16/12/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, I am

Chris Rogers, a top stories: as

South Africa's ruling ANC party

decides on its next leader, Jacob

Zuma warns of challenges ahead and

the need to unite.

The fourth

national conference is taking place

at a time when our movement is at a

crossroads.

The new Austrian leader

outlines his programme with his far

right coalition partner. He says he

will be pro EU but tougher on

illegal immigration. Romania's last

monarch, forced to abdicate by the

common to leadership 70 years ago,

is buried with full state honours in

Bucharest.

Hello and welcome to World News

Today. South African President Jacob

Zuma has warned that the ruling

African National Congress is at a

crossroads. He was speaking as

delegates met to choose a successor

as party leader. We can look at the

main contenders to succeed him. They

are deputy present Cyril Ramaphosa

and and a former Cabinet minister,

Dr Dlamini-Zuma. President Zuma's

called for an end to party

infighting. Fergal Keenan has more.

-- Fergal Keane.

Not since the ANC came to power

23 years ago

has so much depended

on the votes of its party members.

An organisation that held together

through more than eight decades

of white rule

is now bitterly divided.

They sing the same song

but support very different visions.

This conference isn't

just about the future

of a liberation movement,

a political party.

It's about the future

of this country.

Will the ANC elect

a new leader who has promised

to sweep away corruption?

The ANC has always been

good at shows of unity,

like the clasped hands

of the two contenders.

They are both vying

for delegates' votes.

Who would you like to see?

Zuma.

She will become the president.

You will see, you will see.

You can see, look at the numbers!

Who do you think will

be the next leader?

Cyril Ramaphosa, no doubt.

Cyril Ramaphosa to be

the next president of the ANC

and the Republic of South Africa.

Dr Dlamini-Zuma is a politician

in her own right

but also the ex-wife of Jacob Zuma.

Cyril Ramaphosa could prove his

nemesis if he makes good

on his anti-corruption rhetoric.

Cyril Ramaphosa has been

portrayed as the puppet

of greedy white business,

hence this swipe in his speech.

We need to find ways of protecting

the ANC from corporate greed

and ensure that

the decisions we take

are informed by the policies of

the ANC, and are not dictated by...

are not dictated to by

business interests.

Africa's oldest liberation

movement is fraying,

even in the face of

poignant pleas for unity.

Whoever is elected leader tomorrow

will inherit a party in crisis.

Fergal Keane,

BBC News, Johannesburg.

The man who'll be Austria's next

Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz,

has said he'll lead a government

that's clearly in favour

of the European Union.

But he urged it to strengthen

Europe's borders to limit

illegal immigration.

Mr Kurz was speaking

alongside his new coalition partner,

Heinz-Christian Strache,

who heads the far-right,

anti-immigrant Freedom Party.

Bethany Bell has more from Vienna.

Austria has a new government, and it

is right wing. Sebastian Kurz of the

peoples party has done a deal with

the far right traditionally

Eurosceptic freedom party. But he

says his government will be strongly

pro EU.

TRANSLATION:

We have agreed on April

European outlook with the aim of

strengthening subsidiarity in the

European Union. A European Union

which should be stronger on the big

issues and holds itself back on

small issues.

While the parties do

not always agree on Europe, they

both taken a hard line on migrants.

The Freedom Party leader said the

new government would crack down on

illegal immigration and cut benefits

for refugees.

TRANSLATION:

The minimum income for

asylum seekers will be reduced to

365 euros per month, and those being

integrated into society will receive

an integration bonus in the amount

of 155 euros. Primary care for

asylum seekers will be more

supported, with material and runs

than before.

The Freedom Party is

the junior partner in this

coalition, but it has come away with

some significant posts. The

interior, defence and foreign

ministers. It has been a significant

player in Austrian politics for

years, but it has been troubled by

its past. It was formed by former

Nazis in the 1950s. These days it

routinely expels or suspends party

members who veered towards neo-Nazi

ideology. The Freedom Party has

towns down some of its more extreme

rhetoric in recent years, but many

observers believe it has helped to

set a right-wing agenda not just

here in Austria but across Europe.

Bethany Bell, BBC News, Vienna.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news.

The head of the Argentine navy has

been sacked over the disappearance

of a submarine last month. It is

thought to have exploded in the

Atlantic. The submarine has not been

located despite an international

search operation.

Authorities in California have

issued new evacuation orders

as a huge wildfire flares up again

in Santa Barbara County.

Meteorologists said fresh

northerly winds were likely

to drive the flames

towards the Pacific coast.

The blaze, which has been

named the Thomas Fire,

is now the third-largest

since reliable records began.

South Korea's spy agency says

North Korea appears

to be behind hacking attacks

on the South's

cryptocurrency exchanges.

At least $7 million

in digital money was stolen.

The thieves also stole the personal

information of 30,000 people.

A full state funeral for Romania's

last monarch, King Michael,

has been held in Bucharest.

Thousands of people turned out

to watch the cortege pass

through the streets of the capital.

King Michael, who died last

week at the age of 96,

was forced to abdicate

by Romania's Communist leaders

nearly 70 years ago.

Our central Europe correspondent

Nick Thorpe reports.

He only ruled for ten of his 96

years, but King Michael of Romania

has been given a farewell fit

for a national hero.

Tens of thousands of Romanians lined

the streets of Bucharest

as his coffin was carried on a gun

carriage from the former royal

palace to the patriotic or cathedral

of the Orthodox Church.

Michael came from the German house

of Hohenzollern and as a third

cousin of Queen Elizabeth.

The King's five daughters

and royalty from all over Europe

attended the funeral Mass,

including Britain's Prince Charles

and former King Juan Carlos

and Queen Sofia of Spain.

Michael came to the throne

for the first time when he was only

five years old in 1927.

Since then, he was the contemporary

of 16 US presidents and eight Popes.

He's best known for switching

Romania from the Nazi

to the Allied side during

the Second World War in 1944.

Forced to abdicate in 1947

by Romania's Communist rulers,

he lived most of his life

in exile in Switzerland.

From the cathedral,

the coffin was taken back

through the streets of Bucharest

to the Baneasa railway station.

The large crowds reminded people of

the fall of communism. There was a

sense of regret that the monarchy

had not been restored then.

TRANSLATION:

It is very sad, sad

that the king was not able to be in

Romania, we missed this opportunity

twice, when we chased out in 1947,

then in 1990. Without him, we have

lost dignity, education and common

sense. Maybe we will wake up now.

TRANSLATION:

It is important to pay

final tribute to His Majesty,

because on top of the national

tributes, he represents a personal

example of depth, dignity, refusal

to compromise, and a love of

country.

From the cathedral,

the coffin was taken back

through the streets of Bucharest

to the Baneasa railway station.

From there, he was carried slowly

on the royal train

on his final journey

to the Orthodox monastery

at Curtea de Arges, in the foothills

of the Carpathian Mountains,

to be buried beside his wife,

his father and grandfather.

After another church service,

attended only by close family and

dignitaries, King Michael was

finally laid to rest in the royal

crypt of the monastery beside his

wife, his father and his

grandfather.

Police investigating the deaths

of a 75-year-old Canadian

billionaire and his wife say

the circumstances appear suspicious.

Barry Sherman, who founded

a major pharmaceutical company,

was found dead with his wife Honey

at their mansion in Toronto.

Reports say there was

no sign of forced entry.

One of Toronto's richest suburbs,

a house for sale.

In the basement, a discovery -

two bodies, a man and a woman.

Barry Sherman and his wife Honey,

one of the richest couples

in the country.

Police cannot yet say what happened.

The circumstances of their death

lead us to believe

that there may be

suspicious circumstances.

It is an investigative tool.

Until we know exactly how they died,

we treat it as suspicious.

Barry Sherman, who was 75,

is thought to be worth

more than £2 billion.

He made his money

in pharmaceuticals,

setting up Apotex in the 1970s,

and building it

into one of the biggest drugs

companies in the world.

Stepping down as chief executive

in 2012,

he dedicated himself

to charity work.

Today, Canadian premier Justin

Trudeau said that he and his wife

sent their condolences

to the Shermans' family and friends

and everyone touched

by their vision and spirit.

This woman, an employee,

still could not believe the news.

People looked up to him.

People are in shock, crying.

They are genuinely heartbroken.

For now, the investigation continues

into two deaths which leave

the community in shock

and a family in mourning.

Angus Crawford, BBC News.

Yes, this just in, a draft

resolution is being circulated at

the United Nations Security Council

which would declare that any

unilateral decision on the status of

Jerusalem would have no legal

effect. The measure proposed by

Egypt comes, of course, after

President Trump's announcement that

the United States recognises

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,

and he wants to put the American

Embassy there and move it from Tel

Aviv. I'm joined now by David Willis

in Washington, what will be the

ramifications of this resolution, if

it is signed and agreed, David?

Well, this resolution was tabled by

Egypt. It doesn't specifically

mention President Trump or the Trump

administration, but it is clearly

aimed at the recent decision by the

resident to do as you were just

saying, recognise Israel, Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel, and to

move the US Embassy there. Now, in

this draft resolution, tabled by

Egypt, it stresses that Jerusalem is

any student to be resolved through

negotiations, as it puts it, and

expresses a deep regret at a recent

decisions concerning the status of

Jerusalem. It goes on to affirm that

any decisions and actions which

purports to have altered the

character, status or demographic

composition of Jerusalem have no

legal effect and are thus null and

void.

David, thank you for that

update, more on that story and of

course reaction as well here on the

BBC. Stay with us, still to come,

the skeleton of a rare woolly

mammoth that sold for hundreds of

thousands of dollars. We will tell

you more.

After eight months on the run,

Saddam Hussein has been captured by

American forces...

Saddam Hussein is

finished, because he killed our

people, our women, our children.

The

signatures took only a few minutes

but brought a formal end to three

and a half years of conflict that

has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

Before an audience of world leaders,

the presidents of Bosnia, Serbia and

Croatia put their names to the peace

agreement.

The Romanian border was sealed and

silent today. Romania has cut itself

off from the outside world in order

to prevent the details of the

presumed massacre from leaking out.

From sex at the White House to a

trial for his political life, the

Lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed

Bill Clinton his place in history as

only the second president ever to be

impeached.

This is BBC World News Today.

The latest headlines: the South

African ruling ANC party decides on

its next leader, President Jacob

Zuma warns of huge challenges and

macro and of the need to unite. The

new Austrian leader has outlined his

pro EU plans but says he will be

tougher on illegal immigration.

Hugh Woozencroft has all the sport.

European cup holders Real Madrid

have won their second straight world

club title, their fifth piece of

silverware this year. They took and

1-0 over South American champions

Gremio of Brazil thanks to a free

kick from Cristiano Ronaldo in a

match in Abu Dhabi. It means they

equalled the record three titles won

by Barcelona. High-flying Manchester

City Abbie Eaton Tottenham 4-1 to

increase their lead at the top of

the English Premier League to a

massive 14 points. -- have beaten.

It extends their winning sequence to

16 straight matches. Raheem Sterling

scored twice. It didn't matter that

Gabriel Jesus missed a penalty.

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne

were also on target.

We don't

believe the best way to defend is

going back, we don't believe that.

We have to believe that you have to

feel we will be going forward to

take the ball, and after that to try

to tackle as best as possible. But

we did last season, since the

beginning, but of course we need

sometimes some time, because we play

with new players. Sometimes you need

more time.

Antonio Conte's Chelsea

stay third in the table after a 1-0

win at Southampton. Marcos Alonso

scored the only goal of the game,

Chelsea have won aid of their last

ten Premier League matches. Arsenal

have moved up to fourth after a 1-0

win against Newcastle at the

Emirates, Mesut Ozil scored with a

stunning strike in the first. The

defeat means Newcastle dropped into

relegation zone.

We did well, we had

chances to draw, and it is a pity,

because in the end we are learning,

we have this situation in some games

that we have just one goal behind,

and then we have to improve quickly

and to be sure we can get these

trawls or wins, because we are

making a great effort, the players

are working so hard, and it is a

pity.

Elsewhere in the Premier

League...

Inter Milan have been beaten for the

first time in the league, 3-1 at the

San Siro by Udinese...

Australia will start in a dominant

position on day four, when the third

Ashes Test resumes in Perth in just

over six hours' time.

They're 549-4 in their first

innings, a lead of 146,

with captain Steve Smith

still there on 229

and Mitchell Marsh unbeaten on 181.

England must avoid defeat if they're

to keep the series alive.

We have got two more days to play,

of course it is going to be tough,

but we had opportunities in the last

game, and in the previous game,

so we have had opportunities,

we just haven't been good enough,

or they have been better

in the tough moments and have taken

the games away from us.

But we have two days to go,

and we have to believe we can

fight hard and make sure

there is still a contest

to keep going.

Oh, look, they are obviously tired,

it is hard work, and you walk off

the ground very tired and sore. I am

not sure we have broken their

spirit, but we have put ourselves in

a very good position to know win

this match if we can bat well

tomorrow.

That is all the sport for

now, the rest of the stories are

available on the BBC website.

As we've heard, South Africa's

governing African National Congress

is holding a conference

where delegates will choose

a new leader to succeed

President Jacob Zuma.

To gauge wider public

opinion in South Africa,

we asked a teacher, a singer,

a student and a janitor

what their message would be

to their next leader.

Ready when you are!

I am a musician,

I play folk music, I think I am a

storyteller first and foremost, so

the music right now is exploring

ideas of protest and belonging and

identity in South Africa.

# Waiting to break black bodies

begin... #

As a young person and a young

mother, the corruption issues that

have been plaguing the ANC and, you

know, that have just become almost

normal, the fact that these things

happen at such high levels but have

now become the culture of how people

do things, even at local levels, you

can just see this way of living

trickling into every single

institution, almost like a cancer.

My message to the ANC is to stamp

out corruption and to put the people

first and not bow down to the needs

of big business.

I am Andy, a social worker, and I am

25 years old. I have grown up in a

South Africa which values her

identity but also the next person

beside her, understanding that we

are all equal. Different as we are,

but we are all equal. My message for

the ANC is whoever gets to lead this

country, remember, we have come a

long way separated, but here we are

now, the rainbow nation, it is up to

you now to take what actually binds

us as a country and give us

direction as to the way we can go

and flourish as a country.

My name

is Samir, I am a student. I was born

in 1994, all I have ever known is an

ANC government. I am just working on

an essay about the race and class

debate. I think that a lot of the

ANC members have lost their way and

sort of lost what should be the true

aim of the party, which is to help

the people of South Africa,

especially the poorest. My message

to the ANC and the next leader of

the party would be to focus on free

education and pushing through that

policy.

The views of South Africans

and the next leader of the ANC,

whoever that is.

Now to the skeleton of a woolly

mammoth which lived 10,000 years ago

and has now sold at auction in

France for nearly $600,000.

It may be staggeringly big and

staggeringly old, but it has lost

none of its grace. A 15,000

-year-old woolly mammoth skeleton

has been sold at auction in France.

The ice age beast was found complete

and frozen in Siberia about ten

years ago and was kept by a hunter.

It retains 80% of its original bone.

TRANSLATION:

Here, you have an

exceptional specimen, first because

of its size, it is a very big one,

five .4 metres in length, 3.5 metres

in height, three metre tasks, a

gigantic weight of 160 kilograms.

This is very important. In general,

we find much smaller specimens.

It

is believed to have been about 50

years old when it died, weighing

nearly a tonne. It is a red sale of

the largest land mammal of all time.

Auctioneers sold another woolly

mammoth skeleton in 2012 for around

$370,000. This time, the budget

needed excluded many private

museums. The deep pockets of a

Strasbourg based construction

company won the lot for around

$644,000. A record price for a

mammoth skeleton.

TRANSLATION:

Since our logo is a

mammoth, we couldn't do anything

else but by.

The company has deep

pockets and plenty of room.

We will

put him at the firm's headquarters,

we have enough space.

It becomes the

largest of the species in the hands

of a private owner, the auctioneers

say. The giant that stood alongside

early man captivating it once more.

Rhodri Davies, BBC News.