22/12/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today.

I'm Kasia Madera.

Our top stories.

The UN Security Council unanimously

backs tough new sanctions

against North Korea, restricting

its ability to import oil.

Today for the tenth time this

council stands united

against a North Korean regime that

rejects the pursuit of peace.

Two former Fifa bosses are found

guilty by a court in New York

of accepting millions

of dollars in bribes.

The Spanish Prime Minister says he

is ready to talk to whoever is in

charge of the regional government in

Catalonia.

And coming up...

From EU burgundy to British blue -

the UK passport is set to change

colour after Brexit.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

The United Nations

Security Council has

passed tough new sanctions

on North Korea that will cut oil

supplies vital for Pyongyang's

missile and nuclear programs.

With China's backing, the council

unanimously adopted this US draft

resolution that forces

the repatriation of North Korean

workers abroad, cutting off another

revenue stream of

Kim Jong-un's regime.

Here's what the US ambassador

to the UN, Nikki Haley had

to say a short time ago.

Today, for the tenth time,

this council stands united

against the North Korean regime that

rejects the pursuit of peace.

The Kim regime continues to defy

the resolutions of this council,

the norms of civilised behaviour

and the patience of

the international community.

Their arrogance and hostility

to anything productive

has set their country

on a destructive path.

The BBC's UN reporter

Nada Tawfik joined me earlier.

Rex Tillerson said he wanted to see

this, President Trump even called

President Xi to say he wanted oil

supplies cut off and we've seen

the Security Council bring tougher

sanctions, getting to this point.

To give a sense

of how much this will

hurt Pyongyang, in 2016

according to the US,

they got 4.5 million barrels

of refined petroleum.

Now they will get 500,000

barrels, nearly 90% cut

to what is a lifeline

for Kim Jong-un's struggling economy

and a lifeline, a vital part

of his nuclear missile programme.

Diplomats hope that

if this doesn't, as past

sanctions haven't, convince

Kim Jong-un to abandon his nuclear

programme, it will hurt his

credibility to conduct tests.

Unanimous decision at

the Security Council with the US

ambassador Nikki Haley

saying they will further put

pressure on Pyongyang if he

continues to defy resolutions.

Let's dissect the measures.

It's not just oil,

what else is involved?

Yeah, absolutely,

this actually tells

countries, especially China

and Russia, who are hosting 100,000

North Korean guest workers, tells

these countries that they have 24

months to pull them out.

The UN has described

these workers as toiling

in slave like conditions.

And the North Korean

regime heavily taxes them,

so they take most of their

earnings.

That is trying to cut off

that source of revenue.

Also trying to close

loopholes, allowing

countries to seize ships

which they think are carrying

illicit cargo from North Korea.

And it toughens some

of the major exports from North

Korea that passed

resolutions set out.

A further ban on textiles and coal

for example, two important

parts of North Korea's economy.

A mix of guilty and not guilty

verdicts have been handed down

to three former Fifa officials

accused of accepting millions

of dollars in bribes.

The trial in New York City

was part of a United States

investigation into corruption

at the football governing body.

A short time ago, I spoke

with our sports correspondent,

Richard Conway, about the verdicts.

The jury have deliberated for

the sixth day-to-day.

It came back into court a short time

after 1pm local time to tell

the judge that they had partial

verdicts on the defendants.

What they came back with after some

lengthy legal argument

is that Juan Angel Napout,

the former head of the South

American football Confederation,

he's guilty on three out of five

corruption charges that he faced.

Jose Maria Marin, the former head

of Brazilian football and another

big figure within world football,

has been found guilty on six out

of the seven counts he faced,

relating to charges such as wire

fraud, marketeering,

conspiracy and money-laundering.

The one count against Manuel Burga,

the head of the Peruvian FA,

is still undecided and the jury

will have to comeback

and continue deliberations

against Manuel Burga.

US prosecutors have pursued

this case for close

to two and a half years

following their action that launched

in May, 2015.

Remember those dramatic dawn raids

we saw in Zurich against Fifa

officials in a 5-star Hotel,

that's where this started,

42 people indicted.

These two men have pleaded not

guilty, taking it to court and now

we have partial verdicts finding two

guilty on a number of those counts.

As you say we expect

the final decision on Tuesday

for the final count.

You have followed this

for a long time, in terms

of Fifa and the future,

can this verdict, can you put

it into context for us?

Fifa was blindsided in May, 2015,

when the raids happened.

I was sat in the hotel

early in the morning

watching Jose Maria Marin,

the former head of Brazilian

football, being led away by Swiss

authorities on behalf

of their American counterparts.

He was extradited to New York

and there was shock

through the system that finally,

what many had suspected had been

going on in the game,

had caught up with it.

US authorities pursued

charges against a number

of those people, 42 in total.

24 in total have played guilty,

hoping to receive more lenient

sentences in return for cooperating.

Over the last five weeks many have

been in this court room

in Brooklyn to give evidence

against the three men.

That shows the lengths

and depths this has gone to.

Fifa says this has

nothing to do with them,

it's about South American

contracts, TV rights,

it was only because these men

were members of their organisation

that we've been dragged into it.

Some say that the tone was set

at the top and this has been

allowed to flourish.

Prosecutors will be quietly

satisfied that they've managed

to get those convictions on a number

of key charges against two men

who will return to court next week

to see if the jury can reach

a decision on the final count,

against Manuel Burga.

That final count is expected on

Tuesday.

The fourth election in as many years

in the Spanish region of Catalonia

has demonstrated just how divided

the region remains.

The party that won the most

votes doesn't support

independence for Catalonia -

but put together the separatist

parties are able to

form a slim majority.

The sacked pro-independence

Catalan leader, Carles

Puigdemont, has called

on the Spanish prime minister

to negotiate a political solution.

James Reynolds reports.

Catalonia's pro-independence voters

enjoyed their victory.

And now they want their power back.

Starting with the return

from exile of their deposed

leader, Carles Puigdemont.

But he can't just fly

back from Belgium.

He faces arrest in Spain

on the charge of rebellion.

So, from Brussels this afternoon,

Mr Puigdemont had a message

for Spain: let's talk.

We want to be an independent state.

This is the wish of

the Catalan people.

The next step is to talk

with President Mariano Rajoy.

We need to find new ways,

the political solution

for our crisis between the Spanish

state and Catalonia.

That offer doesn't

interest Spain's leader.

This afternoon, Mariano Rajoy made

it clear, if Carles Puigdemont isn't

here, he can't talk to him.

TRANSLATION:

I will have to talk

with the person who actually

occupies the office of president

of the Catalan regional government.

For this to happen, they need

to take up their seat and be

in a position to talk with me.

The crisis began months ago when

a pro-independence administration

faced off against the

government in Madrid.

There followed months

of argument, protest,

debate, emergency measures,

and then the vote.

Now, Catalans find that they are

right back to where they were

when the crisis began.

Nobody has really changed sides.

For now, the local government

headquarters here awaits

its permanent occupant.

The man who won this election can't

come to take up his old job.

The law says that all sides

now have until April

to decide what to do next.

James Reynolds, BBC News, Barcelona.

Life expectancy in the United States

has dropped for a second consecutive

year, experts say this is caused by

a worsening opioid problem. Patients

have turned to heroin and other

drugs after their prescriptions

stop.

With an increase by 28% since 2015.

More than 15,000 people died because

of a heroin overdose. We can turn to

my colleague in Washington. My

goodness, these statistics have been

described as shocking, the last time

of the US life expectancy fell

consecutively was in the 1920s.

It

was actually in the 1960s, but it is

five decades ago since we have had

that W dip. It doesn't quite

indicate a trend -- we have had that

double year dip. But they are

nervous about the figures when they

will be collating the next year. It

is worrying. It still one of the top

ten killers in America, overdoses,

things like cancer and heart disease

are way ahead of anything in terms

of the number of people they kill

but they are dropping. Overdoses

were one of the three areas that

were rising this year. Suicide is on

the rise, death from outside Mr is a

and also death from self injury --

death from Alzheimer's disease. It

is not to do with the opioids that

people were worried about in the

past, because those overdoses have

decreased, but what is happening

now, heroin is being contaminated

with synthetic opioids especially

one called fentanyl, especially in

some of the states in the middle of

the US, places like I'll hire and

West Virginia where I've been to

look at this problem. This stuff is

horrendously potent, a few grains

can kill you, some people said is

100 times stronger than heroine and

the number of people succumbing to

overdoses from that are rocketing.

Where are addicts able to get hold

of fentanyl?

It is on the street for

them they don't often know they are

taking it, because it is mixed in

and it comes in some cases from

China. There is a grim, the State 81

which runs in Baltimore to West

Virginia, they say that is the

heroin highway, and much of that

stuff comes through there into some

really quite poor communities,

post-industrial communities, where

unemployment is higher than

elsewhere, where there is not much

prospect and that can be a route

that people end up taking. Some

people go through that route after

suffering injuries and moving on

from prescription drugs and others

start taking it recreationally, very

dangerous situation. We have seen

mortality rates in the 2018-2044 age

group going through the ceiling

really -- in the 18-44 age group.

Gary, thanks for joining us. Much

more on that story on our website

but we have much more to come

including the first visit by a

British Foreign Minister to Moscow

for five years. So how did it go?

This is BBC World News Today.

The latest headlines:

The UN Security Council has

unanimously backed tough

new sanctions against North Korea,

restricting its ability

to import oil.

Two former Fifa bosses have been

found guilty by a court in New York

of accepting millions of dollars in

bribes.

The first visit by a British foreign

minister to Moscow for five years

has ended in public disagreement.

Boris Johnson accused Russia

of meddling in the UK election

and Brexit referendum.

His Russian counterpart,

foreign minister Sergei Lavrov,

responded by accusing the UK

of fabricating

allegations against it.

Our diplomatic correspondent

James Robbins reports from Moscow.

Handshakes can be deceptive.

True, this Foreign Secretary has

broken a five-year British boycott

of visits to Moscow.

But when Russia's Sergei Lavrov

says he wants a return

to business as usual,

Boris Johnson says

that's impossible.

As you rightly say, Sergei,

things are not easy

between us at the moment.

The talks aired the grievances

on both sides and examined space

for a limited cooperation,

by supporting the Iran

nuclear deal together,

and opposing the nuclear threat

from North Korea.

But deep disagreements remain.

At their joint news

conference, that was stark.

For all the attempts at banter,

there was a seriousness

when Sergei Lavrov tried to brush

off British allegations of Russian

meddling in foreign elections.

TRANSLATION:

My neighbour,

Boris Johnson, recently stated

he had no evidence that Russia

meddled in the referendum

on the withdrawal of Britain

from the European Union.

Not successfully.

Not successfully,

I think is the word.

Not successfully is the word that

I think you need to introduce.

TRANSLATION:

You see?

He is scared if he doesn't disagree

with me, his reputation will be

ruined in the media at home.

I...

Sergei, it's your reputation

I'm worried about.

But this was dark, serious humour.

When Boris Johnson was asked

if he trusted Russia's foreign

minister, he tried to make

light of that.

You know, it's a measure of my trust

that as soon as I got into this

excellent Foreign Ministry,

I immediately handed my coat,

my hat, my gloves and indeed

everything that was in my pockets,

secret or otherwise,

to Sergei Lavrov.

TRANSLATION:

I can say

there was nothing in

the pockets of Boris' coat.

So how did relations

go from bad to worse?

Russia's use of radioactive poison

to murder Alexander Litvinenko

in the middle of London

started the slide.

Three years ago, Russia's

annexation of Crimea

and interference in Ukraine,

provoked tough EU sanctions

strongly backed by Britain.

Then last month, Theresa May accused

Russia of cyber espionage

and meddling in elections.

Britain says it has cyber weaponry

to retaliate if attacks get worse.

So, striding across Red Square,

the Foreign Secretary

was no mere tourist.

He was nodding to Russia's historic

greatness, while pressing

for a radical change of direction.

Coming here to Red Square, Boris

Johnson insists he loves Russia.

He points to his name,

the fact he has Russian ancestry.

What he doesn't love

is the present Russian government.

So, paying his tribute at the tomb

of Russia's unknown soldier had

a particular symbolism.

Britain and Russia fought together

against Hitler as allies.

Restoring that closeness now

seems a long way off.

And now we can catch up with all of

the sport. It is a draw at the

moment between Arsenal and

Liverpool.

It has been a wonderful

game, festive Friday night fixture,

fifth place against fourth place in

the Premier League, it has been a

great game for the neutrals, 3-3 is

the latest score, Arsenal were

losing 2-0 on to a devastating

five-minute second-half spell where

they scored three goals to make it

3-2 but Firmino has got Liverpool

back in the game. 76 minutes on the

clock. We could have more goals at

the Emirates. Real Madrid against

Barcelona is or was a huge game but

while Barcelona are six points clear

at the top their rivals Real Madrid

are long way behind them -- is

always. This weekend of's El Clasico

is as much about the political

situation in Spain as it is about

the football.

They are the

superstars who define their era, the

players on each side of football's

rate is going, with Lionel Messi and

Ronaldo fans tend to divide but now

there are greater divisions in

Spain. This is the first El Clasico

since the band independence

referendum in October and it comes

days since Catalonia went to the

polls again and amongst the voters

was Gerard Pique a Barcelona, a

prized asset for his region and his

country. TRANSLATION:

To be able to

vote historically has not always

been possible in this country and

now it is, we have to defend it.

This isn't a rival use to bring

sides together but football

sometimes can heal some of the

wounds.

This comes after the

election that took place yesterday,

both sides, after this, everyone

feels more release and I think

everyone wants to focus on sport.

This will be common ground, a place

for everybody, and of course

Barcelona will want to win this game

because this is a big step for La

Liga.

Barcelona I enjoying football

dominance at the moment, leading

Real Madrid by 11 points and most

telling -- although sport won't fix

everything, there will be plenty for

both of them to enjoy. Now cricket.

Rohit Sharma has equalled the record

for the fastest international 2020

century and with it helping his side

wrap up the series against Sri

Lanka. He made his century off 35

balls matching the South African

David Miller who made a century

against Bangladesh in October. Sri

Lanka could not chase down the huge

total of 261. India won the match

and they are leading the three match

series 2-0. That is all the sport.

Britain will get a new passport

in 2019 when it leaves

the European Union.

The government has announced that

it's going back to the old-style

dark blue and gold hardback passport

carried by British citizens before

the introduction of the pan-European

burgundy design in 1988.

Our correspondent explains why this

decision is making headlines.

If we have a look at The Sun

newspaper, their headline, the

return of the great British

passport, and on the front you can

see a love iconic blue passport.

They have had a 17 month campaign to

get the government to go back to the

old style passport. Some people may

struggle with recognising the colour

of that passport on the front, many

people say their passport was dark

blue and some have said there's was

black in colour, but that the 17

month campaign to go back to that

old style blue passport. As with

anything Brexit, many divided

opinions, people who backed Remain,

many weren't born when the passport

was phased out, and some have said

it is not the colour that matters

but actually where people will be

allowed to go, and there are some

comments here, about this restoring

identity for the one person says we

have always been a great nation and

we don't need to change the colour

of the passport to show that.

Another person says this is another

example of us trying to go back to

the previous century for top but for

Brexiteers this was a central demand

when they wanted to get out of the

EU and one man who is very happy

about this, former Ukip leader Nigel

Farage, he said, he was very happy.

I'm pleased that this burgundy

coloured passport is going to be

replaced by traditional navy blue.

It is the first bit of good news

Brexiteers have had for a while, the

last two months have been

frustrating with delays and

transition period foreign courts

having too much say, and I think

today, noble -- knowing we are going

to get a British passport back, it

is happy Brexmas.

The British

government never had to change the

colour of the passport full stop The

Sun was forced upon the nation

but

in fact it wasn't, Britain did not

have to change the colour. Croatia,

they kept their blue colour after

joining the union. They kept the

blue passport after they joined the

EU in 2013, so they didn't have to

change the colour to burgundy. They

went along with others who did it.

If you have any opinions on any of

our stories you can get in touch

with me and some of the team through

social media. Thanks for watching.