02/02/2018 World News Today

This is BBC World News today, I'm

Samantha Simmonds, top stories: US

Congress releases a Republican memo

alleging that the FBI abuse

surveillance powers during the

election campaign, the release is

approved by President Trump.

I think

it is a disgrace what is happening

in our country, and when you look at

that and you see that and some of

the other things that are going on,

a lot of people should be ashamed of

themselves.

The disgraced US a

gymnastics Virgin sticks Dr Larry

Nassar is lunged at by a father of

one of those that he abused, at his

final hearing.

Abandoned in a mountain blizzard,

how one Syrian refugees survived

after being left for dead by

smugglers. Unique view of poll and

bears struggling to find enough food

as they arrive on the shrinking

Arctic ice.

-- polar bears.

Controversial 4-page Republican

drafted memo that accuses the FBI

and Justice Department of bias

against US President Donald Trump

has been released, the document

suggests the FBI and the Department

of justice have shown an anti-Trump

bias in their investigation into

alleged collusion between the

election campaign and Russia. The

president chose to release it and

had this to say to reporters.

I

think it is terrible, you want to

know the truth, I think it is a

disgrace, what is going on in this

country, I think it is a disgrace,

the memo was sent to Congress,

declassified, Congress will do what

ever they are going to do. I think

it is a disgrace what is happening

in our country, and when you look at

that and see that and so many other

things that are going on, a lot of

people should be ashamed of

themselves. And much more than that.

I sent it over to Congress, they

will do what they are going to do,

whatever they do is fine, it was

declassified, let's see what

happens. A lot of people should be

ashamed.

Thank you very much. I

asked our correspondent in

Washington where the release of the

memo left the investigation into

Russian interference.

Those are very separate matters,

this memo has no impact

on the Russia investigation

in that it continues,

it does not have any impact

on whether Robert Mueller will be

able to talk to Donald Trump or not.

This is about one small part

of an ongoing investigation,

do not forget, there are many

investigations going

on at the moment, but this pulls

into question the process

by which the FBI and the Department

of justice obtain evidence.

That is what this is about.

The actual investigation is not

necessarily affected,

and the White House goes on to say

that the main reason

they supported its release

is because it raises serious

questions about the integrity

of decisions at the highest level

of the department of justice and FBI

to use the government's most

obtrusive surveillance tools

against American citizens.

In other words, should the FBI have

this power to be able to spy

on American citizens

when there is not any real oversight

as to how they obtain it?

And in using this information, in

knowing the source of information,

showed bias. The Democrats say that

is an inaccurate picture.

The Republicans and the White House

claimed that that shows

that there was bias at the very top

level of the FBI, and of

the department of justice,

which has opened up a huge war

between Donald Trump and members

of his own apartment of justice

and the people he appointed

to oversee these departments.

The Democrats say that this memo

is incomplete, misleading,

does not tell the whole story.

The FBI says it has grave concerns

but Republicans are saying that it

shows there was bias that should

undermine the Russia probe.

The release and of the memo was

expected because that is how

President Trump operates, the

content of the memo was really not

much of anything, it was very

lacklustre, really made no charges.

The allegation is that the FBI

misused their powers in a

nonpartisan way, is that something

that is feasible in your view?

Every

FBI ageing, every FBI employee has

their own political beliefs and

religious beliefs but we carry out

our job in a very nonpartisan

manner. Our call of duty is to the

Constitution and the rule of law.

Having said that, do I think this is

partisan, do I think the

investigation was partisan? I do

not.

You say you have never

witnessed anybody behave in a

nonpartisan way, to misused their

powers, is it possible that somebody

could have done so, are there enough

checks and balances on every member

of the FBI, that they could have

done everything correctly, to make

sure they had checked, and make sure

they are not doing something wrong?

Yes, I have to say, the application

is a very own is application, the

Fisa application, this 4-page memo

alludes that basically the entire

application was written based upon

one person's statements, but the

application is going to have many,

many, many facts that need to be

proven and documented. The dossier

may have been one of one dozen,

possibly hundreds of facts that

needed to go into that application.

Clearly no love lost between

President Trump and many members of

the intelligence community, do you

think this ongoing investigation and

this mudslinging in so many

directions is going to permanently

damage the FBI in any way?

The FBI

has been the target of attacks in

the past and will be the target of

attacks in the future. The FBI

personnel are professionals, they

will continue to do their job.

Having said that, it is not good and

does not help the FBI, or the

general public, when the president

of the United States is attacking

them, credibility, trustworthiness,

that is detrimental not just to the

FBI but to the American public.

Chaotic scenes at a court in

Michigan during the sentencing of

the former team doctor of the

American gymnastics team, Larry

Nassar, found guilty of sexually

abusing girls in his care.

Another family stands like so many

before them to confront the

disgraced doctor, all three of these

children were sexually assaulted by

Larry Nassar, at this final

sentencing hearing, two of them,

Lauren and Madison speak of their

grief and the parents guilt.

I see

the look in their faces, I know that

they want to be able to do something

that they cannot, and the guilt they

have will never go away, all of this

is because of you.

To my parents,

thank you for all your love and

support you through all of this. You

have done everything that a parent

could ever do. I love you.

Randy

Margrave then asks permission, as a

distraught father, to speak.

You son

of a...

We don't want to have

profanity. The court room chuckles

as he requests time alone.

As part

of the sentencing, I want you to

grant me five minutes in a locker

room with this man. That is not

how... No sir, I cannot. Would you

give me one minute?

LAUGHTER

You know that I cannot do that, that

is not how the legal system works.

Let me at him.

Stay down, stay down,

sir.

There have been numerous

powerful moments throughout Larry

Nassar's sentencing hearings, but

this one for the's reaction shows

how clearly raw emotions are. When

the court resumed, the judge shows

compassion.

There is no way that

this court is going to issue any

type of punishment given the

circumstances of this case. My heart

does go out to you, and your family,

because of what you have gone

through.

The reality that Larry

Nassar's sexually abuse close to 300

girls over years has been regarded

as a failure of society. This case

has inevitably led to investigations

but more importantly, has forced the

nation to take a hard luck at how

women are treated and valued.

Two weeks ago, 16 Syrians including

several children died trying to

travel across the mountains from

Syria into Lebanon, they were caught

in an icy blizzards. Only a few

survived. Our correspondent has been

to meet one of them, a

three-year-old girl.

Meet little Sara, just three years

old, black marks on her face are

caused by frostbite. Smugglers

abandoned Zara during a blizzard, as

she was crossing the mountains from

the war in Syria to join her father.

She only survived because the man

who dumped her was forced at

gunpoint to go back and get her.

Zara's mother, Big Sister and granny

all froze to death. Now, in a

Lebanese hospital, her father

watches over her day and night.

TRANSLATION:

I do my best to be a

mother and a father to her, I will

do everything I can to help her get

over this, she is all that I have

now.

16 Syrians died trying to reach

safety that day, for the rescuers,

it was the worst thing they had ever

seen. There is some good news. A

couple of days after first meeting

Zara and her dad, we went to see

them again. Sara has had an

operation on her face. She has got

back her appetite. Her doctor says

that the surgery was a success.

Her father captured the first moment

after the operation, she has a long

way to go, she is still smiling.

Hopes are fading that any more

survivors will be found after a

migrant boat capsized off the coast

of Libya, 90 people appear to have

drowned, we are following the story

from Tunisia.

90 people on board the

boat that capsized off the Libyan

coast, looking around me, we can see

how these calm waters seemed to

represent a risk

worth taking, in these dangerous

shores. Those on board included

Pakistanis as well as Libyans

according to some of the survivors.

We do know that most of the migrants

that take the journey from Libya are

often from sub Saharan Africa. This

group of people represent perhaps a

shift in trend, according to some

observers in the region. Even where

I am standing, a marked increase of

locals from here taking the journey,

from their own country, to southern

Europe. The political and economic

turmoil in the region, the ticket

early in Libya, is contributing to

this, we know that the EU strategy

to curb illegal migration from North

Africa to southern Europe is largely

focused on the traditional groups

that make the journey. This includes

asylum seekers and refugees from

countries like Syria, Eritrea and

Saddam, as well as economic

migrants, that some believe make up

the largest portion of those who

make the crossing from sub-Saharan

Africa. -- Sudan. If there is a

potential shift, then Europe will

have to readjust the strategy and

they will be watching developments

with concern.

We can speak with a spokesperson for

the centre of international

immigration, he was asked about

Pakistani refugees making the

dangerous trip.

It is an

opportunistic thing, smugglers will

go and recruit from wherever they

can. The fact it is Pakistani 's

this time is not particularly

significant, Bangladesh 's number

three in the running order, through

Libya, strange as it seems. --

Bangladesh is number three. --

Pakistanis. It is a journey of

exploitation, often they fall into

the hands of militia. These people

hope and pray that they will get to

Europe and start a new life. A new

El Dorado. A lot of this is driven

by greed by the smugglers but also

inadvertently, social media

companies allow this to happen. Many

lies are told on social media,

innocent enough would-be migrants

believe what they read on social

media platforms. They are then

helped to avoid the authorities must

to use encrypted messaging apps,

like Viber, and much more needs to

be done to communicate the dangers

of taking the bait and giving them

money. If you have a smartphone in

your pocket, does not cost much, you

can see what looks like a glamorous

life in another part of the world.

Put those together, huge demand for

people to come to what they think is

a new life, but what really needs to

happen is some kind of organised

economic growth in their own

countries and better opportunities,

less corruption in the government,

that kind of thing.

Morrice police are being deployed to

the French port city of Calais

following clashes between groups of

migrants. Four Eritreas are in

critical condition after being shot

by an Afghan man who was firing at a

queue for food hand-outs, 800

migrants are living rough in Calais,

according to estimates.

The latest from there from Gavin

Lay.

This is the scene 24 was on,

from the violence yesterday, where

20 migrants were injured.

-- Gavin

Lee. What we know is that not far

from here, on the outskirts of

Calais, close to the so-called

jungle camp, which has subsequently

been demolished.

Five Eritrea and

men, between 16 and 18, teenagers,

shot, four still in hospital. --

137-year-old Afghan suspect,

suspected people smuggler, still

missing, the French interior

Minister came here to say they are

still looking for him, increased

police patrols, talking about this

particular area, violence here, into

the evening, 22 injured including

police officers. What is going on,

what has changed? Tonight it is a

lot quieter, people are relatively

calm, one thing that migrants will

not say on camera, off-camera they

say they have felt tension rising,

issue about clusters of camps have

been growing since they have not

been allowed to have the jungle

camp. Turf war, things have kicked

off between Afghans and Eritreans.

300 police officers hope to calm

down the situation. The manual off

said will be no return to the jungle

camp and in one month's time, you

migration plans from him. As you

see, this place starts to grow by

the day, 700 to 800 people here now,

according to charities, increasing

by 20 to 50 people everyday. Stay

with us.

Coming up: unique insight into the

polar bear's struggle for survival,

on Milton polar ice.

-- Arctic ice.

-- melting.

This is BBC World News Today.

The latest headlines:

The US Congress has released

a controversial Republican

memo alleging the FBI

abused its surveillance powers

during the election campaign.

The father of three sexual

abuse victims has lunged

at the disgraced USA gymnastics team

doctor Larry Nassar during his final

sentencing hearing.

Scientists studying the decline

in the survival rates

of polar bears have observed them

expending more energy than they can

consume as they hunt.

The researchers found that the bears

have a higher metabolic rate

than previously thought

and are unable to catch enough prey

to meet their energy needs.

Victoria Gill has more.

A polar bear's view of the Arctic.

These remarkable images

were captured cameras

inside tracking collars that

scientists fitted to nine solitary

female polar bears.

In a study carried out over three

seasons in the Arctic,

the researchers set out

to understand whether the animals

were getting enough to eat

during the critical spring thaw.

Satellite studies have shown that

Arctic sea ice is decreasing

at a rate of about 14% every decade.

And the bears need that ice to hunt

and to eat their main and most

calorie-rich prey - seals.

So as well as fitting

them with GPS tracking,

camera-containing collars,

the researchers injected the bears

with a metabolic tracer.

This revealed that wild bears

have a higher metabolic rate

than previously thought.

And that most of them were unable

to catch enough food

to meet their energy needs.

The scientists say that

this new technology,

following their every move

and their every meal,

reveals just how these predators'

survival will be affected

as their icy environment

transforms around them.

The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw

has warned of a wave of anti-Semitic

statements in Poland,

in the midst of a row

between the two countries

over a proposed Polish law related

to the Holocaust.

The legislation outlaws references

that imply that Poland was complicit

in crimes committed by Nazi Germany

during the Second World War.

Adam Easton reports from Warsaw.

Auschwitz, the concentration and

death camp that has come to

symbolise the Holocaust, 1 million

due is people were gassed here,

Polish, Rome and others were killed

here, it was designed, built and run

by the Nazis, in occupied Poland. --

Jewish people. The Polish government

wants everyone to remember that.

That is why it has passed

legislation that introduces prison

sentences for people who accuse

Poland of coresponsibility for not

see crimes. Israel has reacted

furiously, accusing Poland of

denying historical truth. -- Nazi

crimes. The International Council at

the Auschwitz museum is worried the

bill will hinder Holocaust research.

There is ample evidence that some

Polish blackmailed and even murdered

Jewish neighbours during the war.

Other Polish acted heroically,

risking their lives to hide Jewish

from the Nazis. The Polish Prime

Minister took journalists to a

museum, commemorating one such

family.

We will not allow anybody to

tell us this, we cannot allow that

this is a phrase, Polish death camp,

we cannot allow that phrase to come

about, because this is an affront to

all the victims cruelly killed by

Nazi Germans.

Tensions between

Poland and Israel are rising, the

president of Poland now has to

decide whether to sign the bill into

law. TRANSLATION:

I feel sorry for

the Polish and it hurts me that I

need to dig out these memories, to

put them on the table again. I am

still hoping, since the new bill

still needs the Polish President's

consent, that he will delay its.

Row

has caused a row in anti-Semitic

incidents in Poland, the Israelis

embassy in Warsaw says it has been

the target of a wave of abuse, and

the head of the city's Jewish

community has told the BBC it is

also witnessed similar incidents.

Cameron Norrie has produced a

remarkable comeback to level Great

Britain's Davis Cup world group

first round tie against Spain in

Madaya, there is no Andy Murray or

Kyle Edmund. -- Marbella. The top

two are not available to this. Liam

Broady lost the first match of the

Day, Cameron Norrie was two sets

down against Roberto Bautista Agut

but Giraldo brilliantly to win the

next three sets and square the time

against a man ranked 91 places above

him in the world. Roberto Bautista

Agut did seem to struggle with a leg

injury in the second half of the

match. Temperatures in Minnesota

ahead of the Super Bowl have been as

low as -20 degrees, luckily, the

roof will be closed on Sunday at the

US bank Stadium, so it will be

considerably warm inside. Caroline

Barker is in Minneapolis.

Anybody would think it is cold, it

is, you can probably tell not just

by my breath but that they have

built a ski ramp in the middle of

the street! That is the kind of

thing that happens when Super Bowl

rolls into town, Super Bowl LII,

just a few miles from here, will

kick off as the Patriots take on the

eagles, it will be on record the

coldest Super Bowl Sunday.

Temperatures down to -25, will not

affect the players or fans or us,

fingers crossed, we will be inside.

Good job they do every build the

stadium, the roof collapsed because

of the weight of snow at the old one

but no such problems come Super Bowl

Sunday. The game itself, what do you

need to know, perhaps the

Philadelphia Eagles are the

underdogs, don't mention their name

to often around here, because the

Minnesota Vikings would get to the

Super Bowl. New England, the dream

is to do it again, they have done it

before, superstar quarterback, Tom

Brady, going for a record sixth

Super Bowl win, six Super Bowls for

his team. They have the edge and the

advantage but the Philadelphia

Eagles have come back from

adversity, way back in December they

lost their quarterback, brought in a

new guide, bit of a wobble, now

doing the team justice. That is

about all you need to know apart

from it is so-called, apparently, 20

minutes is all you need to get

frostbite! Perhaps maybe with my

fingers are still intact I will

leave it at that! We will see you at

Super Bowl game days.

That is all

the sport, we will see you later on.

That is all for -- that is all from

me for now, thank you for watching.