24/11/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today.

I'm Alpa Patel.

Our top stories.

More than 230 people

have been killed in

a militant attack in Egypt.

Gunmen stormed a crowded mosque

in the Sinai peninsula

during Friday prayers.

The Egyptian president has vowed

to respond with brute force -

saying the army and police

would avenge the victims.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has been sworn

in as Zimbabwe's new president -

three days after the resignation

of Robert Mugabe.

I will devote myself to

the well-being of Zimbabwe and its

people.

So help me God.

APPLAUSE

Also on the show -

Oscar Pistorius' jail sentence has

been more than doubled

by a South African court.

The Paralympic athlete had initially

been sentenced to six years

for the murder of his girlfriend

Reeva Steenkamp.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

A deadly terror attack.

The number of people killed

in Egypt, where militants have

attacked a mosque has

risen to at least 235.

Egypt's President has promised to

respond with brute force to the

militants. It happened in a remote

town in northern Sinai

militants. It happened in a remote

town in northern Sinai. Militants

entered the mosque with guns and a

bomb during Friday prayers. It is

the deadliest attack yet in the

three year insurgency.

James Landale has the latest.

A warning that there are distressing

images in his report.

These were some of the chaotic

scenes after the attack,

as hundreds of wounded people

were rushed to nearby hospitals.

Survivors of one of the most deadly

attacks on civilians in Egypt.

Witnesses said the militants stormed

the mosque in northern Sinai

and exploded a bomb inside.

They said around 40 gunmen then

fired on worshippers

as they tried to flee.

They came here to kneel in prayer.

Instead, they lay down in death.

President Sisi sent his condolences

to the families of those who had

died and said the attack would only

increase Egypt's determination

to face up to terrorism.

Many of the dead and wounded

were said to be Sufi Muslims,

whose brand of Islam is rejected

by jihadi extremists.

But a mass attack on a mosque,

with such devastating consequences,

is very rare in Egypt.

This is unprecedented.

I can't see any particular

imperative behind it

in the slightest.

You haven't had this sort

of attack take place before.

You've seen the rhetoric about Sufis

and Sufism from these radical groups

for years but you've never seen

an attack like this.

The militants have long targeted

religious opponents such

as Coptic Christians,

particularly by mounting

attacks on their churches.

They've also killed civilians who

work with the authorities in Sinai.

Until tonight, Egypt's deadliest

terror attack was the downing

of a Russian passenger jet over

Sinai in October 2000 and 15.

IS said they were behind the bombing

that killed 224 people,

but so far no one has claimed

responsibility for today's

attack, which has now left

even more people dead.

James Landale, BBC News.

Let's get more from our

correspondent Sally Nabil

who is in Cairo for us.

With so many injured, many

critically, there is the possibility

that the death toll could rise.

Yes. This is true. It is highly

likely that the death toll could

rise in the next few hours, because

as you said, many of those injured

are in a quite critical condition.

Just a short while ago some judicial

sources and frantic experts said

that the militants were armed with

automatic rifles and rocket

propelled grenades. What we know is

that a group of militants walked

into the mosque and they started

shooting randomly at every person

they saw. There was a different

group in the street shooting at

passers-by. They even targeted

ambulance cars that rushed to the

scene to save people. This is by far

an unprecedented attack whether in

terms of scale or in terms of style.

Militants have been operating in the

Sinai peninsula for quite some time.

Oh dear. We have lost Sally from

Cairo so unfortunately we will have

to move on.

Zimbabwe has a new president.

Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn

in a few hours ago, in a ceremony

watched by tens of thousands

in the national stadium

in the capital Harare.

And that of course marks

the end of the Mugabe era.

Robert Mugabe, who had been

in power for 37 years,

was officially "too tired"

to attend the ceremony.

Our Zimbabwe Correspondent,

Shingai Nyoka, reports.

The changing of the guard

in Zimbabwe, and long-time leader

Robert Mugabe was not

there to witness it.

But newly-elected President

Emmerson Mnangagwa does

not need his blessing.

I, Emmerson Mnangagwa...

The moment Zimbabweans

have been waiting for,

the swearing in of this country's

second leader in nearly 40 years.

This is Zimbabwe's new President,

not through an election

but with the help of the military.

It caps the most dramatic two weeks

in Zimbabwe's history,

and a surprise comeback from a man

who just a fortnight ago fled

the country in fear of his life.

With Mugabe's departure,

Mnangagwa will serve

as interim President

until next year's election.

But he inherits a fragmented party

and a country broken under Mugabe's

isolationist policies.

In his inaugural speech there

was praise for his predecessor.

He led us in our struggle

for national independence.

He assumed responsibilities

of leadership at a formative

and a very challenging time,

at the behest of our nation.

That is to be lauded and celebrated.

But also a pledge to

break from the past.

I am not oblivious to the many

Zimbabweans from our political,

ethnic and racial divides,

who have helped make this day.

So what do we know

about Emmerson Mnangagwa?

Jailed for ten years in 1965,

he met Mugabe in prison.

There, the two men formed

a close association.

After independence in 1980,

he became Mugabe's right-hand man.

In 1983, he was implicated

in the mass murder of thousands

of opposition supporters

in Matabeleland,

something he denies.

More recently, he was accused

of orchestrating a violent crackdown

on opposition supporters.

Those who are very close to him say

that he listens more than he speaks.

He is a soft-spoken man,

a gentleman, contrary

to what the reports say about him.

He is a God-fearing family man.

We have to give him some time

because an improvement

is something which cannot be

improved like overnight.

After two weeks of uncertainty,

Zimbabwe seems to be

returning to normal again.

No one knows what the future

holds, whether Mnangagwa

is the man to bring a new era

of democracy and freedom.

The BBC's Ben Brown is in Harare.

We heard from the new President.

What do Zimbabweans want from their

new President?

Well, I think they are looking for

change, haven't they? A new era, a

new dawn. That is what they have

been saying on the streets when they

have been out to demonstrate in. And

really, is it just words? Is it just

rhetoric from the new President?

Hard to tell at the moment but it

was a promising inaugural speech and

most people would agree. It was

statements like, inspiration at

times. It was inclusive. He said to

Zimbabweans, his audience, you, me,

all of us, together, we need to work

together to get this country back on

its feet. And he said let bygones be

bygones. He said he wanted to

represent as President is not just a

ruling clique of the political party

but the whole country. Zimbabweans

of all colours, creeds, tribes and

political persuasions. He was very

much trying to make himself as a

President who would rule for all the

country and made a lot of bold

promises, economic reform, jobs,

jobs, jobs, he talked about free and

fair elections next year as well and

stopping corruption. Of course, the

proof will be in the pudding.

Will he keep these bold promises

that he has made? He is accused of

corruption, isn't it? And some of

the worst human rights abuses under

the ruling party.

That is right. He was a henchman in

the Mugabe regime. He has, according

to its critics, he has got blood on

his hands, he has rigged elections,

he is corrupt. Those of the charges

against him. That is why I think

watching today's speech was

important to read between the lines

and see what messages he was putting

across. As I say, these messages of

inclusivity and of governing for the

whole country. And economic reform

at the heart of everything he did.

And wants to do as well. He also,

interestingly, got charisma as well

as talking about Robert Mugabe who

he said had been a great father

figure for the nation. She said let

bygones be bygones. He wanted no

retribution in terms of Mr Mugabe

who has been his great rival, and

Grace Mugabe who has been his great

rival in the past few weeks. It was

an interesting speech and a good

start but just a start. And everyone

will watch for the next few months

because technically, she is just

serving out the remainder of Mr

Mugabe's presidency, only a few

months until the next elections next

year.

Interesting times. Thank you very

much.

Thank you very much.

Authorities evacuated Oxford Street

and there was panic among them being

pedestrians. Police say they

received reports of shots being

fired in a number of locations but

officers have said they have not

found any trace of any suspects.

found any trace of any suspects.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news.

Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler has

called Iran's supreme leader

the "Hitler of the Middle East".

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

said the European experience shows

that appeasing Tehran will not work.

Saudi Arabia and Iran accuse

each other of fuelling

instability across the region.

North Korea appears to be

fortifying its border

in the Demilitarised Zone

with the South, days after a soldier

defected by running across.

A US diplomat to South Korea has

tweeted a picture showing

workers digging a trench.

The defector was shot multiple times

by border guards from the North

at this spot last week

and is still in hospital.

Moroccans are gathering to play for

rain. King Mohammed the sixth in his

official capacity and commander of

the faith called for prayers. There

has been a severe shortage of

rainfall in the last few months,

which has hit the agricultural

sector and rural employment, both

central to the country's economy.

An escaped circus tiger has been

shot dead in streets of. Members of

the public found the emergency

services around 6pm in the evening

to say they had seen the animal

loose near the river in the west of

the city. The owners shot its near a

bridge.

The Supreme Court of Appeal

in South Africa has more

than doubled the jail sentence

for murder handed out to Paralympic

athlete Oscar Pistorius.

Mr Pistorius has been given

the minimum fifteen years

for shooting his girlfriend,

Reeva Steenkamp, to death

on Valentine's Day in 2013.

The BBC's Milton Nkosi has more.

What we saw today is

the Supreme Court of Appeal

here in South Africa

overturning that six-year sentence

and increasing it all the way up to

13 and a half years

for Oscar Pistorius.

The family of Reeva

Steenkamp, who was shot on

Valentine's Day in 2013,

has already said that

that they welcome this change

in sentencing, and they said

that this shows that justice can be

achieved in South Africa.

On the other hand,

from the Oscar Pistorius

family, his brother Carl Pistorius

tweeted three words.

Shattered, heartbroken, gutted.

That summed it up, really,

for the athlete who is

still behind bars and for his

family and friends.

US actress Uma Thurman has sent out

a Thanksgiving message venting anger

at movie mogul Harvey Weinstein -

who has been accused of sexual

harrassment by dozens of women.

who has been accused of sexual

Ms Thurman said on Instagram:

"When I'm ready, I'll say

what I have to say...

Stay tuned", adding that she had

a few reasons to be angry.

Weinstein denies all allegations

of non-consensual sex.

The President of the European

Council has said the British

government's hopes of an agreement

next month to begin Brexit trade

talks remain a "huge challenge".

Following meetings with the British

Prime Minister Theresa May

in Brussels, Donald Tusk said

progress was still needed

from the UK "on all issues",

within the next 10 days.

Our deputy political editor

John Pienaar reports from Brussels.

An amicable divorce

from a roomful of partners,

but it is getting tense.

So, now Theresa May is hinting to EU

leaders, starting with Donald Tusk

in the summit chair,

that Britain might up and some say

double its offer of £20 billion

in a separation deal.

Dig deeper into the nation's purse.

If only the EU is

ready to talk trade.

Or this long goodbye could end

in tears, the last thing she wanted.

These negotiations are continuing,

but what I am clear

about is that we must

step forward together.

This is for both the UK

and the European Union to move

onto the next stage.

Brexit negotiations could,

maybe will turn to trade next month.

Leaders here need more persuasion.

Mr Juncker, are you

worried about Brexit?

Brexit is a tragedy.

I will meet the British Prime

Minister on the 3rd of December

and then we will see if there has

been sufficient progress.

Are you at all confident that

progress will be made?

Yes.

But every country must agree

to start talking trade,

and Ireland's minority government

is facing the risk

of collapse at home,

but was sounding tough here.

Suggesting Brexit talks could stall

without clear guarantees

there will be no hard

north-south Customs border.

Is Ireland prepared

to block progress?

I don't think Ireland will have

to block anything on its own.

There is absolute solidarity

across 27 countries here.

Germany is not much more supportive.

Angela Merkel was

already firm on Brexit.

Now she has her hands full

forming a new government.

She met Mrs May today,

another leader looking for more give

on the British side.

In her one-on-one talks

with the EU Council president,

no final proposals, no breakthrough

and they may not settle hard

numbers on the divorce

Bill for months to come.

But they explored the case

for more compromise.

There are still issues

across the various matters

that we are negotiating on to be

resolved, but there has been a very

positive atmosphere in the talks

and a genuine feeling

that we want to move

forward together.

Neither side wants

the Brexit talks to end in

stalemate, but without more give

and take it could happen.

And then the risk would

grow of negotiations

ending with no EU trade deal at all.

And that is the outcome business

leaders who are worried about Brexit

say they fear most.

So, more talking to do ahead

of the next big summit

next month.

The slow march of Brexit goes on.

Its course and destination

being decided one step at a time.

John Pienaar, BBC News, Brussels.

For some it is taken

for granted that if you call

an emergency number,

someone will pick up

and help will be on its way.

However in Kenya,

that's not the case.

In the capital Nairobi, alone,

there are more than 50 individual

numbers for ambulance

and fire services.

Now two entrepreneurs have come

forward with plans for a solution -

but can it help the poorerst?

Catharina Moh has more from Kenya.

When a medical emergency happens

in Nairobi, it is a real problem -

in the slums because it is hard

to access, and in the city because

it is plagued by traffic jams.

Calling for an ambulance or fire

engine is not simple because Nairobi

has no central emergency number

for its millions of residents.

And that is just in this city.

Across Kenya no central data

base actually exists

for emergency services and,

until now, they have all operated

independently so that means

if you need to call for help,

you have to call each one up one

by one and that's if you can even

find the right mobile

number for them.

It is a problem this start-up

is trying to tackle.

They're called Flare and it's run

by Caitlin and Maria.

You just take for granted

that 9/11 exists.

And we did as well.

Like, both of us have lived

here for years and had never even

considered it and we'd worked

in health and I never even thought,

what would I do in an emergency?

A

They have created an online

Uber-style platform to connect

people to the closest ambulance.

It is currently being used

to buy private hospitals.

Ambulance crews logon,

their location can then be tracked

and any hospital on the platform can

contact them, pooling resources.

The system also uses Google Map

traffic data to help emergency

workers navigate Nairobi's jams.

The response times that we have seen

have gone down from 162 minutes -

which is the average -

which is nearly three

hours, which is insane -

to about 15-20 minutes.

Hospitals and users currently

pay as subscription fee

to access the platform -

it is akin to a private concierge

for emergency services -

not something the poorest can

afford.

I do not see any elements of equity

within this package.

Why?

Number one, you are minimising

the number of times that I can be

able to be evacuated,

my family for instance.

Number two, the cost issues come in.

The people who actually

need the services are

people who are poor,

so if you cannot have access

and reach the poor, in the slum

areas, what is the value

creation for your product?

Despite the mixed reviews,

it is widely agreed that Kenya needs

better co-ordination

of its emergency services.

Something Flare is trying to do.

Catharina Moh, BBC News.

Major companies have

suspended their advertising

on YouTube after it emerged that

people have been leaving sexually

explicit comments next to videos

posted by children -

comments that hadn't

been removed by YouTube.

Adverts for major brands like Mars

and Cadbury have been appearing

alongside some of the videos.

YouTube says since this came

to light it has taken action

to remove the comments.

Our Media Editor,

Amol Rajan, reports.

YouTube has reinvented the very

idea of broadcasting,

allowing anyone with access

to the internet to create their own

channel and build a following.

The site now has a billion users

and pulls in around £4 billion in ad

revenues every year.

Users have to be 13 before they can

upload and share videos,

but millions of teenagers use

the opportunity to share their inner

thoughts with the world,

or just to have fun.

That is why and where sexual

predators often stalk them online.

These comments found by the BBC

are a fraction of the total material

on YouTube but they show how

the digital platforms have

emboldened some would-be offenders.

New research by BBC Trending,

the BBC social media

investigations unit,

has discovered that for close

to a year something went

wrong with the system

for removing obscene comments.

I am really, really concerned

that the public function reporting

isn't seemingly working.

It's something I will be writing

to YouTube about straightaway

and I will want them

to take immediate action.

Several leading brands have now

said they will suspend

their advertising on the platform

until it is further cleaned up.

Brands such as Mars,

Adidas and Lidl.

In a statement, YouTube's owners,

Google, said: "Content that

endangers children is abhorrent

and unacceptable to us.

endangers children is abhorrent

and unacceptable to us.

"In just the past week,

we've disabled comments on thousands

"of videos and shut down

hundreds of accounts

"identified as making

predatory comments".

A power broker in Britain's

advertising industry applauded

the tech giant's efforts to address

the issue but said

they should do more.

I think we have to be

incredibly diligent.

Whether they would call themselves

a platform or a publisher,

they are responsible to advertisers

I think to make sure

that the environments that they take

advertising in and make money

from are free of these dangers.

Some campaigners and indeed

politicians say that YouTube

should be regulated just

like any other broadcaster.

But the very principle of the open

Web is that users and not companies

should shape our public domain.

And the sheer volume

of content on YouTube,

400 hours of video uploading every

single minute, means that ultimately

this is an issue that would be

managed not by human beings,

but by machines.

Digital giants like Google

are adamant that social problems

in the internet age have

technological rather

than regulatory solutions.

But the prevalence of sexual

predators online is an issue that

will never be fully eradicated,

because the anarchic freedom

of the internet will always afford

them a home somewhere in cyberspace.

To fight them is to enter

a war without end.

Amol Rajan, BBC News.

The Argentine president,

Mauricio Macri says he had ordered

a thorough investigation

into what happened

to a navy submarine that disappeared

more than a week ago

in the South Atlantic.

He said it was important

to know why the vessel,

which was in good working order,

had apparently

suffered an explosion.

Mr Macri said the search

for the submarine and its forty-four

crew members would continue.

Ships and planes from Argentina,

the United States, Britain,

Chile and Brazil are involved

in the operation.

Before we go, an update

on our top story -

and President Trump is due to call

Egypt's President Sisi in just

in just over half an hour -

to "discuss the tragic terrorist

attack, with so much loss of life"

President Sisi of Egypt has vowed

to respond with an iron fist

after gunmen launched an assault

on a mosque in Sinai

and killed at least 235 people.

Addressing the nation after one

of the worst militant attacks

in its recent history,

the President promised his forces

would avenge the dead.

The assault began

during Friday prayers.

There was a bomb blast,

and then dozens of gunmen fired

on people as they tried to flee.

The mosque was popular

with Sufi worshippers,

who follow a mystical form of Islam

which extremists

regard as heretical.

Don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some

of the team on Twitter -

I'm @AlpaPatel.

that's it from me and the team.

Goodbye for now.