07/01/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, broadcasting in the UK

Donald Trump has defended his position on Russia,

saying only fools would think having a good relationship

US investigators are trying to determine the motive for Friday's

gun attack at a Florida airport in which five people died.

At least 43 people have been killed by a huge truck bomb which went off

in a market in the northern Syrian town of Azaz.

A deal to end the mutiny in the Ivory Coast -

the President says he'll accept the soldiers' demands.

And how a Wayne Rooney goal seven minutes into an FA Cup match

against Reading marks a moment of history at Manchester United.

Donald Trump has given more reaction to the intelligence

report released on Friday, which accused Russian president

Vladimir Putin of ordering the hacking of US political parties

On Twitter, Mr Trump said: "Having a good relationship

with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Only "stupid" people, or fools, would think that it is bad!

We have enough problems around the world without yet another one.

When I am President, Russia will respect us far more

than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together

to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues

Our correspondent Barbara Plett-Usher, who is in Washington,

has been assessing Mr Trump's response to that

Mr Trump has been doing most of the news-making, as you could see with

his tweet on Russia. He has renewed his calls for closer cooperation and

relations with Russia and that is a signal he does not want to change

his approach to Russia even though the intelligence report accused

Russia of meddling in the election. Mr Trump, after the briefing,

appeared to concede that Russia might have been involved in some way

but he did not say anything about the conclusion that Vladimir Putin

was trying to help them win the election and he very much insisted

that any hacking or outside influence did not have any impact on

the outcome of the vote and what you are seeing, the underlying factor to

his response to the intelligence briefing is one that has been there

all along. He said he cannot accept the Russians tried to help him win

because he feels this would delegitimise his victory and you can

see in his tweets where he attacks the Democrats and says they are

driving this because they were sore losers when he says they are at

fault for computers being hacked because they had poor defences. He

has gone on with that response although he softened his tone

towards the intelligence agencies and did appear to concede that there

had been some kind of cyber interference from the Russians.

Sir Tony Brenton, is the former UK ambassador to Russia -

he joins us via Skype from Cambridge.

Doesn't Donald Trump have a point that there is at potential for

global improvement if the US and Russia can work together? I think

that is the case and what is going on in Washington is in some sense a

struggle about precisely that point with the agencies who are hostile to

any relationship with Russia but you got this report which is accurate,

no doubt, but as a weapon to tie Donald Trump dime. Where do you

think this new relationship could go? What are your sources telling

you in Moscow? Moscow, it has been at the top of Mr Putin's to-do list,

establishing a good relationship with Donald Trump. Get -- he had the

wrong relationship with Obama and that reached the stage of being

quite dangerous this autumn when each side was threatening the other

with military action. The obvious area where both can work together

isn't dealing with Isis. Both Vladimir Putin and Trump said that

the Russians are not killing Americans, Americans are not killing

Russians but Islamic extremists are killing both. Beyond that, and other

obvious area for cooperation, strangely, is cyber warfare, and

seeing the charges against Russia, and we have seen the Americans

hacking into the cellphone of Angela Merkel. This is in the area of

potential conflict which is very dangerous and in similar ways to the

earlier years of nuclear, the ownership of nuclear weapons. And

there is scope for agreement there and that is something we could

usefully work on together. Some people will find it difficult to

take, given the evidence that the US intelligence agencies say they have

that Russia has hacked and effected the US election, potentially trying

to do the same in French and German elections. But just taking the point

on IS, which has been a crucial battle ground around the world, did

you think there is potential scope? What about Iran and Saudi in the

proxy wars going on in the region? There are all sorts of

complications, we had a sharp disagreement about Syria. Yes,

Donald Trump said very firmly against Iran, who are working with

the Russians, and the Saudis working with the Americans. But the

underlining fact is that both Russians and Americans have suffered

from the impact of Islamic terrorism. Both have intelligence

from either side, both of military assets in Syria which are usable and

on both sides are being used against Isis activity there. They are

co-ordinated, they can do things better. And the main point is it is

important in itself that if they didn't create mutual trust and

cooperation, which could lead to closer deals on the difficult areas,

most notably Ukraine... Sir Tony Brenton, many thanks.

Police in the US State of Florida are trying to work out the motive

for Friday's gun attack at Fort Lauderdale Airport

The alleged gunman is in custody - he's a former soldier

His family says he has a history of mental health problems.

The airport has reopened, although part of terminal two -

where the attack happened - is still closed.

From Fort Lauderdale, Gary O'Donoghue sent this report.

This is the man who police say killed five people

at Fort Lauderdale airport, opening fire indiscriminately

He is Esteban Santiago, a former member of the military.

His family said he had been receiving psychological help

His aunt said he was never the same after returning

Police say that Santiago used a semiautomatic handgun

in the attack in the baggage hall, scattering terrified passengers

before throwing away his weapon and laying spread eagle

on the ground as police moved in to arrest him.

As things started to return to normal at the airport,

it has emerged that Santiago had been interviewed by the FBI

One anonymous source has said that he told agents

that the government was ordering him to watch videos from

We are hearing that contact, that the agents noted the erratic

behaviour and that it concerns them and motivated them to call the local

authorities to have him taken into custody and evaluated

at a medical facility for his mental health.

Questions are being raised about the ease with which Santiago

was able to transport and use his weapon in a supposedly

It is legal to put a gun in checked baggage in the US as long

as it is locked in a case and unloaded but you can carry

Earlier Gary gave me more details about some of the victims.

Another victim was a man from Iowa who was heading to the Caribbean

His wife was shot in the shoulder as part of that and she survived.

We're learning about Olga Woltering, who was British-born, she lived in

the US for many years, her local church in Georgia posted a comment

on their website about her person, saying she was enormously caring who

called everybody loves in what they described as the unmistakable

English accent. The human cost of what happened yesterday is starting

to be made manifest. Gary O'Donoghue there.

At least 43 people have been killed after a car bomb

The bomb went off in the town of Azaz - a busy market

in the rebel-held town that lies on the border with Turkey.

Local residents suspect the Islamic State group

Azaz has been a key staging post on the supply

Alex Forsyth reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

Fear, panic and chaos. The aftermath of this morning 's explosion. Many

were killed, others wounded by the attack outside a courthouse in a

busy commercial district in the centre of the city. TRANSLATION: A

car bomb went off in the city centre near civilians, there are no

fighters, all of are civilians. As rescue workers search for both

survivors and bodies, nobody claimed responsibility for this attack but

the city is no stranger to such scenes. Azaz is a stronghold of

Turkish backed Syrian rebels involved in a major operation to

clear so-called Islamic State from northern Syria. Close to the Turkish

border. In recent days Turkish forces and rebels have continue to

target IS, which is not included in the fragile ceasefire covering much

of Syria. Azaz has become home to people who have fled fighting

elsewhere. Today's attack shows that despite the ceasefire, largely

holding, people in Syria are continuing to die.

Let's take a look at some other stories now.

The National Health Service here in the UK has rejected a claim

by the British Red Cross that hospitals and ambulance services

The charity - which has been helping patients to get home

after they are discharged - said more money was needed

for social care to prevent people being stuck in hospital.

Officials defending the NHS said the phrase "humanitarian

The acting mayor of Beijing says a new team of environmental police

will try to reduce hazardous levels of toxic smog engulfing

The police will look for local sources of air pollution,

including open-air barbeques and dusty roads.

The mayor also promised to reduce coal consumption by 30% this year.

Many residents have been forced to stay in their homes for days

at a time over the past month to avoid breathing

The former President and Prime Minister of Portugal,

Mario Soares, has died at the age of 92.

As a left-wing lawyer, Mr Soares was jailed then exiled

during the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Portugal up to 1974.

Mr Soares became the country's first democratically elected

Prime Minister and also served as President later.

The former human rights lawyer Nana Akufo-Addo has been sworn

Several African heads of state were in the capital

The peaceful handover of power is being seen as a success

for democracy in Africa, where leaders are often

Here's what the new President and some of the crowd had to say.

We are adventurous people who are in a hurry for success. I have no doubt

that the gallops, energy, sense of enterprise and innovation of the

Canadians can be harnessed to make Ghana the place where dreams come

true. I am sure he will reduce taxes with one district, one tax, he will

help create more employment. I think we need to get more investment from

others into the country and it has to be very strategic, the way we get

investment into the country. Because there is so much helplessness,

people need work and we should be working to bring jobs. Some of the

voices out of Ghana. A week of heavy rains and floods has

left at least 12 people dead and thousands of villages submerged

in southern Thailand. According to the country's

Interior Ministry, 700,000 Forecasters are warning

that the unseasonal downpours will continue for at least

another two days. As David Campanale now reports,

the deluge has also disrupted beach holidays in several destinations

popular with tourists - the islands Heavy rains are hammering Thailand's

flood ravaged south, taking the death toll higher

and leaving thousands of villages In some parts, the water has

risen to the rooftops. The rain is turning roads

into rivers, making them impassable. It has also inundated farmland

and damaged more than 1500 schools. The downpour is expected to persist

for another 48 hours, with Thailand's meteorologists

warning of possible flash floods. Its severity is testing

the capacity of locals to cope. TRANSLATION: Now we lack food

and trending water but the water Many flights and train

and bus services have been delayed or suspended,

and power lines Boats are being used

to evacuate flood victims, while military bases have been

mobilised to help in the process. For many, the downpours and flooding

could not have come at a worse time. Tourism plays a vital role

in the Thai economy and this is usually peak holiday season,

with weather are normally both Social media showed some tourists

making light of the floods, using inflatable rings to float

down waterlogged streets. But others may choose to cancel

or cut short their visits, taking away a desperately needed

source of income for Still to come: We take a look

at the protests in Sri Lanka led by Buddhist monks

against Chinese development After half a century of delighting

fans around the world, Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang are calling

it quits. The singer Paul Simon starts his tour of South Africa

tomorrow in spite of protests and violence from some black activist

groups. They say international artists should continue to boycott

South Africa until majority rule is established. Teams tried to skew

problems of oil as France recognises it faces an ecological crisis. Three

weeks ago the authorities confidently assured these areas that

oil from the broken tanker would head out to sea. It didn't. The

world's tallest skyscraper opens later at it today. It has easily

overtaken its nearest rivals. Donald Trump has defended

his position on Russia, saying only fools would think having

a good relationship The family of a man suspected

of shooting dead five people at a Florida airport reportedly had

a history of mental The government in Ivory Coast says

it's reached an agreement with soldiers to end a two-day

mutiny that had spread President Alassane Ouattara -

in a televised address - said he had agreed to take

into account the soldiers' demands The mutiny, which started

in the central city of Bouake, spread to army bases in several

other cities, including The BBC's Alex Duval

Smith is in Abidjan. There seems to be a complex and

changing position. Yes, shortly before the president announced the

meeting was over, that the government would take into account

the request for pay rises and bonuses that were owed to them, he

chided them for having used the mutiny to demand a pay rise. Within

minutes of that, we then heard that the Defence Minister, who had been

negotiating all day with the mutineers, was being held hostage in

a house. That seems to be the ongoing situation so on one hand,

here in Abidjan the president says the mutiny is over and on the other

hand the man who negotiated with the mutineers is being held hostage,

apparently against his will. And gunfire was heard when he was taken

to a house. Is it clear why there is this conflicting set of events going

on? Is this just about pay and conditions or something else? It

does seem that it has come down to pay and conditions, yes. It was

surprising to hear the president say with such conviction that the mutiny

was over earlier this evening. I had spoken in a few moments before

hearing that to a soldier who said there is no way we will accept a

deal through the Defence Minister. We want to meet the President

himself. So clearly, the mutineers are not all speaking at the same

voice and it will take a lot of time to get this message through to

mutineers who have spread across the country in different battalions and

ranks and from different parts of society. Some of them formal Josh

Barro former rebels and some of them mainstream soldiers. Thank you very

much. In Sri Lanka, demonstrators have

clashed with police over plans to evict thousands of villagers

and set up a Chinese industrial zone They're angry at being forced

to leave their land, China says it will invest

$5 billion in the project around Hambantota port,

creating around 100,000 new jobs. Our South Asia editor,

Jill McGivering reports. There was a court ban on protests

but it did not stop them. Hundreds of opponents to this massive deal

led by Buddhist monks showed their anger. Some accuse China of acting

like new colonial power. Many are sceptical about how locals will

benefit from China's investment and they say and 99 year lease is simply

too long. TRANSLATION: Because of this agreement people who were born

and living in this area are losing their land and houses. 15,000 acres

means 12,000 houses and 35 temples. We want to know where they are

sending us. They did not seem to spoil the celebration inside. For

China this is a first step towards its own major manufacturing zone in

southern Sri Lanka, close to the recently built port which cost

Beijing more than $1 billion. It was only alone unless Lansdale is a way

of getting the money back. The Sri Lankan government defends the deal

and promises to compensate those losing their land. TRANSLATION: We

are starting a new journey, we're going to create a powerful Sri

Lanka. Nobody can stop the journey to creating a powerful new Sri Lanka

which will give a bright future to the young people of this country.

China has been a significant investor here for years. And that

seems unlikely to end any time soon. Some sport... Jessica has the

latest. Manchester United are

through to the fourth round of the FA Cup in England -

and it was a special day for

striker Wayne Rooney. He equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's 44

year old record of 249 goals for the club, as he contributed

to his side's 4-0 win over Reading. It is amazing because everybody

knows that what Sir Bobby means for the history of the club and the

history of English football. For Wayne Rooney to score the same

number of goals Manchester United is fantastic. The best they will

arrive. The team was intense and dynamic, playing well, and

obviously, as we expected, they are good with the ball so when we gave

him the chance with the ball, they moved the ball and they created not

big chances but they created some attacking football. And for a long

time the game was still open. 2-0. But I am really happy with our

attitude. Arsenal are also through

to the fourth round - but they left it late to beat

Championship side Preston North End. It took until the 89th minute

for Arsene Wenger's side to find The shock of the day was the defeat

of Premier League side Bournemouth Bournemouth made 11 changes

to the side that drew with Arsenal on Tuesday -

and didn't have a shot All the results are

on the BBC Sport website. Real Madrid have matched the Spanish

record for games unbeaten after extending their impressive run

to 39 matches without defeat with a comfortable five

nil win over Granada. Ronaldo scored a header,

after he was handed his Ballon D'or award on the pitch by previous

winners, before kick off. Karim Benzema also grabbed a goal -

as Real's relentless run which now stretches back

to April, rolls on. Real extend their lead at the top

of the Primera Division, but Barcelona can pull

to within three points with victory Novak Djokovic delivered the first

blow of 2017 to Andy Murray as the world number two beat

the world number one in the final of the Qatar Open,

to end the Briton's 28 It was the Serb who took

the opening set, and who served for the match in the second,

but Murray was able to save three match points and force

the final into a decider. The match lasted nearly three hours,

and as both players tired, it was Djokovic who just edged it -

6-3, 5-7, 6-4 the final score but despite that defeat, Murray

retains his number one ranking. The two time double Olympic champion

Sir Mo Farah finished a disappointing seventh

in the Great Edinburgh International The race was won by

Amercia's Leonard Korir. It was Farah's first race of 2017,

and he admitted afterwards his I am definitely a little bit behind.

The last bit of training has not gone as well as I wanted but this is

all about the team event and I want to come here and represent my

country and help the guys. Earlier on, it was all of those things where

ten days beforehand, what do I do? I did a session and I knew from that

but it was going to be a hard day. Australia have taken

their Test Series against Pakistan 3-nil with a comprehensive 220 run

win in Sydney. Pakistan were bowled out just before

tea on the final day for 244 chasing 465 runs with Josh Hazlewood

and Steve O'Keefe both Pakistan's hopes of holding out

for a draw disappeared with the dismissals of Azhar Ali

and Younis Khan before lunch. The image was taken from the most

powerful telescope that Nasa has orbiting the red planet and if you

look closely, the redish feature in the centre of the Earth is slowly.

Pretty small but the image is from a long way away! Chip to the opticians

beckons for me! That is it from me. -- a trip to the opticians.