31/03/2017 World News Today


31/03/2017

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Hello, I'm Kasia Madera with BBC World News.

:00:00.:00:00.

Michael Flynn says he'll talk to investigators examining

:00:00.:00:11.

ties to the Kremlin, as long as he won't be

:00:12.:00:13.

As guidelines are issued for the European Union's Brexit

:00:14.:00:18.

strategy, it warns the UK of tough times ahead.

:00:19.:00:24.

The talks, which are about to start, will be difficult, complex and

:00:25.:00:34.

sometimes even confrontational. There is no way around it.

:00:35.:00:37.

Europe and Australia announce a sweeping probe into tax evasion,

:00:38.:00:40.

as they coordinate raids across several countries.

:00:41.:00:43.

And could love be in the air for Pamela Anderson and Julian Assange?

:00:44.:00:52.

He's very sexy. LAUGHTER

:00:53.:01:13.

A witch hunt - that's how Donald Trump has described

:01:14.:01:16.

a congressional investigation into alleged Russian

:01:17.:01:19.

interference in last year's presidential election.

:01:20.:01:23.

It comes after a lawyer for his former National Security

:01:24.:01:27.

Adviser Michael Flynn said he is prepared to testify,

:01:28.:01:30.

but only if he is granted immunity from prosecution.

:01:31.:01:34.

Live to Washington in a moment, but let's first remind ourselves

:01:35.:01:51.

of what's been a turbulent six months for Michael Flynn.

:01:52.:01:56.

Back in November, he was controversially appointed

:01:57.:01:58.

as Donald Trump's national security adviser, having once been fired

:01:59.:02:02.

He's also been criticised for dabbling in conspiracy

:02:03.:02:07.

In February, he was sacked by the Trump administration,

:02:08.:02:13.

after it was revealed he'd lied about discussing sanctions with

:02:14.:02:17.

Now, his links to Russia are under scrutiny.

:02:18.:02:23.

In asking from immunity to testify, Mr Flynn's lawyer said

:02:24.:02:26.

We're joined now by Gary O'Donoghue in Washington.

:02:27.:02:41.

So, by asking for immunity, there's so much speculation about what

:02:42.:02:47.

Michael Flynn, what that story has is?

:02:48.:02:51.

Usually, people ask for immunity when they think they need it. That's

:02:52.:02:55.

why people are speculative and quietly about what he might have to

:02:56.:03:02.

say what he's prepared to say, that this is something that is trying to

:03:03.:03:06.

keep him out of the spotlight of the big prosecution, potentially. If you

:03:07.:03:10.

look at the words of the man himself, back in September last

:03:11.:03:14.

year, he was talking about the Clintons and he said, you only

:03:15.:03:18.

usually look for unity when you've committed a crime. Those White House

:03:19.:03:22.

suddenly come back to haunt him in the last -- those words have

:03:23.:03:27.

certainly come back to haunt him in the last few days. The Senate

:03:28.:03:33.

intelligence committee may have turned that requests for immunity

:03:34.:03:36.

down for the time being, that has not been confronted by them, nor has

:03:37.:03:41.

it been confirmed by Michael Flynn's lawyer. The difficulty is that there

:03:42.:03:47.

is this FBI investigation also going on. The question is has he asked

:03:48.:03:52.

them for immunity humour we don't absolutely know that. They would

:03:53.:03:58.

only be really interested in granting immunity, the FBI, if there

:03:59.:04:01.

were bigger fresh to thrive. For instance, if they wanted access or

:04:02.:04:09.

get someone further up the food chain, they might grant someone

:04:10.:04:13.

immunity in order to cooperate. Now, it doesn't get much higher up the

:04:14.:04:17.

food chain than Michael Flynn, in terms of where he was in the Trump

:04:18.:04:22.

administration. He was national security adviser, so the suggestion

:04:23.:04:27.

or the thought is, as these things start to emerge, thereby bits,

:04:28.:04:32.

step-by-step, it will get closer and closer to the Oval Office.

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There is lots to watch out for, but thank you very much for the time

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being frame us the latest. Authorities in Europe

:04:41.:04:42.

and Australia have announced There have been a series

:04:43.:04:44.

of internationally coordinated raids in several countries including

:04:45.:04:51.

Britain, France and the Netherlands. Dutch investigators said they'd

:04:52.:04:53.

received information about some 50,000 suspect accounts

:04:54.:04:55.

at a Swiss bank. They reported the seizure

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of paintings, a gold bar and jewellery and had

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arrested two people. The authorities haven't named

:05:03.:05:06.

the bank, but Credit Suisse of Switzerland said its offices

:05:07.:05:09.

in London, Paris and Amsterdam When the British Prime Minister,

:05:10.:05:11.

Theresa May, triggered the UK's departure from the European Union

:05:12.:05:19.

two days ago, she stressed that Britain was keen on a trade deal

:05:20.:05:23.

to protect its exports Today, the European

:05:24.:05:26.

Union has responded. In draft guidelines for negotiating

:05:27.:05:30.

Brexit, the EU ruled out trade talks before outstanding issues

:05:31.:05:35.

were cleared up. Speaking in Malta, the president

:05:36.:05:38.

of the European Council Donald Tusk made citizens' rights

:05:39.:05:41.

the top priority. Our Europe correspondent

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Damian Grammaticus has more. After the Shadow books and, now

:05:45.:06:03.

coming into focus the EU's terms of the Brexit. Donald Tusk will insist

:06:04.:06:16.

the UK sorts out its excitons first. Once and only once we have achieved

:06:17.:06:20.

sufficient progress on those developments, can we discuss the

:06:21.:06:24.

framework for our future relationship. Starting parallel

:06:25.:06:30.

talks on all these issues at the same time, as suggested by some in

:06:31.:06:39.

the UK, will not happen. So, if the EU is explicitly

:06:40.:06:42.

rejecting Theresa May's positions. No talks at first, future ties only

:06:43.:06:48.

outline to June two phase of investigations. No special access

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with things like as banking, the EU excludes a sector by sector approach

:06:55.:06:57.

to the single markets, and the transition period will be under EU

:06:58.:07:04.

clause, as it would require... In our book, participation means

:07:05.:07:13.

your sole member, or have access to a membership situation. If you have

:07:14.:07:17.

such an access, it is obvious, it goes without saying, that the

:07:18.:07:23.

institutions will have sent to agreed upon the governments of that

:07:24.:07:26.

period. Inside the EU, there had been months

:07:27.:07:30.

of preparations and lobbying to draw up these guidelines. UK citizens

:07:31.:07:35.

living in the EU, EU said since living in the UK, all worried about

:07:36.:07:42.

losing their rights, have the air of the EU's get-go shooter. Ireland has

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been pressing its case over its border. In Gibraltar as a surprise

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inclusion, the result of Spanish lobbying. The EU says no future

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trader can be applied to Gibraltar unless Spain agrees. The EU will

:07:59.:08:04.

defend the interests of its 27 after Brexit. And that was a shock for the

:08:05.:08:08.

Foreign Secretary, it didn't show as he arrived for a meeting at Nato HQ.

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He sought to calm EU fears that the EU might tie security and trade

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together. The commitment to security of this

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region is unconditional, and it is not some bargaining chip to be used

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in any negotiations that may take place.

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But now that Article 50 has been triggered, it is the EU side that

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can determine much about these negotiations. In the guidelines they

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want control not only the sequence, but what the UK can negotiate too.

:08:45.:08:50.

In other news - at least 22 people have been killed and more than

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70 injured in a blast outside a mosque in in northwest Pakistan.

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The explosion happened in the city of Parachinar,

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a mainly Shia muslim area on the Afghan border.

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Reports say a car packed with explosives was left

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near the women's entrance of the mosque.

:09:07.:09:10.

The Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has praised the US

:09:11.:09:12.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for his strong commitment

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to the transatlantic alliance, as Nato foreign ministers gathered

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in Brussels for their first meeting with him.

:09:23.:09:24.

The US is calling on all Nato states to meet their

:09:25.:09:27.

Research conducted here in Britain suggests that western countries

:09:28.:09:31.

are losing the battle against online extremism.

:09:32.:09:35.

The study estimates that each month there are nearly half a million

:09:36.:09:38.

Google searches for results dominated by extremist material.

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And it concludes that people are not just being radicalised

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on social media but also during their online searches.

:09:47.:09:52.

The salvaged wreck of South Korea's Sewol ferry has reached port,

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nearly three years after it sank, killing more than 300 people.

:09:56.:10:00.

The vessel was raised from the sea floor in one piece

:10:01.:10:03.

President Trump's administration has not criticised Israel's announcement

:10:04.:10:12.

that it's to build the first new Jewish settlement

:10:13.:10:14.

in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years.

:10:15.:10:19.

But a White House official said further unrestrained settlement

:10:20.:10:22.

activity would not help advance peace between

:10:23.:10:25.

The settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus was approved

:10:26.:10:31.

at a meeting of Israel's security cabinet on Thursday.

:10:32.:10:34.

Palestinian officials have bitterly condemned the new building project,

:10:35.:10:38.

and the UN Secretary General said it threatened the prospects for peace.

:10:39.:10:43.

The BBC's Yolande Knell is in Jerusalem and told us how

:10:44.:10:45.

this plan breaks away from established policy.

:10:46.:10:51.

Suddenly, it has a lot of symbolic significance.

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Although we don't expect this to be such a big settlement.

:10:55.:10:58.

Israel, as we know, has continued with settlement construction,

:10:59.:11:02.

settlement expansion, but it hasn't made an announcement

:11:03.:11:05.

There's also been another law passed recently that retroactively

:11:06.:11:12.

legalised outposts that were built originally without

:11:13.:11:15.

Dozens of those legalised under this law, which is yet to be

:11:16.:11:21.

So it is something that's very significant.

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That's why the Palestinians have reacted to it very angrily.

:11:27.:11:32.

Their leader coming out saying this is a violation of Palestinian

:11:33.:11:35.

human rights and calling on the international community to act.

:11:36.:11:40.

We've the statement from the spokesman of the

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UN Secretary General saying he notes with disappointment

:11:44.:11:47.

But here in Israel, the council that is one of the main

:11:48.:11:56.

settler bodies has welcomed this decision.

:11:57.:12:00.

It comes as there are concerns, basically within the settler

:12:01.:12:04.

community, that the talks currently ongoing between the Israeli

:12:05.:12:07.

government and the Trump administration could lead

:12:08.:12:10.

to restrictions on settlement building on the future.

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This after President Trump asked Prime Minister Netanyahu

:12:14.:12:17.

when he visited the White House last month to hold back

:12:18.:12:21.

He told an Israeli newspaper that they may not be helpful

:12:22.:12:26.

as he tries to reboot the peace process.

:12:27.:12:33.

Stay with us on BBC News, still to come:

:12:34.:12:40.

President Trump supports his former national security adviser

:12:41.:12:41.

as he seeks immunity from prosecution in exchange

:12:42.:12:44.

for testifying about alleged Russian interference in the US election.

:12:45.:12:51.

The European Union has insisted it won't negotiate its future

:12:52.:12:55.

relationship with Britain until there's been sufficient

:12:56.:12:58.

progress towards agreeing the terms of Brexit.

:12:59.:13:03.

The Indian state of Gujarat has passed a law making

:13:04.:13:06.

the slaughter of cows punishable with life imprisonment.

:13:07.:13:09.

Under the new law, India's strictest ever on the issue,

:13:10.:13:13.

cow slaughter will also become a non-bailable offence.

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Until now it carried a penalty of seven years' jail.

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Cows are widely considered to be sacred by India's Hindu majority,

:13:21.:13:25.

and a state minister said the animal symbolised Indian culture.

:13:26.:13:37.

The US Navy has accused Iran of harassing its warships as they enter

:13:38.:13:44.

the Gulf. The Navy claims that as many as 20 rainy and vegetables --

:13:45.:13:52.

vessels approached his warship. Iran denies acting improperly.

:13:53.:14:04.

This warship on its way to the Gulf to continue bombing missions against

:14:05.:14:08.

so-called Islamic state. But first it must run the gauntlet of Iran.

:14:09.:14:14.

This, the first US carrier to pass through the strait since President

:14:15.:14:22.

Trump took office. As they approach, the Iranians are already watching.

:14:23.:14:28.

At some point, at some time, there could be a miscalculation. Do we

:14:29.:14:33.

need to take evasive action? Could this be the time that something

:14:34.:14:38.

really happens? Those are the things that each ship's captain and crew

:14:39.:14:41.

have to a sire every time they come through.

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This is what they have to go through, ran's revolution I guard

:14:48.:14:52.

Corps practice and publicise. Swarming and attacking a larger foe,

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in this case, a replica of the US carrier. Heavily armed helicopters

:14:57.:15:05.

take to the air and escort as all ships close in. This will be a test

:15:06.:15:10.

of the new administration that signalled a harder line on Iran.

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This carrier and the warships behind me are making the transit through

:15:16.:15:20.

the Strait. In the distance, we can see a number of small vessels

:15:21.:15:23.

approaching us. We are told they are from the Iranian Revolutionary

:15:24.:15:24.

guard. In total, they spot more than a

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dozen fast attack boats. Some of which then threaten the helicopters

:15:43.:15:46.

above. We had some boat that uncovered

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their machine guns and loaded their weapons. It was a little

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nerve-racking. A bass boat coming towards you with guns uncovered and

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loaded, any miscalculation could cause catastrophic results.

:16:05.:16:08.

Last year, Donald Trump claimed the TV became president, any Iranian

:16:09.:16:12.

boat harassing the US Navy would be shot out of the water. That hasn't

:16:13.:16:18.

happened, but there are signs of growing frustration over Iran's

:16:19.:16:21.

behaviour. They had all of those weapons man's,

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and we had video taped that they were arming everyone of those

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weapons as we were flying in. It was malign activity, Iranian activity,

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to come out and harass, essentially, an international coalition that was

:16:35.:16:40.

in a area of international transit as we were going through the Strait.

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Iran sees this as US sabre rattling, but these are international waters.

:16:47.:16:52.

And with neither side backing down, there's always a danger that this

:16:53.:16:57.

brinkmanship could become a more serious confrontation. They're

:16:58.:17:04.

It may be one of the most significant steps ever taken

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in the fight to save the African elephant.

:17:08.:17:09.

China has closed down almost half of its official ivory carving

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factories and shops, and by the end of this year

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will force the remaining legal businesses to shut.

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Conservationists say today's move is a game changer,

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as our Beijing correspondent John Sudworth reports.

:17:19.:17:24.

Chinese ivory carving dates back hundreds of years.

:17:25.:17:29.

But these craftsmen will be the last.

:17:30.:17:33.

The UN's top wildlife official is on hand to witness the shutdown.

:17:34.:17:39.

This is a momentous day in China, where we see this decision

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We are here, in the marketplace, we have seen a shop that has

:17:43.:17:47.

We're in another one that is going to close

:17:48.:17:52.

This is a momentous decision and a momentous day,

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China's move comes not a moment too soon.

:17:56.:18:02.

The African elephant is teetering on the brink of extinction.

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And the majority of the slaughter, perhaps as much as 70%,

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This business is one of those being forced to close today.

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The owners shows off the system of markings and certifications meant

:18:25.:18:28.

to prove that his supply comes only from China's authorised

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TRANSLATION: I feel sad, I love this art.

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And even if you abolish it, it won't necessarily

:18:41.:18:42.

But campaigners, including Prince William, who has personally

:18:43.:18:52.

lobbied China's leaders on the issue, disagree.

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Factories like this one, they argue, it sent a signal to consumers

:19:00.:19:04.

that ivory is OK to buy, and they provide criminals

:19:05.:19:07.

Certifications for pieces like this one can, in fact, easily be forged.

:19:08.:19:15.

And the reality is, however inadvertently,

:19:16.:19:18.

China's legal ivory trade has acted as cover for a much larger,

:19:19.:19:22.

So that's why the stand being taken here is so important.

:19:23.:19:29.

The complete closure of China's officially

:19:30.:19:31.

It is already illegal to sell ivory in China over the internet.

:19:32.:19:44.

And yet it took us just a few clicks to find it.

:19:45.:19:48.

Our investigation suggest that China's new restrictions won't stop

:19:49.:19:58.

Nonetheless, it is a bold and important step.

:19:59.:20:06.

China is sacrificing this ancient art in order

:20:07.:20:09.

Hollywood film stars Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac

:20:10.:20:20.

are taking on new roles set against the backdrop of a little

:20:21.:20:25.

known historical event, the Armenian Genocide.

:20:26.:20:28.

The Promise, directed by Terry George - who won

:20:29.:20:31.

an Oscar for Hotel Rwanda - depicts the last days

:20:32.:20:35.

of the Ottoman Empire in 1914 and the eventual massacre of one

:20:36.:20:40.

Where were you? We just took a walk.

:20:41.:21:12.

You see the German battleships? A gift from the Turkish navy. A

:21:13.:21:20.

perfectly innocent gift. Richard tonic friends.

:21:21.:21:26.

Turkey has every right to have a strong Navy.

:21:27.:21:29.

That was a short segments, Terry Jones, the director, joins us now.

:21:30.:21:39.

This is a hugely sensitive subject, Armenians described the event as

:21:40.:21:43.

genocide, the Turks say it shouldn't be. You are making a Hollywood film

:21:44.:21:49.

about it, how did that happen? We received finance from a Armenian

:21:50.:21:58.

businessman who was anxious to have the story told. I co-wrote and

:21:59.:22:02.

erected what is essentially a love story, set against the Armenian

:22:03.:22:08.

genocide. -- co-wrote and erected. Most historians recognise it as a

:22:09.:22:17.

genocide, and Turkey and others do not for strategic reasons. We wanted

:22:18.:22:22.

greater from on epic scale, similar to Dr Zhivago or Ryan's Daughter.

:22:23.:22:29.

That was the intention. That was something you are very keen

:22:30.:22:34.

to do, make a love story at the centre. Is that what humanises what

:22:35.:22:37.

is historically a very difficult time you?

:22:38.:22:45.

That has been my strategy and modus operandi in doing the rind and

:22:46.:22:49.

genocide with Hotel Rwanda and the troubles in Northern Ireland with In

:22:50.:22:53.

The Name Of The Father. I like to pick characters the audience can

:22:54.:22:56.

identify with and work them through these tragic events.

:22:57.:23:00.

Your films do have such difficult subject matter is, it's just

:23:01.:23:05.

extraordinary that so few people really know about this. We had the

:23:06.:23:09.

100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres around two years ago, and

:23:10.:23:15.

yet it's still not that well known? Is big still success of the Turkish

:23:16.:23:19.

Government in denying this and having it suppressed. Draxler two

:23:20.:23:23.

films try to be made, one of the 30s, and one in the 70s about the

:23:24.:23:28.

subject. The Turkish Government intervened on both times. Luckily,

:23:29.:23:33.

we were inserted from that. Years are saying this is 1.4 million

:23:34.:23:37.

people lost their lives, the Turks are disputing that, they say it

:23:38.:23:41.

wasn't as many people as that. The agreement is that it was an

:23:42.:23:46.

uprising and Asa Boer War, they had to drive the Armenian community out

:23:47.:23:51.

of that region. If you presented that argument in the Second World

:23:52.:23:56.

War, the Nazis said there was an uprising in the Warsaw ghetto, and

:23:57.:24:01.

we had to move these Jews to a area where we could handle them, it is

:24:02.:24:07.

this period is argument. This was a genocide by any definition.

:24:08.:24:13.

You spoke about hotel Rwanda, you have such difficult films, historic

:24:14.:24:17.

moments that you have encapsulated. How are the audience reacting to

:24:18.:24:21.

something that is good to be a hard watch, no matter how beautifully

:24:22.:24:24.

filmed it is? I always try to make it not a hard

:24:25.:24:29.

watch in terms of the visuals. You can't recreate the horror of these

:24:30.:24:35.

events, and therefore, I zoned in on the characters and allow the

:24:36.:24:40.

audience to imagine what took place. And at the same time find characters

:24:41.:24:44.

that are inspiring. Terry George, it has been a

:24:45.:24:46.

privilege to speak to you, thank you. Staying with celebrities,

:24:47.:24:55.

swelling back American actress Pamela Anderson

:24:56.:24:57.

when asked about a rumoured romance with

:24:58.:25:01.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

:25:02.:25:02.

The former Baywatch actress has been seen visiting

:25:03.:25:04.

London's Ecuadorian Embassy where Mr Assange took refuge

:25:05.:25:06.

to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations.

:25:07.:25:08.

On Swedish television, Anderson was asked about their relationship.

:25:09.:25:12.

If he's imprisoned, it would make it difficult.

:25:13.:25:15.

Is that why it's difficult to answer?.

:25:16.:25:19.

Let's see what happens when he's free.

:25:20.:25:23.

I probably spend more time with him than any other man socially.

:25:24.:25:27.

I don't want to go into any private details, but I don't know.

:25:28.:25:34.

there you go. Pamela Anderson speaking on Swedish

:25:35.:25:47.

television. I is bringing to date with our top story -

:25:48.:25:51.

Michael Flynn says he will talk to investigators examining ties to the

:25:52.:25:54.

Kremlin, as long as he won't be prosecuted for it. As always, thanks

:25:55.:26:01.

We're changing our month and changing our weather at least

:26:02.:26:15.

temporarily. As we head into April, April showers,

:26:16.:26:17.

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