14/08/2017 World News Today

More than 300 are feared dead after a hillside collapses

Residents use their bare hands to pull bodies from the mud.

Donald Trump, finally, explicitly condemns

white supremacists - in his second statement

on the violent protests in Charlottesville Virginia.

Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals

and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists.

70 years after the end of British colonial rule in India, we bring

How do you live in Pakistan, ASCII high hopes of independence have been

fulfilled. -- asking if the high hopes of independence have been

fulfilled. A sound

we won't hear for four years - from next week Big Ben will be

silent while repairs take place. Hello and welcome

to World News Today. More than 300 people

are feared dead and others remain trapped after a huge mudslide

in the West African After heavy rains, an entire

hillside on the outskirts of the capital Freetown collapsed

before sunrise, leaving many homes Around 250 bodies have

been recovered so far. As our diplomatic correspondent

James Robbins reports, this is a country still recovering

from the ebola crisis Snatched video on a mobile phone

shows a torrent of mud and water carrying away

everything in its path. This driver risked his life

on a bridge all but overwhelmed Freetown is an overcrowded,

coastal city. About 250 bodies have

it has few defences They come every year but not usually

with quite such ferocity. been recovered so far,

the authorities fear there could be many more trapped in

the ruins of houses. I went down to the spot myself

and you could see people using their bare hands,

pulling up corpses The road itself is a disaster area,

the road is almost impassable. There are massive rocks and this

area, called Mount Sugarloaf, caved in in the early hours of this

morning and it has covered literally Hundreds of people are feared

dead under the rubble. There are some ambulances parked

here, but it is becoming a recovery The victims in Sierra Leone are

among the world's poorest people. Survivors risking everything

to salvage a few possessions, trying to hang on to whatever

they can despite the rising water. Two days after a women

was held in the American city of Charlottesville during a rally

by white supremacists, Donald Trump has spoken out

against racist violence. It follows a huge outcry

at his area statement In a statement at the White House,

the President finally named the far Our North America editor

Jon Sopel reports. The president has returned to

Washington from holiday this morning to meet the director of the FBI

and the Attorney General following Meanwhile in the University of

Virginia town, there were scuffles outside the court

where James Alex Fields appeared this morning on murder

charges after a car ploughed The President's everyone's

to blame response and silence since led to a firestorm

of criticism so why has Donald Trump been so unusually

tongue tied over this? While the number of fully paid-up

white supremacists may be relatively small, the number

who have sympathies is probably far They were among the most vociferous

supporters of him last November. Certainly, his surrogates have

condemned the far right but Today, 48 hours on,

a marked shift in language from the

embattled president. Racism is evil and those who cause

violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK,

neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant

to everything we hold dear We are a nation founded

on the truth, that all of us are We are equal in the

eyes of our Creator. We are equal under the law

and we are equal under But this was too little,

too late for Ken Frazier. Today, the boss of one of America's

pharmaceutical companies resigned from the President's

industry forum saying: Within minutes, Donald Trump fired

back at this prominent Donald Trump has bent to criticism,

something that has not happened often, but it has left many asking,

why didn't he deliver these remarks The BBC's Gary

O'Donogue is in Washington. Let's take a look

at some of the other The World Health

Organisation says the number of suspected cases of cholera

in Yemen has reached 500,000. Almost 2,000 people have died

since the end of April. A WHO statement said

an estimated 5,000 new cases The epidemic comes against

the background of Yemen's civil war, and the country's collapsing health

service is struggling to cope. Burkina Faso's

president has condemned what he called a despicable

and cowardly terrorist attack At least 18 people died and ten

wounded when two assailants The authorities say the two gunmen

were killed, and that the dead include at least seven Burkinabe

nationals and eight foreigners. Officials say more than 175

people have died and thousands have fled their homes as monsoon floods

wreak havoc in Nepal, In Nepal, officials say several

settlements are unreachable and the casualty figure could rise

as the extent of the In Bangladesh at least 20 people

have been killed and thousands displaced Bangladesh

after river waters flooded The man who dominated international

chess in the 1980s and 90s is coming out of retirement to take part in a

turn and in the US. He was famed for his thorough preparation and

attacking style and became champion in 1985, beating the Soviet trash

champion. He held onto that title for 15 years. He has tweeted, "Ready

to see if I remember how to move the pieces". Going back to the story

about Donald Trump ayes reaction to the events in Charlottesville at the

weekend. He was under pressure to make a statement and he did make a

pretty explicit statement. These were strong words. The language was

very clear. He named those groups that people had called on him to

name, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi sympathisers, white supremacists. He

called them criminals and thugs. He went about as far as people had

asked him to go. To that extent, this will be welcomed by friends and

for the like. It's not the first thing he has said is matter. The

initial statement he made on Saturday immediately after the

violence in Charlottesville talked about violence on many sides. That

is something that upset people, costing a lot of grief, anger and

outrage. And a lot of suspicion that Donald Trump was trying to avoid

upsetting those far right groups in particular. We have today is a

written statement delivered in front of reporters, no questions, turned

on his heel, went out and didn't answer anything shouted at him.

Let's see what he says in the coming days when does those characteristic

of peace, ad-libbed moments. If we get the same sort of thing then,

people will believe him. The moment we have two Donald Trump, sets of

apparent views or approaches to what happened and people want to know

which one he really believes. Just listening to his statement, which

you say was delivered from script, I heard him use the phrase no resource

will be spared, so I is a buzz before the asking what the follow-up

is here on racist brutality? The FBI are involved. The Justice Department

will be involved. That is why the Attorney General and the incoming

director of the FBI were with the president this morning when he came

back from New Jersey for these meetings. There will be those

investigations. We have had the court appearance this morning of the

main suspect. He has been denied bail. He is facing a charge of

secondary degree murder as well as other charges, too. I think the

tragedy itself of Charlottesville is one thing, the political aspect to

it has given it a toxicity. It has touched a nerve in American society

and politics. It's incredibly raw. It goes back decades and decades.

Right back to the Civil War and the struggles for emancipation. This is

something that still a very real issue and problem in modern-day

America. Given that, Gary, do you sense some relief in the White House

that Donald Trump has done what many politicians would call the decent

thing today glove well, I don't think he would have done this today

if he hadn't had some pretty strong and united unified advice that this

was the right way to go. He's not to changing his mind in that sense or

at least acknowledging that he was wrong are being told what to do.

This is a pretty substantial flip-flop in terms of the language

and the sentiment. I think the view will have been taken that this is

doing enormous damage, this is again distracting from the main agenda.

You will notice that very odd moment at the beginning of the statement

where he talked about the economy for 30 seconds or a minute and then

suddenly launched into this business about Charlottesville. That didn't

feel quite right. They will be telling him, if you want get back on

your agenda, tax cuts, infrastructure, investment, these

kinds of things. Going down these political rabbit holes, toxic issues

is not the way to did. Thank you for bringing us right up to date.

This week - India and Pakistan mark 70 years

of independence from Britain that came after almost 200

There have been celebrations in Pakistan today to

mark the anniversary - tomorrow India will do the same.

Seven decades ago, after months of political deadlock,

Britain agreed to divide the country in two.

The Muslim-majority state of Pakistan was created,

to the west and east of India - with Muslims travelling

in one direction, Hindus and Sikhs in the other.

It triggered one of the great calamities of the modern era,

perhaps the biggest movement of people -

outside war and famine - that the world has ever seen.

Around 12 million people are thought to have fled

the violence that erupted, with communities

A million people are thought to have died.

Reeta Chakrabarti is in Lahore in Pakistan for us.

Despite that very violent beginning, the centre of Lahore has all day

felt like a giant street party with horns and flags and of course

fireworks. Pakistanis are celebrating two things, the end of

British colonial rule and also be splitting off from India. Pakistan

was created by the homeland for the subcontinent's Muslims, but a debate

has been going on in this country for quite some time now about what

sort of country it should be. I've been looking at the hopes of the

country putts founding father, Muhammed Jinnah, and looking at how

different the his vision is being funded today. -- interpreted today.

In Pakistan's former capital, Karachi, Muhammed Jinnah's

home is preserved with care and reverence.

Muhammed Jinnah led the creation of Pakistan,

but today his legacy is hotly contested.

Just what sort of nation did he envisage?

Muhammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor general.

As the British left Colonial India, Muhammed Jinnah was desperate

to secure the rights of the Muslim population.

The answer was a separate state, Pakistan.

Our object should be peace within and peace without.

But peace seems often to have eluded this nation, both within

Poverty and security remain major issues, and the debate

For this leading politician, Muhammed Jinnah's

was for a secular Pakistan, one that hasn't

I think Mr Jinnah would still be looking at

moving us forward if he were here today.

He made it very clear, it tolerated all religions, but we

haven't seen exactly the epitome of moral inclusion that he sought.

That's because others see Islam as central

The Constitution, they say, is Islamic

in nature, and successive governments have failed to

What otherwise was the point, they ask, of creating Pakistan?

TRANSLATION: Muhammed Jinnah rebelled and struggled against

There was secularism already in India, but the Hindu,

British, Muslim identity was at risk.

That is why he made Pakistan - an independent Islamic state.

But others say Pakistan's real problem is not religion, but

Its might is on display every evening at the border with India,

with troops strutting and goose-stepping in a full-blooded

Over a third of Pakistan's 70 years have been under

What would Muhammed Jinnah have made of that?

Because the military was supposed be a

subordinate organisation to politics.

So I think he never, never could have imagined that the

military would have played such an important role, and would have

He will be turning in his grave if he came to know of that.

Muhammed Jinnah's resting place is this

magnificent mausoleum in Karachi, a fitting tribute

He bequeathed to his people self-government and a democracy, but

Pakistan still struggles with what its true identity might be.

Along with independence came partition, with shocking violence on

both sides. Our Pakistan corresponded has been speaking to

people who fought, people who fled and people who helped shelter

potential victims from slaughter. In 1947 as British colonial rule

ended, India was divided Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims who had

lived in relative peace Amongst those involved

in the violence was Mohammad Akram, He helped attack a Hindu politician

who had been calling for calm TRANSLATION: Someone struck him

on the head with a brick. "Whoever doesn't hit him,

isn't a real man!" Me and the rest of the crowd

beat him to death. Do you ever regret your

role in the killing? TRANSLATION: Our people

were being murdered. Up to one million people

were killed in 1947. Many of the most brutal attacks

were on the trains carrying refugees into and out of Pakistan,

across the divided Naseem is the eldest of five

generations of her family living The train she and her five-day-old

baby were travelling on to Pakistan TRANSLATION: We hid

under the luggage. They came on board, slashing

everyone, cutting their faces, There were piles

and piles of bodies. Naseem lost nearly all her immediate

family in the unrest. The horrors she witnessed

continue to haunt her. TRANSLATION: The fear

never leaves you. I still clearly remember

how they used to strip Even now, I feel scared,

that any time someone Atrocities were committed by both

sides across the country. Even here in these peaceful

valleys north of Islamabad, But amidst the horror,

there were heroes, too. Mehboob and his father secretly

hid their Sikh neighbours TRANSLATION: One night,

there was a knock on our door. She said, "For the love

of God, save us. Mehboob is proud of what

he and his family did. He remembers fondly the time

when Sikhs and Muslims In Pakistan though, many prefer

to look to the future, But each anniversary of partition,

there are fewer left Sikander Kermani,

BBC News, Islamabad. There is optimism in present-day

Pakistan, particularly among younger people who see opportunities opening

up for them. But there are challenges, too. Only last month,

the Prime Minister was forced to resign over corruption charges and

security remains a major issue, with two bomb attacks in the last few

weeks. One here in Lahore, another in the night of the country. That is

set from Pakistan. Tomorrow, I'll be reporting from India. As that

country celebrates its 70th birthday. For now, from a very

festive lot poorer, it's back to you. -- Lahore.

Thanks, Reeta, and you can also visit our website

for more information on the partition.

You'll find personal stories of horror and humanity,

told for the first time to BBC from people who went

More now on our top story. Welcome to BBC News. Have you seen Mount

Sugarloaf are what is left of it for yourself? We went past the area

where Mount Sugarloaf is this morning. We happened to be going on

a mission when you're driving through the region, the community

were meant Sugarloaf is. Basically, there was a lot of rain. It was

raining very heavily. We noticed a woman running towards the main road,

gesticulating and crying bitterly. She ran towards a woman on a bike in

front of her. After a brief conversation, we noticed something

had happened and something was seriously wrong. Not long after

that, we had a man also running towards the road and a pushover

vehicle, crying desperately, telling us something had happened. He was

afraid that many lives had been lost from a landslide that happened that

morning. Basically, this is when he contacted our offices to inform us

there was something wrong in the area. Do you think it's probably

right to say that hundreds of people have died here? It is difficult to

say right now, but at the moment, based on the information coming from

the morgue, over 300 lives had been lost and there are still report of

bodies scattered around certain areas in the city. We are really

concerned. Our biggest concern is for the children, who really have no

clue what is scoring on. We don't all her many have been lost during

this tragedy. One of the factors that the vice president has raised

is that some of this is possibly due to illegal building, a huge amount

of pressure on this and other cities. Would that time in with what

you know? In many ways, yes. There are a lot of settlement in those

fields. We know that with regards to Charlottesville, there have been a

lot of migration over time. -- Freetown. Of course, in terms of

those hills with the kind of rain we tend to get over this period of

time, in the year, it is more at risk because the homes are not very

safe. There are a number of forests on the hills and the land is

becoming more and more insecure. We are seriously concerned that a lot

of lives may have been lost in this tragedy. Much like what are you able

to do with putter Save the Children, I suppose you're trying to look

after those who have survived? At the moment, we're in discussions

with the office of national and of course we have partnership with the

Government to plan the way forward. Already we have an emergency plan in

place, where we are going to be looking at how we can support the

communities in that area. But also with regards to protection and

medication. The immediate concern right now is how to reach out to

this community and trying to see how we can support with regards to

finding children, identifying children who may have been lost, and

to try and see whether we can start working on getting these children

back with their parents or with their families. That is our concern

right now. I can tell you're really busy and we appreciate your time in

telling us something about what is happening there in Freetown.

Here in Britain, the bongs of London's Big Ben will fall silent

next week for four years so that major conservation work can be

The chimes will still be used however, for important national

events such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday,

The silence is designed to protect the workers who will be working

around the famous bell. Don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some