19/01/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Karin Giannone.

The headlines: Staggering and obscene - that's how a UN report

describes the violence inflicted on civilians in Iraq.

The report also details killings that could be acts of genocide

They took my son and held him for a year, accusing him

of belonging to the police, of being an armed spy.

Then they came and said, "We've killed him."

Hollywood director Spike Lee calls the Oscars 'lily white' and says

he'll boycott the show over the lack of black nominees.

The iconic Ritz hotel in Paris ablaze, months before it's due

And fallout from Chernobyl we hear about the hundreds of thousands

of people who live hidden from the world in government

institutions in neighbouring Belarus, 30 years

The scale of the suffering inflicted on the people of Iraq in the last

two years is being highlighted today, with the UN outlining what it

says are 'staggering' levels of violence, affecting

The United Nations says the group calling itself Islamic State has

been responsible for thousands of murders, and is forcing women

Low they are named as being responsible, Iraqi security forces,

militia, and Kurdish forces are also to blame. The UN report estimates at

least 18,000 people had been killed between January 2014 and October 20

15. It also estimates 3.2 million people have been internally

displaced over the same period. Report used testimony from survivors

to find out about Islamic State atrocity including forcing victims

to lie down in front of a large crowd while a bulldozer was driven

over them. The report makes for a disturbing reading. We will tell you

more about it after this story amongst the many tales of tragedy.

Jim Muir reports. Just a week ago, this

was an empty field. Now, it's home to hundreds,

fleeing the latest battles over This woman arrived

here with her family. As they were fleeing,

her two teenage sisters were killed She and her brother were hit

by the shrapnel, but their father has lost more than two daughters

to the self-styled Islamic State. TRANSLATION: They took my son

and held him for a year, accusing him of belonging

to the police or being an armed spy. Then they came and said,

"We've killed him and don't even ask about him or you will

be in trouble." The camp isn't far from the front

line with the city of Falujah, Ten years ago, the Americans lost

many lives driving Al-Qaeda Now, IS is in control,

cashing in on Sunni resentment against the Shia-dominated

Iraqi Government. The battle for Falujah is clearly

coming up very soon, but as the Government forces

push harder against IS, the militants, one thing

is becoming very clear. This is not a war that can be won

by military means alone. They have to win back the Sunni

community whose alienation from the Baghdad Government gave IS,

the militants, fertile soil Most of the IS fighters in Falujah

and elsewhere are believed to be Iraqis, not outsiders,

but here, Sunni tribes have They believe the militants have

lost the vital battle TRANSLATION: Everybody

has been harmed by IS, houses and mosques been destroyed,

people killed, wounded, displaced. They arrived saying,

"We have come to help you, to defend you," but now they have

shown their true colours. And people are cursing

IS because they have This is what IS left behind

in Ramadi, much of the city Thousands of people lost

their homes, made refugees It took the Iraqi army eight months

to recapture Ramadi, but just a few days to rebuild

the shattered bridge. The city is a stronghold

of the Sunnis. But the army insists

it is not out to crush them. TRANSLATION: The Sunnis

are not sidelined. 65% of the Army's new intake will be

from Sunni areas liberated from IS. The Army is used

to defend all Iraqis. There is a long way to go

before IS is driven out History has shown that

if the Government loses the battle for Sunni hearts and minds,

it could lose all this Well, the shocking report is from

the United Nations Human Rights Let's go to spokeswoman

Ravina Shamdasani, who is in Geneva. Thank you for speaking to us. I

suppose amongst these figures and some of the appalling testimony what

leaps out initially is that you say the actual figures could be much

higher than those documented, just as I finish my question, we have

lost her. We will try and get her back for more on that report from

the UN. After decades of mega growth,

how much does the slowdown of the world's second biggest

economy really matter? Well, that's the question

on the lips of economists around the world after Beijing

released the lowest growth figures for last year for a

quarter of a century. And as a key driver of global

growth, investors are dwelling not only the damage that

might befall China, is in line with the government's

target of 'around' 7%. But it's a notable continuation

of a downwards trend - just take a look at this graph

showing the GDP growth over The slow down has been partly caused

by a drop in appetite In a moment, we'll hear

from Andrew Walker in London on the European perspective

and from Julia Carneiro in Rio But first, Shilpa Kannan in Delhi

on why it matters to India. China and India are often seen

as economic rivals and in some quarters here, there has been

a sense of glee that India's economic growth has kept rising,

but in reality, India needs a strong It was one of the first countries

that Prime Minister Narendra Modi China is India's biggest trading

partner and its third largest export market, so a slowdown

here could prolong a slump India's Prime Minister came to power

in 2014 on a promise of an economic turnaround, but with many of his key

reforms stuck in parliament, And if China's problems cause more

volatility in the stock market here and a decline in the value

of India's currency, the rupee, then it is going to be

even more difficult. If the figure of 6.9% is real

and if things were to get any worse, then Europe, I think, would be fine,

but of course there is widespread scepticism about that figure

and an expectation that things Particularly important is the fact

that the slowdown was to a significant extent investment

spending and Europe, especially Germany, is an important

supplier of cars and factory equipment to China,

so that is potentially a problem, especially if the slowdown does

continue much further, but at the same time I think every

economy knew Chinese economic growth and investment spending

was going to slow China is Brazil's main commercial

partner, so the slowdown in the economy there is having

a huge impact here. Chinese companies are buying less

from Brazil and at lower prices, so this is really hurting Brazilian

exports and there is lots of expectation here

about billion-dollar investments that were announced by China last

year in Brazil in There is fear that these might be

put on hold and all this comes at a moment when Brazil

is in a very frail situation, facing a deepening economic

recession, with commodity prices dropping, the major corruption

scandal that started at the oil giant here, and the president

of Brazil facing impeachment. And of course there's plenty more

background on our website. Including analysis of

whether we can actually trust Go to BBC.com/news or

download the BBC News app We will try to go back to Geneva. We

lost you once before. Thank you for bearing with us. What leapt out of

me of these figures, 18,800 civilians killed over the last two

years, do you think that is a conservative estimate and the actual

figures may be far higher? Absolutely. It is definitely a very

conservative estimate, definitely an underestimate. These are the figures

are people who were killed as a direct result of violence. This does

not include the people who were killed by the effects of the

conflict such as lack of access to proper food, medical care,

especially for vulnerable communities, but also this does not

capture the full extent of the violence because there were areas

that we were not simply able to access so this is very much an

underestimate and I must add that in addition to the 18,800 civilians who

have been killed over the last two years, there are another 36,000 that

were wounded. I think also what people may find shocking is that

half of those deaths were recorded in the capital of Baghdad. Indeed.

Most of these deaths were recorded in Baghdad, mainly as a result of

suicide bombings and vehicle -based explosive devices. Some of these

attacks were targeted to kill as many civilians as possible and some

of them took place in marketplaces. I want to ask if the thinking behind

the report. This is trying to raise awareness of why so many Iraqis are

choosing to leave the country and in many cases come to Europe. This

report is intended to document the kinds of violations that are taking

place in your rock on all sides -- in Iraq, especially to civilians. It

is very important for the international community as a whole

to international community as a whole

horrors that Iraqi refugees are fleeing when they believe their

countries. This is what they face at home. Either they are in occupied

areas, facing the kinds of violence that IS is perpetrating, are

sometimes when they try to flee, they end up in pro-government areas

where they are subject to further violations. I know you are focusing

on humanitarian aspects with this report. What kind of action are you

calling for and from whom? We are calling on the international

community to support Iraq in trying to stabilise the areas that have

been claimed by IS and try to establish the rule of law in these

areas which is not there. We are also calling on them to assure that

people have the human and Carrion -- humanitarian assistance they need to

survive and very important week we are calling for justice for the

perpetrators of these grave violations. When you say the rule of

law, how might that be done if it does not mean military action? It

means that in areas that have been reclaimed from IS there needs to be

proper civil administration put into place. There needs to be police of

enforcing the law. This cannot be left to pro-government militia are

other armed groups that are there ready to enforce the law in their

own ways. We must leave it there. Thank you very much for joining us

from Geneva and the UN human rights office.

'Lily White' - that's how film director Spike Lee has described

this year's Oscar nominations after not a single black actor

The Academy which oversees the Oscars says it is now

reviewing its overwhelmingly white membership because of the anger

Spike Lee, and the actress, Jada Pinkett Smith,

say they will boycott next month's Oscars ceremony.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy nominated for survival drama,

Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander for the story of a transgender

Like last year, all 20 acting nominees for the 2016

The Academy choosing not to recognise performances

like Will Smith in American football drama, Concussion.

His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, says she has decided not to attend

the Oscars because of the lack of diversity.

Maybe it is time we pulled back our resources and put them back

into our communities, into our programmes.

Director Spike Lee also spoke out on social media at the end

of America's Martin Luther King weekend, saying he would not be

How is it possible that, for a second consecutive year,

The president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs,

admits she was disappointed with the lack of racial

representation and has promised changes to diversify the mix

Many black performers have, of course, been recognised

Only two years ago, actress Lupita Nyong'o was nominated for -

But this is all part of a wider industry problem.

Speaking yesterday, Idris Elba, who some expected to be

Oscar-nominated for Beasts of No Nation, said opportunities

The reason I went to America is because the USA has the most

The problem is, the gap between the dream and reality.

Many are now hoping that, in future years, awards nominees

will better reflect the audiences that go to see the films

Our correspondent Peter Bowes is in Los Angeles.

This has gained a lot of momentum over the last 48 hours or so

largely because of what or so Spike Lee was saying,

his plan to boycott the Oscars next month also Jada Pinkett Smith

of people, especially on social media, are talking about this.

They are discussing whether they should boycott

the Oscars as well by not watching the ceremony and that would hurt

the Academy a lot because this is all about ratings on the night.

The Academy earns a lot of money from this event so it is a serious

problem for them in that respect, but the wider issue,

of course, is serious as well, which the Academy is acknowledging -

The president issued a statement saying that she is heartbroken

and frustrated about the lack of inclusion and this

is Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is African-American,

pledging to take action, dramatic action, she says,

to change the nature of the Academy's membership.

How much do we actually know about those people behind the votes,

behind the decisions for the nominations?

Well, the statistics are quite stark if you look at them in detail.

94% of the voters are white and I think that is the key issue,

that this is not an ethnically diverse membership.

Over the years, only five black actors have one in the categories

for lead actor or actress, so I think everyone acknowledges

That said, it isn't just the Academy's problem.

Spike Lee made the point that he believes that the people

largely to blame for this are those who make the decisions in the big

Hollywood studios and the television companies as well, the people

with the power to green light new projects and to cast actors

Now a look at some of the day's other news.

New research published in the medical journal,

The Lancet, shows there were more than 2.5 million

stillbirths across the world last year, most of them in Africa.

The journal says it's horrific and scandalous that half

of the stillbirths in 2015 happened during delivery.

At least 17 Peruvians have died after their bus plunged down

a cliff, when the driver lost control and fell off a winding

At least 10 other passengers were injured.

more than 30 people have been injured after two trains crashed in

Sardinia. Most of the wounded were said to be students on their way to

school but none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The iconic Ritz hotel in Paris has been engulfed by fire,

just months before it was due to be reopen after a major renovation.

It's been closed for three years for the work to be carried out.

Past guests include Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway,

and it was where Princess Diana spent the last evening of her life.

The fire broke out just before dawn on the top floor just beneath the

roof. It is a majestic building in one of Paris's most majestic

squares. Firefighters had to move fast to stop the blaze spreading.

The Ritz is under renovation at the moment and has been for the last

three years. TRANSLATION: We have no information about the cause of the

fire but we do know that the building was under renovation and

when the fire brigade arrived 150 workers were on the side when it was

evacuated. In the attic, it was insulating materials that were

catching alight. Firefighters had to remove sections of the roof in order

to get access. After three hours, it had been contained. The Ritz is the

most famous of Paris hotels in the 1970s it was sold to an Egyptian

businessmen and it was where Princess Diana stayed before her

death in a car accident. There is no word yet how far the blaze will set

back the reopening of the luxury hotel, which was set to take place

in March. This year marks 30 years

since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster - when a catastrophic explosion

at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine contaminated vast swathes

of the surrounding area. But Ukraine wasn't

even the worst hit. Belarus suffered about 70%

of the nuclear fallout. Some of the radiation victims are

the focus of a project by a photojournalist. She was born just

two weeks before the catastrophe. With me is the photographer,

Jadwiga Bronte. You have done this as part of the

Masters in photojournalism. What took you there? Mainly, it is

because during the incident I was just two weeks old. Poland was a

state of the USSR so for me being born at that time I was called the

Chernobyl child. Later in my life, through another photojournalist, I

have learned about the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster and because

of the 30 years coming up and it is very close to my heart, I thought

that I would be the right person to tell the story. Tell us what you

found there in these institutions and what they were like. Basically,

the biggest problem is that they are not just Chernobyl victims. They are

generally disabled people. Any kind of children with any kind of

disability, whether it is mental disabilities or Down's syndrome or

autistic, any kind of deformity, they are all housed in the same

institutions. And the level of care of their, you say sometimes even the

cleaners are involved and there simply is not the support and they

live in rooms with many others. Yes, that is true. For us, it is very

shocking but what I have learned is they are doing so much and they are

trying to help but it is still a very difficult situation and it is

upsetting when you walk in and what you see. We are going to talk

through maybe a couple of the pictures. We will show you one of

the girls that you photographed and we are just trying to bring you

that. Just talk about some of the people that we saw there. What did

he make a few coming there? It was difficult because it was the very

first time when I was working with this girl. She was so lovely and

besides her face being deformed, she is such a bright, intelligent little

girl and she is so confident. She was so happy for me taking pictures.

She was always around and the confidence. Very often you have

those paid for girls who are shy but she was all there and she saw my

photos and wanted to take some more and she is just beautiful. Another

person was the boy. Beside the red curtain. Yes. His story was amazing

because for me as a photographer I would afraid that I would walk in

and I did not want to cause any anxieties and for me actually the

light and my camera was the conversation between us. He was

walking around and observing me and then out of the blue he started

posing. He would wait for me to take a picture of him and he didn't care

about the picture. He did not care about me or him, it was the flash,

the light. That would make him happy. What did the prospects for

these people's lives seem like? It is all in the hands of the

Government but I had to underline that there is a lot of interest from

the UK and Ireland and they are trying their best and there will be

little changes but those kids survive on 70p per day so there

should be more help, I believe, so that's they can have a better

future. I believe they can but the very important thing... We have to

leave it there. The guitarist and songwriter

Glenn Frey, who helped found the hugely successful band

The Eagles, has died. Here's our Entertainment

Correspondent David Sillito. # Running down a road

trying to loosen my load. # I've got seven

women on my mind...#. In the early 70s, Glenn Frey took

country rock-and-roll and smoothed Album sales were measured

in the tens of millions. It was in Los Angeles' famous

Troubadour Club in the 60s that the Detroit-born Glenn Frey

got his big break playing They were fiercely ambitious,

their sound warm, grownup, radio-friendly, but

with the millions came Glenn Frey's lyrics

to Hotel California were a bleak commentary on the effects of having

too much of everything. # And still those voices

are calling from far away...#. And they knew they

could never top it. When you have a record

like Hotel California you join a fraternity of only a few people

who understand what it's like to have a mega record and then

you have to get your head around, you know, how do you make

a record after that? # I like the way your sparkling

earrings swing...#. I think Glenn was very much

focused on what he wanted. I think Don Henley described him

as being a bit stubborn and they famously used

to have terrible arguments, but, you know, he kind

of knew what he wanted. They fought, they split,

they reformed. There were solo hits,

but fans wanted the classics. The essence and excess

of Glenn Frey's California. Hello. Some January Winter hazards

to look up first thing with hard frost expected through the night,

some ice on the road and the potential for some freezing fog as

well, so take care if you are out and about early on. They could be

pretty slow to clear and as you can