:00:14. > :00:19.Marriage for all - Germany legalise same-sex unions,
:00:20. > :00:21.bringing it in line with most other European countries, although Angela
:00:22. > :00:32.The council leader responsible for Grenfell Tower in London in which 80
:00:33. > :00:36.people died in a fire has resigned. Nicholas Paget-Brown was criticised
:00:37. > :00:40.for his response to this disaster. And those accused on Twitter by
:00:41. > :00:42.President Donald Trump have accused him of lying, and suggest that the
:00:43. > :00:43.White House tried to blackmail them. She changed the lives
:00:44. > :00:47.of many women in France - Simone Veil, the Holocaust survivor
:00:48. > :00:49.who became a politician, Hello and welcome
:00:50. > :01:24.to World News Today. Germany has legalised
:01:25. > :01:25.same-sex marriage - a move that brings it in line
:01:26. > :01:28.with most other European countries. Members of Parliament voted
:01:29. > :01:30.in favour, after the German chancellor Angela Merkel
:01:31. > :01:33.changed her position to allow a free vote on gay marriage -
:01:34. > :01:35.though she herself Here, it's called
:01:36. > :01:41."marriage for all." The new law means
:01:42. > :01:43.same-sex couples will TRANSLATION: It's
:01:44. > :01:46.a historic day for Germany. Today thousands of same-sex
:01:47. > :01:48.partnerships have been The two-class system
:01:49. > :02:04.in love has been abolished. Jubilation too inside
:02:05. > :02:05.the German parliament. The political left
:02:06. > :02:07.has fought for years to bring this legislation,
:02:08. > :02:09.but Angela Merkel has always opposed During this interview she appeared
:02:10. > :02:13.to soften her stance. She'd met, she said,
:02:14. > :02:15.a lesbian couple who'd The inspired a change
:02:16. > :02:18.of heart, and a free vote for Mrs Merkel's Conservative MPs,
:02:19. > :02:20.though she herself TRANSLATION: It's been a long,
:02:21. > :02:34.intense and emotional debate. For me personally too,
:02:35. > :02:37.which is why I hope that today's fought not only brings respect
:02:38. > :02:40.for both sides of the debate, Angela Merkel may have rejected
:02:41. > :02:46.the proposition at the ballot box, but she will go down in history
:02:47. > :02:49.as the Chancellor who introduced By voting against the bill,
:02:50. > :03:08.Mrs Merkel is appealing to the more conservative of her electorate,
:03:09. > :03:11.but by in effect letting it happen she's appeasing potential coalition
:03:12. > :03:13.partners of the future, and she's cementing that
:03:14. > :03:14.reputation as Europe's For now - celebrations,
:03:15. > :03:21.though the law may yet be challenged What's widely held as a victory
:03:22. > :03:25.for equal rights is also seen by many here is a political
:03:26. > :03:27.success story too. Social media timelines are full
:03:28. > :03:39.of rainbow colours today as Twitter users celebrate Germany's decision
:03:40. > :03:43.to legalise same-sex marriage. The hashtag #EheFuerAlle -
:03:44. > :03:45.marriage for all - began trending worldwide
:03:46. > :03:47.within hours of the announcement, One Twitter user posted: "Germany
:03:48. > :03:53.legalized same sex marriage. I am proud of Germany
:03:54. > :03:55.for the first time." Another posted: "I might be crying
:03:56. > :03:57.some happy tears right now, marriage equality in
:03:58. > :04:13.Germany is everything I've So those stories very much
:04:14. > :04:20.dominating the social media agenda. Here in the UK, the leader of
:04:21. > :04:24.Kensington and Chelsea Council, the borough where the Grenfell Tower
:04:25. > :04:29.tragedy happened, has resigned. Nicholas Paget-Brown said he had to
:04:30. > :04:34.accept responsibility for his role in the fire, and in public for the
:04:35. > :04:35.fact that he tried to ban the media and journalists from a council
:04:36. > :04:36.meeting last night. The BBC has obtained documents
:04:37. > :04:38.that show that cheaper less fire resistant cladding
:04:39. > :04:41.was chosen for the London tower block in which 80 people
:04:42. > :04:43.are believed to have died. There is no suggestion however
:04:44. > :04:45.a deliberate decision Kensington and Chelsea Council says
:04:46. > :04:49.safety would not have been compromised in order
:04:50. > :04:50.to manage budgets. Our home affairs correspondent
:04:51. > :04:53.Tom Symonds has more. Were you pressured by
:04:54. > :04:55.Number 10 to resign? The leader of the council
:04:56. > :05:00.criticised for failing to cope with the crisis in his backyard,
:05:01. > :05:02.could not hold on. CHANTING: We want justice,
:05:03. > :05:08.we want justice! Last week his council
:05:09. > :05:10.offices were invaded. Last night he couldn't even
:05:11. > :05:12.hold a council meeting. In particular my decision to accept
:05:13. > :05:24.legal advice that I should not compromise the public inquiry
:05:25. > :05:26.by having an open discussion in public yesterday has itself
:05:27. > :05:28.become a political story, and it cannot be right that this
:05:29. > :05:31.should have become the focus of attention when so many are dead
:05:32. > :05:34.or still unaccounted for. Investigations by the BBC
:05:35. > :05:47.and the Times newspaper into the decisions made
:05:48. > :05:49.when the council refurbished Grenfell Tower added
:05:50. > :05:50.to the pressure. The big change - the addition
:05:51. > :05:53.of aluminium cladding panels We've been investigating that
:05:54. > :05:56.refurbishment and whether it played a part in the tragedy
:05:57. > :06:10.that was to follow. This development in North London
:06:11. > :06:12.includes cladding made not Documents passed to the BBC revealed
:06:13. > :06:16.that the zinc panels were originally In 2012 the architects'
:06:17. > :06:19.designs show this clearly - residents were told it
:06:20. > :06:21.would be zinc. But there was pressure
:06:22. > :06:23.from the council on contractors By 2015 they were given amendments
:06:24. > :06:27.to the original tender and told to fit aluminium composite
:06:28. > :06:29.panel, which is cheaper. So did the change make
:06:30. > :06:40.a difference to fire safety? Well, this panel is similar
:06:41. > :06:42.to the ones eventually used. It's an aluminium sandwich
:06:43. > :06:44.with a plastic filling The original zinc panels
:06:45. > :06:47.were marketed as capable Both panels have the same safety
:06:48. > :06:59.rating under European tests. So on current evidence,
:07:00. > :07:01.it's not clear the change However, even the fact
:07:02. > :07:05.there was pressure to cut costs has infuriated those affected
:07:06. > :07:07.by the fire. Those affected and the wider
:07:08. > :07:09.community are utterly sick of this lack of value ascribed to human
:07:10. > :07:12.beings who pay their council tax, Meanwhile, cladding from 149
:07:13. > :07:28.tower blocks has now The whole process has been
:07:29. > :07:48.criticised as pointless because only the cladding is being tested,
:07:49. > :07:50.and not for example It is critical to do
:07:51. > :07:55.the screening tests, just to see whether there is a risk
:07:56. > :07:59.or not, to see whether the buildings Many of them do, and the question
:08:00. > :08:04.now is what can we do about it, and are there other risks
:08:05. > :08:06.or materials we need to consider. There is an immediate
:08:07. > :08:08.crisis to deal with, an ongoing police investigation,
:08:09. > :08:10.a public inquiry, again today President Trump has said that years
:08:11. > :08:17.of strategic patience with North Korea have failed
:08:18. > :08:21.and are now over. At a joint press conference
:08:22. > :08:23.at the White House with South Korea's president,
:08:24. > :08:25.Moon Jae-in, both leaders agreed that a stern response
:08:26. > :08:28.was needed in order to curb Here's what President Trump
:08:29. > :08:44.said a short time ago. The era of strategic patience with
:08:45. > :08:50.the North Korean regime has failed. Many years, and it has failed. And,
:08:51. > :08:56.frankly, that patients is over. We are working closely with South Korea
:08:57. > :09:03.and Japan as well as partners around the world on a range of diplomatic
:09:04. > :09:07.Security and economic measures, to protect our allies and our own
:09:08. > :09:09.citizens from this menace known as North Korea.
:09:10. > :09:12.A short time ago, our correspondent in Washington, Barbara Plett Usher,
:09:13. > :09:14.spoke about both countries' approach to resolving tensions
:09:15. > :09:27.Yes, they come at this from different approaches, but I think
:09:28. > :09:31.they stress what they have in common. Donald Trump spoke about
:09:32. > :09:34.running out of patience, after he condemned the death of the American
:09:35. > :09:38.student who came back from North Korea recently and passed away,
:09:39. > :09:42.setting the tone for how the Americans are feeling about North
:09:43. > :09:44.Korea, and then he repeated relay the US position, saying that he
:09:45. > :09:51.called on all countries in the region, of course South Korea, but
:09:52. > :09:55.referencing China as well, I'm sure, to implement tough sanctions against
:09:56. > :09:59.North Korea to get it to change its mind and pursue a path of peace, he
:10:00. > :10:04.said, but he also hinted that the possibility of a military response,
:10:05. > :10:10.saying "We will always defend ourselves and our allies." Because
:10:11. > :10:14.there is a strategic alliance. President Moon Jae-in very much but
:10:15. > :10:18.his comments in the context of close coordination with the Americans, and
:10:19. > :10:23.he is just leaving the White House now. You can see the car behind me.
:10:24. > :10:29.He did manage to get in his line of engagement, which he said, "We will
:10:30. > :10:33.pursue sanctions and the dialogue in a phased and comprehensive manner."
:10:34. > :10:36.He very much put that in the context of working closely with the United
:10:37. > :10:39.States and having a strong defence posture, as you were
:10:40. > :10:44.hearing there, so I think they got in lines about their different
:10:45. > :10:46.approaches, but as I said he very much came out sounding like they
:10:47. > :10:52.were on the same page, working together. That was Barbara
:10:53. > :11:11.Plett-Usher in Washington, and we are going to stay in the USA.
:11:12. > :11:13.Two TV presenters attacked on Twitter by President Donald Trump
:11:14. > :11:15.have accused him of lying and suggested the White House
:11:16. > :11:19.Meeka Brezinski and Joe Scarborough, the hosts of MSNBC Morning Joe said
:11:20. > :11:22.they were warned a tabloid would run a negative story on them
:11:23. > :11:25.unless they said sorry for their coverage of Mr Trump.
:11:26. > :11:27.Joe Scarborough spoke about the subject on the show.
:11:28. > :11:29.He had a call that, "Hey, the National Enquirer
:11:30. > :11:32.is going to run a negative story against you guys," and it
:11:33. > :11:34.was Donald is friends - the president is friends -
:11:35. > :11:36.with a guy that runs the National Enquirer,
:11:37. > :11:39.and they said, "If you call the President up, and you apologise
:11:40. > :11:41.for your coverage, then he will pick up the phone,
:11:42. > :11:45.I had, I will just say, three people at the very top
:11:46. > :11:48.of the administration calling me, and the response was,
:11:49. > :12:13.That was Joe Scarborough on their Morning Show. Jane joins us from
:12:14. > :12:17.Washington. This is not as light-hearted as what we spoke about
:12:18. > :12:22.before, quite sinister, isn't it? It is coming very bizarre and murky
:12:23. > :12:26.recently, these allegations that the president is abusing his power,
:12:27. > :12:29.because the inference is he tried to blackmail these two television
:12:30. > :12:33.presenters, to tone down their criticism, in return for him getting
:12:34. > :12:38.a story by the National Enquirer, which is a sort of gossip mongering
:12:39. > :12:42.tabloid magazine you would normally pick up at the checkout of a
:12:43. > :12:52.supermarket, into spiking a story about their affair. They are getting
:12:53. > :12:55.married now, but their relationship, and Donald Trump has in return this
:12:56. > :13:02.morning said that actually that didn't happen, and that Joe
:13:03. > :13:07.Scarborough, the host, called him to have the story spiked, and that he
:13:08. > :13:10.said no. So, Kasia, we're back to this inevitable Donald Trump said
:13:11. > :13:16.this, somebody else said that, and so it goes. But the bottom line is
:13:17. > :13:18.of course it raises all these questions about what is the
:13:19. > :13:25.president of the United States is doing carrying out a row over
:13:26. > :13:30.Twitter with television personalities when he should be
:13:31. > :13:36.trying to get Congress to vote on health care reforms? Hasn't he been
:13:37. > :13:39.told so many times to stop tweeting and yet he continues to ignore all
:13:40. > :13:43.of that advice, and also the inference here he has some kind of
:13:44. > :13:49.editorial control the National Enquirer? That is murky stuff. Well,
:13:50. > :13:53.he is friends with the person who runs the National Enquirer, but
:13:54. > :14:01.again Donald Trump says that is not the sequence of events. That he did
:14:02. > :14:06.not call, or any of the staff, cold Joe Scarborough, to beg, to get Joe
:14:07. > :14:14.to beg the president to intervene on this. He said it just didn't happen,
:14:15. > :14:19.and Joe Scarborough has tweeted and said it did. Where do you go from
:14:20. > :14:22.here? And, Kasia, it always sounds murky, sounds like there is
:14:23. > :14:28.something at the bottom of this, but there is a pattern. It comes down to
:14:29. > :14:33.an argument, a very public and distracting row, and then you are
:14:34. > :14:38.back to the he said, she said, and it really is resolved. Oh, my
:14:39. > :14:43.goodness, Jane. Thanks for outlining all of that for us, Jane from
:14:44. > :14:47.Washington. I am sure we will speak to you again about this. Let's turn
:14:48. > :14:51.to France where the leader of the far right, Marine Le Pen, has been
:14:52. > :14:52.placed under formal investigation over an alleged European Parliament
:14:53. > :14:58.funding scandal. Prosecutors suspect that her party
:14:59. > :15:00.took money officially earmarked for staff at the European Parliament
:15:01. > :15:03.and diverted it for Ms Le Pen has denied any
:15:04. > :15:07.wrongdoing, and calls the case Our correspondent in Brussels,
:15:08. > :15:12.Damian Grammaticas, told me more. This is covering a period
:15:13. > :15:15.of about six years during the time which Marine Le Pen has been
:15:16. > :15:17.a member of the European Parliament, It's worth saying that this
:15:18. > :15:24.not only covers her, this investigation, but 16 other
:15:25. > :15:29.MEPs from her National Front party as well, and the claim originally
:15:30. > :15:35.from European Parliament fraud investigators was that money given
:15:36. > :15:37.to the National Front party, specifically to be used to pay
:15:38. > :15:44.for European Parliament assistance, for party staff working
:15:45. > :15:51.in the parliament, was actually being used to pay for personal staff
:15:52. > :15:54.on Miss Le Pen's campaign, well, her chief of staff,
:15:55. > :15:56.her bodyguard, so national officials who should be nothing to do
:15:57. > :16:06.with the European Parliament. What we have got today is the French
:16:07. > :16:09.investigating magistrate in France, who are now following up those
:16:10. > :16:11.allegations, who have formally placed Miss Le Pen investigation,
:16:12. > :16:17.and she will contest these charges, but the investigating magistrate
:16:18. > :16:21.want to see if there was an overall scheme by the National Front party,
:16:22. > :16:25.because they are looking at something like, we understand,
:16:26. > :16:30.40 individuals whose salaries may have been paid this way,
:16:31. > :16:33.money from the European Parliament being diverted or used
:16:34. > :16:38.for other stuff. That was Damian Grammaticas in
:16:39. > :16:47.Brussels for us. Let's take a look at some of
:16:48. > :16:50.the other stories making the news. The first people to face criminal
:16:51. > :16:53.charges in connection with the Fukushima nuclear disaster
:16:54. > :16:55.in Japan six years ago One of the accused,
:16:56. > :16:58.power company chief, Tsunehisa Katsumata,
:16:59. > :16:59.said the earthquake and tsunami wave that severely damaged the nuclear
:17:00. > :17:02.plant were impossible to predict. Around 60 migrants are feared
:17:03. > :17:04.drowned after their boat sank Around 80 survivors were brought
:17:05. > :17:11.to the Italian port of Brindisi, where they told aid workers
:17:12. > :17:13.about the disaster. On Wednesday a senior EU official
:17:14. > :17:17.said the scale of migration across the Mediterranean
:17:18. > :17:18.is untenable, with around 10,000 people reported to have
:17:19. > :17:20.attempted the journey Tennis star Venus Williams has been
:17:21. > :17:27.accused of causing a car crash that led to the death of a passenger
:17:28. > :17:29.in another vehicle, The former world number
:17:30. > :17:33.one was driving her car in Florida when the accident
:17:34. > :17:35.happened at crossroads. A 78-year-old man suffered injuries
:17:36. > :17:45.and died two weeks later. China's president Xi Jinping has
:17:46. > :17:49.been enjoying another day of celebrations in Hong Kong,
:17:50. > :17:52.to mark 20 years since the territory China's government has
:17:53. > :18:02.repeated its view that a treaty between China and Britain
:18:03. > :18:04.which governed the terms of Hong Kong's handover no longer
:18:05. > :18:07.had practical significance. But the British Foreign Office said
:18:08. > :18:10.the agreement was as valid today as it was when it signed
:18:11. > :18:12.over 30 years ago. President Xi's visit has
:18:13. > :18:14.been filled with parades The BBC's Stephen McDonell
:18:15. > :18:19.reports from Hong Kong. The President of China,
:18:20. > :18:22.Xi Jinping, started the day with a troop inspection
:18:23. > :18:24.at the People's Liberation Army Since this former British colony
:18:25. > :18:31.was returned to China two decades ago, the military has kept a pretty
:18:32. > :18:34.low profile here and is only on show The city itself is also
:18:35. > :18:43.being dressed up for the 20th anniversary, with light shows
:18:44. > :18:45.and performances planned. Strong development in the future
:18:46. > :18:48.is one of the key messages being In 1997, Hong Kong was handed
:18:49. > :18:54.back to the mainland, along with guarantees
:18:55. > :18:56.of an independent judiciary, free Yes, this would be part of China
:18:57. > :19:01.but under the banner of one country, two systems, it would be a region
:19:02. > :19:03.with special privileges. Yet the last British governor says
:19:04. > :19:06.he now worried that Beijing is not The mood has got much more sour
:19:07. > :19:17.in the last few years because while President Xi Jinping
:19:18. > :19:19.has been in office, just as there has been a crackdown
:19:20. > :19:22.on dissidents on mainland China, so the Chinese have been
:19:23. > :19:24.increasing their grip A failure to introduce promised
:19:25. > :19:33.democratic elections for Hong Kong's leader brought hundreds of thousands
:19:34. > :19:36.of protesters into the streets three And more demonstrations
:19:37. > :19:43.are planned for this weekend, It would be a mistake to think
:19:44. > :19:48.that the bulk of this city's dissent On this 20th anniversary,
:19:49. > :19:55.if the opinion polls are to be believed, most people in Hong Kong
:19:56. > :19:58.still want to be part of China as long as their
:19:59. > :20:00.freedoms are guaranteed. But wherever President Xi is,
:20:01. > :20:02.there will be no talk Instead, he told a banquet
:20:03. > :20:07.with hundreds of selected guests that he remained confident
:20:08. > :20:08.in this city. Steven McDonnell,
:20:09. > :20:31.BBC News, Hong Kong. It backed a little earlier we
:20:32. > :20:33.brought you the news of the legislation to approve same-sex
:20:34. > :20:54.marriage in Germany, well there is more news from Germany.
:20:55. > :21:04.Legislation on online hate crimes. They have increased by 300% in the
:21:05. > :21:11.last three years. The respected French politician
:21:12. > :21:13.and Auschwitz survivor who wrote France's abortion laws,
:21:14. > :21:15.has died at the age of 89. Simone Veil was best known
:21:16. > :21:18.for her instrumental role in legalising abortion in the 1970s,
:21:19. > :21:21.and went on to serve as the first president of an elected
:21:22. > :21:22.European parliament. Her death was confirmed by president
:21:23. > :21:25.Macron, who called her life The French public were also
:21:26. > :21:31.paying her tributes. It makes me think
:21:32. > :21:35.about the abortion laws. I can't remember which year,
:21:36. > :21:38.but it was a very big I benefited from her abortion
:21:39. > :21:46.legislation, and at the time She was one of the first to push
:21:47. > :21:50.for independent women, to get involved in politics
:21:51. > :21:52.despite having suffered enormously, Earlier I spoke to the Economist
:21:53. > :22:01.bureau chief Sophie Pedder in Paris, about Simone Veil's legacy and how
:22:02. > :22:15.she was a woman ahead of her time. When you look at what she was
:22:16. > :22:17.campaigning for in the 1970s, as the Health Minister, she argued in
:22:18. > :22:23.parliament for the legalisation of abortion. She was really taking on a
:22:24. > :22:25.very conservative male establishment, and if you look at
:22:26. > :22:31.her speech in the French parliament, she was a woman in front of mainly
:22:32. > :22:34.male audience, and with just nine female deputies at the time, and I
:22:35. > :22:40.think she wanted to bring France into the modern era, make it a more
:22:41. > :22:44.socially liberal society. It came after the 1968 student uprising,
:22:45. > :22:48.when there was an uprising against a much more conservative culture, and
:22:49. > :22:53.she wanted to really modernise France, you know, in a way that was
:22:54. > :23:02.ahead of her time. Absolutely a head of her time. Before that, she was
:23:03. > :23:03.ahead of her time. Absolutely a head distinguished magistrate, she looked
:23:04. > :23:05.into abortion, she was on the administrative Council of French
:23:06. > :23:10.radio and television. She even tried to lead a campaign against smoking
:23:11. > :23:16.in France. It is fascinating to hear of her achievements. Yes, she was a
:23:17. > :23:20.very accomplished woman in breaking barriers, in terms of the schools
:23:21. > :23:24.she went to, the profession she chose as a lawyer, all the way to
:23:25. > :23:28.her life she was really breaking that glass ceiling and doing it on
:23:29. > :23:32.the of other French people, but in a way she was more than that. She was
:23:33. > :23:37.also a kind of moral compass for France. She was an Auschwitz
:23:38. > :23:41.survivor, and that experience stayed with her obviously all through her
:23:42. > :23:44.life, and she spent a lot of time campaigning, writing, speaking,
:23:45. > :23:48.about both her experience and how France needed to confront that, its
:23:49. > :23:55.own role in that, so I think she was really a sort of moral died, in a
:23:56. > :24:01.way, for a nation in some difficult times -- a real moral guide. Yes,
:24:02. > :24:09.and both her parents and her brother died in the Holocaust, and she never
:24:10. > :24:14.removed the tattoo from her arm, it had such an impact on her. Yes, she
:24:15. > :24:18.made that decision, and she explained why she decided to keep
:24:19. > :24:22.it. It was under her sleeves are not always visible. She was actually
:24:23. > :24:25.quite a conservative dresser, but nevertheless she kept it there and
:24:26. > :24:29.she wanted it to be a reminder that, you know, that was her past, and she
:24:30. > :24:33.had gone through what she had gone through. It was extremely difficult
:24:34. > :24:36.for her to come to terms with it but she felt it was an important symbol
:24:37. > :24:42.to remind people of what she had gone through, but also of France's
:24:43. > :24:45.role in that. And that led her to never really understand how
:24:46. > :24:50.countries could have animosity against each other. I guess she was
:24:51. > :24:54.quite visionary. She was pro-Europe. Yes, and she was a member of the
:24:55. > :24:57.European Parliament, elected, in fact the president of the European
:24:58. > :25:01.Parliament. She was passionately pro-European. She campaigned when
:25:02. > :25:09.France had a referendum in 2005, she campaigned for the draft European
:25:10. > :25:15.constitution, so she was really kind of committed to Europe, all to her
:25:16. > :25:19.career as well, as, you know, guided both by her own personal experiences
:25:20. > :25:25.but by the war between countries that she wanted never to happen
:25:26. > :25:29.again. The Economist's Sophie Peder they're speaking to me about the
:25:30. > :25:32.legacy of Simone Veil, who has passed away.
:25:33. > :25:35.Before we go, news of a return home for a rare sea
:25:36. > :25:40.This turtle had been found washed up on a beach on the island
:25:41. > :25:49.It's being taken to Gran Canaria where she's expected to be set free.
:25:50. > :25:51.The animal, nicknamed Menai, is an Olive Ridley turtle,
:25:52. > :25:53.which are usually found in warmer waters near the equator.
:25:54. > :25:57.It is the first such turtle to have been reported in UK waters
:25:58. > :25:58.since records began almost 200 years ago.
:25:59. > :26:17.Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some
:26:18. > :26:19.Good evening. The weekend is upon us and driver the