're constrained from negotiating

your own trade agreements. That is

an important message for certain

parts of government to realise.

I

can think of worse places to be

locked into them Chequers!

Right now busses loaded

with students from Parkland, Florida

are headed to the state's capital.

Less than a week after their high

school was the scene

of a mass shooting -

which left 17 people dead -

they are calling for change

in gun control laws.

Tomorrow they will be

marching and meeting

with legislators in Tallahassee.

Giuliana Matamoros is among those

making the trip and she spoke to me

right before she left.

Tell me what you're doing today, how

many people you are travelling with,

what your expectations are?

We are going to Tallahassee.

We're going to get there

around eight o'clock.

I'm going with about 100 kids.

And our expectations for tomorrow,

because that is when all

the meetings are, is to be able

to talk to these representatives,

people who have authority,

and for them to listen to us.

For them to consider

a change so nothing

like this can happen again.

We really want our

voices to be heard.

To have an opportunity to be able

to talk to them is amazing.

We are making history, we are doing

this for our angels that we gained.

And I'm so very proud of my school

that we're doing this.

I'm proud of my nation

for supporting us.

And are you going to the meetings

with a list of demands

about the changes you want to see

in the gun laws or are you just

going to say look guys,

you figure it out, there has

to be change?

No, we are going with proposals,

that is what we're going to discuss

during the bus ride there.

Since everyone is going to be

together, that is a chance

for all of us to talk and see

what we're going demand.

We're not just going there just

to talk, we're going there to talk

and for them to listen

and take action.

Do you think that there is something

in the atmosphere that has changed

which means that all these young

people coming together to talk

about the need for change

will actually lead to change

in the United States?

I think now it is different.

Because we have all this technology,

we have a bigger audience

we can reach out to.

I feel the atmosphere is just unity,

we do not want this to happen any

more, we're tired of hearing it

on the news.

We just want action,

we need it to happen.

3000 kids in one school,

that is a big family enough.

And having a lot of the nation

coming in and supporting us as well,

that is what is changing.

We are able to have that voice

and able to be heard.

Thank you very much

indeed for being with us.

And I will be in Tallahassee with

that demonstration tomorrow. And she

said they would discuss their policy

position on the bus. They're not a

conventional political force which

may be a bigger weakness but also

their strength. People are rallying

and thinking maybe they have a

message that we need to listen to.

I

saw a couple of drafts of bipartisan

proposals that have been put forward

and the Florida State house, their

statement goes much further with

proposals on semiautomatic weapons,

background checks, time-outs for

those who should not have guns. The

Congress version looks like just an

imposition of the law that is

already there.

I think there is a

change in the air. It may come to

nothing but these young people are

driving something at the moment and

it could lead to change, who knows.

Oxfam is at the centre of a storm

of allegations of abusive

behaviour and management cover up -

now the entire aid sector is under

scrutiny for safeguarding failures.

The charity says it's

investigating a further 26 cases

of alleged sexual misconduct of some

of its former staff in Haiti.

The BBC's Stephen Sackur has been

speaking to Amira Malik Miller-

an experienced aid worker

who witnessed misconduct

at first hand.

In 2004 while working

for an NGO in Liberia,

she blew the whistle on a senior

staff member who she witnessed

having a sexual relationship

with a young local woman.

The man and other senior managers

were subsequently dismissed.

At the weekend I went into the

kitchen, other people were around as

well but I went into the kitchen and

found one of the senior staff

members there with a quite young

Liberian girl. I do not know what

age she was, 16, 18. But what I saw

was something I was not comfortable

with and which I deem to be

inappropriate. I confronted that

person right there and then.

Sexually inappropriate? Yes. There

was a lot of touching and so on. I

certainly felt it was inappropriate

and went against our code of

conduct. That is why I confronted

that man straightaway and why I then

the following Monday morning went to

head office and said this has

happened, I'm not comfortable with

this I do not think it is according

to a code of conduct and someone.

And I would expect you to do

something.

Amira Malik Miller talking

to Stephen Sackur for BBC HardTalk.

And you can watch that

fascinating interview in full

here on BBC World News on Wednesday

at the times in GMT you can

see on your screen now.

The US and UK are in talks

about what to do with two men

from west London who were detained

in Syria last month on suspicion

of terrorist activity.

Allexanda Kotey

and El Shafee Elsheikh

are believed to be two members

of the Islamic State cell known

as 'the Beatles' that

killed Western hostages.

The BBC understands the pair have

been stripped of their UK

citizenship and the home secretary,

Amber Rudd says that

they should go on trial.

A court in Bangkok has

awarded a Japanese man full

paternity rights for thirteen babies

that he fathered through

commercial surrogacy.

Mitsutoki Shigeta became the focus

of the so-called 'baby

factory' scandal in 2014

when it was revealed that he had

fathered multiple infants

through Thai surrogates.

His case led to Thailand banning

commercial surrogacy for foreigners.

The rising tide of plastic

pollution in our oceans

is breaking international law,

according to a new report.

Campaigners say some

of the world's biggest polluters -

including China and India -

could be forced to pay compensation

to island nations whose

coastlines are being ruined.

Still to come a huge shot in the FA

Cup last night as we can celebrate

their win over Manchester City.

Sarah Lancashire reports now on free

school meals for some schools in

Scotland.

Yeah, there's all different

food you can get.

My favourite's chicken curry.

It's tomato pasta.

So this is your favourite

meal you've got today?

Yeah.

You get lettuce, and you have tomato

and you have all the pasta.

When I was at school,

school lunches were not something

you looked forward to,

but are they actually good here?

Yeah. Really good.

All the kids here do seem to

really enjoy their school meals,

and the teachers know that,

for some of them, it's the best meal

they're going to eat all day.

When the schools close,

quite a few of these kids

do, sadly, go hungry.

That's why North Lanarkshire Council

are to pilot a scheme providing free

lunches to kids who need them,

not just on school

days, but every day.

Every so often, you can spot

that someone's hungrier

than we would like them to be

after a weekend, or after a

holiday period in particular.

It can be individual children,

we know that food is an issue.

If you're hungry, you won't

learn and you won't achieve.

Other councils in the UK provide

meals during school holidays.

North Lanarkshire will be

the first to make free lunches

available 365 days a year,

from primary one up to the third

year of secondary school.

I know there are children out

there that don't get a meal.

Some adults go without to give

their kids during the holidays.

The children get full meals

at school, so in the holidays

and that, you give them a piece

for lunch, and they're, like,

"Where is my hot dinner?", ken?

About 40% of these children qualify

for free school meals.

But the school works hard to make

sure it's not obvious

who to avoid any stigma.

For the same reasons,

kids won't be coming into school

at weekends and holidays -

meals will be served in leisure

centres or community halls.

It will cost around £500,000 a year

to feed kids who might not

otherwise eat a proper meal

over the weekend.

There's a 'critical division'

between the countries

in the east of the EU,

and those in the west.

That was one of the themes

from Hungary's prime minister

in his annual state of the union

address this week.

Victor Orban - whose

tough line on migration

has enraged the EU -

said his country was

endangered by politicians

in Brussels, Berlin and Paris.

Jenny Hill has been to the Hungarian

border with Serbia.

Divisive, defiant.

Hungry is standing its ground.

A border fence, no migrant

quotas, a different

vision for Europe.

TRANSLATION:

It is thanks

to our political leaders

that Hungary and its people

have a profile in Europe.

People recognise us,

they look at us and say Hungary,

you are OK.

But Victor Orban

unsettles his EU peers.

Do not expect him to

back down over asylum

policy, the crisis may

be over but he and his

are seeking re election.

This wave of refugees and immigrants

to Hungary and to Europe

came as kind of a heavenly gift

to Victor Orban and many other

politicians in the region.

They could exaggerate

the potential threats and

risks and then appear as saviours.

Watch out for the dress rehearsal.

Local elections in this town.

The Fidesz candidate

expected to win.

How do you justify to voters here?

Even so he was not

keen to speak to us.

Can we just ask you about the EU?

Your party is in

trouble with the EU.

How do you justify that

to voters here who

depend on EU money so much?

Let alone discuss the EU.

Sorry, I have to go.

Goodbye.

Corruption allegations,

xenophobia, Victor

Orban's dream of what he calls

an illiberal democracy.

TRANSLATION:

The only

thing they do right is

keeping migrants out.

Apart from that they do

not do anything good.

They might say the

economy is thriving

but we do not feel it.

The only people who do well

are those close to Fidesz.

TRANSLATION:

The courts, the police,

the administration, all

completely under the influence

of Fidesz and people are scared.

I do not know what

will happen to me for

speaking out but I'm not afraid.

But out here in the

countryside, there

is concern.

Farms like this depend

on funding from the EU.

TRANSLATION:

The European

Union should not be

small-minded with Hungarian dairy

farmers just because it has

quarrelled with the

Hungarian government.

It would be irresponsible

to punish the country

and its people.

The end results could be

the EU falls apart.

For many of course this

is all about security.

But the fence has come to define

Hungary and its decision to

put national interests first.

Here on the very outer

edge of the EU it

is a symbol of defiance.

After all, this country

knows what it means to

be left outside.

I have stood on the border and watch

them unravelling that razor wire in

2015. We talked about Italy and

immigration is the central theme

driving politics in these countries.

It may not push the populist parties

into power but tasers shaping the

debate and politics and has an

effect on where mainstream politics

stands at any one time.

Would agree

it has been a thread running through

the programme. Talking about Trump

and immigration being a big part of

that. We have been discussing the

Brexit fallout. Brexit decisions

largely driven by immigration as

well. And politicians are still

struggling to catch up with this in

terms of often what the public are

thinking.

Absolutely.

Whatever your sport,

we all like a spot of giant killing.

And last night in the FA

Cup Wigan pulled off one

of the all time upsets,

beating top of the league,

runaway leaders, Manchester City.

The League One side,

46 places below City

in the English football league,

won 1-0 in their fifth round tie.

Beating one of the best

sides in Europe.

They'll now face Southampton

in the quarter final.

And the scorer of that goal,

cult hero Will Grigg.

In terms of the calibre of their

players and how they have been doing

as a team, the manager, it is the

highlight of my career just how bad

night panned out. And to get that

goal was something special.

He has

given rise to the greatest football

chant ever! You know the words? Will

Grigg on fire, your defence is

terrified. Here is a flavour.

# Will Grigg on fire.

# Your defence is terrified.

# Will Grigg on fire.

# Your defence is terrified.

And that was surely every pub last

night in Wigan.

Did you ever imagine

we would be showing film from inside

a pub in Wigan where they are doing

a soccer chant! Do not let anyone

say we do not have a broader agenda!

One friend said to me the dream of a

Wigan - Rochdale final lives on. Who

are Rochdale playing in the next

round?

They're not going into the

next round because Spurs are going

to beat them!

I thought you would

like that! The Wigan manager is Paul

Cook, a former Burnley player. So

some Burnley fans rooting for them.

Thank you for watching. We will see

you at the same time tomorrow.

Goodbye.