0:00:05 > 0:00:08This is BBC World News Today.
0:00:08 > 0:00:15Our top stories:
0:00:15 > 0:00:21Robert Mueller brings charges against Russian nationals for trying
0:00:21 > 0:00:30to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.For
0:00:30 > 0:00:34committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United
0:00:34 > 0:00:39States critical system.The FBI says it mishandled information warning
0:00:39 > 0:00:44about the danger of the Florida School shooter.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48A former Oxfam aid worker tells the BBC she was physically abused and
0:00:48 > 0:00:51sexually assaulted by colleagues in Haiti.
0:00:51 > 0:00:58The new South African president has been setting out his plans to end
0:00:58 > 0:01:02corruption in his first State of the nation address.
0:01:02 > 0:01:15A new dawn is upon us. And a wonderful dawn has arrived.
0:01:20 > 0:01:26Hello and welcome to world News today. The office of Robert Mueller,
0:01:26 > 0:01:32the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the US
0:01:32 > 0:01:34presidential election has filed charges against individuals and
0:01:34 > 0:01:41companies. Three have been accused of conspiring why afford. Details
0:01:41 > 0:01:46are still coming in on the indictments but a short while ago,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49the US debt that the Attorney General made this statement to
0:01:49 > 0:01:53reporters. The defendants allegedly conducted
0:01:53 > 0:01:58what they called information warfare against the United States. With the
0:01:58 > 0:02:03stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the
0:02:03 > 0:02:10political system in general. According to the allegations in the
0:02:10 > 0:02:13indictment, 12 of the individual defendants worked at various times
0:02:13 > 0:02:18for a company called Internet research agency, a Russian company
0:02:18 > 0:02:24based in Saint Petersburg. The conspiracy was part of a larger
0:02:24 > 0:02:43operation called Project Latka. Let's get more now from our
0:02:43 > 0:02:48correspondent in Washington. Details are coming in by the minute
0:02:48 > 0:02:57but can you just take us through some of the charges outlined?The
0:02:57 > 0:03:03larger charges, meddling in the US 2016 election, wire fraud to
0:03:03 > 0:03:08undermine election law. It lays out the scope of these activities, the
0:03:08 > 0:03:13entire apparatus to influence the 2016 election. Individuals connected
0:03:13 > 0:03:17with travel to the United States set up servers within the United States
0:03:17 > 0:03:21to hide their attempts at online election meddling. They met with
0:03:21 > 0:03:25experts in the United States to learn about how they could best
0:03:25 > 0:03:28influence the presidential election and did what they could to try to
0:03:28 > 0:03:31boost the campaign of Donald Trump and undermine Democrat Hillary
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Clinton but those were the only candidates that were involved in it.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38They also tried to support Bernie Sanders, who was running against
0:03:38 > 0:03:45Hillary Clinton in the primary and the Green party candidate running in
0:03:45 > 0:03:50the general election, to siphon off some support from the Democrat. Also
0:03:50 > 0:03:54worked against Republican candidate in the primary is. Ted Cruz and
0:03:54 > 0:03:59Marco Rubio. This was an all encompassing effort that try to
0:03:59 > 0:04:04create rallies on the ground in the United States spread disinformation,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09setting up fake and sometimes assumed identities of real Americans
0:04:09 > 0:04:12in online accounts and use them to spread a series of hash tags and
0:04:12 > 0:04:17social media means and other attempts to undermine the US
0:04:17 > 0:04:23presidential election process.Do the indictments sit whether
0:04:23 > 0:04:29crossbred any new light on who or what organisation was set --
0:04:29 > 0:04:33directing this alleged activity?It names actual individuals who were
0:04:33 > 0:04:38involved in this. Essentially, this indictment lays out who was
0:04:38 > 0:04:43involved, people within the boundaries of Russia, but who were
0:04:43 > 0:04:46coming to the United States to attempt to influence. They said they
0:04:46 > 0:04:53even had contact with grassroot supporters of the Donald Trump
0:04:53 > 0:04:55campaign, although if there is anyone in the campaign who worked
0:04:55 > 0:05:01with them, it was unwittingly, they did not know they were Russians
0:05:01 > 0:05:03because these individuals were posing as Americans on the ground in
0:05:03 > 0:05:16the US.OK, we will leave it there.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20More funerals are taking place in Parkland in Florida,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22for the victims of Wednesday's mass high school shooting,
0:05:22 > 0:05:23when 17 people died.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Last night thousands attended a candle-lit vigil,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27with many in the crowd calling for tougher gun controls.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29President Trump is heading to Florida today, as our
0:05:29 > 0:05:37North America Correspondent Aleem Maqbool reports.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39They are coming to mourn a girl shot dead inside her school.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42One of the 17 victims of America's latest mass shooting.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Alyssa had been passionate about playing football and had been
0:05:44 > 0:05:52a popular and talented people.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Earlier, thousands had gathered to remember all of those who died,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58in many cases friends that only a few days ago they had
0:05:58 > 0:06:03shared classrooms with.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05They included 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, all family members
0:06:05 > 0:06:06say stood up for those who were bullied.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Her father spoke at the vigil.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I sent her to school yesterday.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19She was supposed to be safe.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Among the others who died, Meadow Pollock, who was going
0:06:21 > 0:06:23to university next year, Joachim Oliver a basketball player
0:06:23 > 0:06:27who loved writing poetry.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Nicholas, a promising swimmer and academic,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31and 14-year-old Cara, who her family says
0:06:31 > 0:06:35was a great student who loved being at the beach.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39All lives cut short by a former student at their own school who had
0:06:39 > 0:06:41returned with a gun.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43This is where Nikolas Cruz bought his weapon.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46All he had to do was produce his driving licence,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49give the most basic of personal details and then answer a question
0:06:49 > 0:06:55to say that he was not mentally ill.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58He was 18 at the time, too young to buy alcohol
0:06:58 > 0:07:01here but old enough to walk out of this job within the 15 rifle.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Young survivors are insisting on better gun control but feel many
0:07:04 > 0:07:07adults are letting them down.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11The fact that I have to say this is horrifying but I feel the need
0:07:11 > 0:07:14to because this is the blood of children that is on the floor
0:07:14 > 0:07:19of the school now.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21These are 17 children that are dead.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Those children are the future, the feature of this country.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26And what are we telling our children and showing the feature
0:07:26 > 0:07:29of our country when they have to come to school and
0:07:29 > 0:07:37worry about being shot?
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Politicians again promised change.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41You call this a talking point, why would this be any different
0:07:41 > 0:07:44to all the atrocities that have gone before, what makes you feel
0:07:44 > 0:07:45this is different?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I have never seen students speak out as boldly as they have.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Maybe this is the turning point.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Close to the school students demonstrated to demand
0:07:55 > 0:07:57a solution to stop this type of tragedy happening again.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00In truth America remains a long way off finding a way
0:08:00 > 0:08:01to end its problems with guns.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04There's been a big development in this story in the last half-hour.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05A statement from the FBI.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It says that someone close to the gunman, Nikolas Cruz,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10did contact the agency at the beginning of January,
0:08:10 > 0:08:17talking about his erratic behaviour, his gun ownership, his desire
0:08:22 > 0:08:27This admission by the FBI, how is that news being greeted where you
0:08:27 > 0:08:33are?I have to say for the last day or so we have heard from authorities
0:08:33 > 0:08:38constantly. If you see something, say something. Well, somebody did.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42The students and families I have spoken to are absolutely furious
0:08:42 > 0:08:48about this. The FBI director said he called the victims' families and
0:08:48 > 0:08:51told them about this admission that they failed to properly investigate
0:08:51 > 0:08:55the tip and he says he cannot imagine the added pain this is
0:08:55 > 0:09:00causing them. I spoke to one father whose son was inside and for a while
0:09:00 > 0:09:04when he was in there, he could not get in contact with him and he was
0:09:04 > 0:09:09so scared and he was blunt that the agency needs to hold up their hands
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and say exactly step-by-step what had gone wrong because he said he
0:09:13 > 0:09:18failed these families. 17 people died.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21We had seen some discussion about gun control. Do you think this
0:09:21 > 0:09:29announcement by the FBI is now going to crowd out those arguments?
0:09:29 > 0:09:32That is certainly the fear. The talking point from staunch
0:09:32 > 0:09:36conservative Republicans who have defended the second Amendment have
0:09:36 > 0:09:39said from the beginning, as they have with every school shooting,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44that we have to wait to get the facts of the case before we jump to,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48as they call it, politicising the issue aren't talking about gun
0:09:48 > 0:09:51control. Donald Trump has said from the beginning, this is someone who
0:09:51 > 0:09:56was known to be mentally unstable but he was silent on gun control.
0:09:56 > 0:10:02For those voices, certainly, this is added ammunition to say, look, we
0:10:02 > 0:10:06could have prevented this, if the FBI had stepped in on warnings that
0:10:06 > 0:10:11people had put forward. On the other side, I think as was said in the
0:10:11 > 0:10:18package, I have never seen students come together so boldly, really, to
0:10:18 > 0:10:24demand not just ask, but to demand that the country changes it stands
0:10:24 > 0:10:27and bushes for safer gun laws and we saw students pulling out their
0:10:27 > 0:10:32phones and showing these videos and when I asked one of them why he did
0:10:32 > 0:10:36that, he said it was specifically so he could record what was happening
0:10:36 > 0:10:42and change people's minds about this very issue.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45very issue.We are expecting President Trump to be in Florida
0:10:45 > 0:10:51later on Friday. We are also hearing of another
0:10:51 > 0:10:58school shooting. Police have been responding to an incident. Details
0:10:58 > 0:11:02are not clear and we don't know of any injuries yet but this is what
0:11:02 > 0:11:05people are posting on Twitter, showing a sense of panic in the wake
0:11:05 > 0:11:09of that Florida shooting.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34In the last half an hour, another school has posted this, confirming
0:11:34 > 0:11:35it is
0:11:35 > 0:11:40school has posted this, confirming it is not a drill.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45it is not a drill. We will keep across this and bring you any more
0:11:45 > 0:11:48details as we get them.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50A woman employed by Oxfam as a junior aid worker,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53during the relief effort in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55has told the BBC she was physically abused and sexually assaulted
0:11:55 > 0:11:57by a more senior male colleague. abused and sexually assaulted
0:11:57 > 0:11:59She also claims she was the victim of another sexual assault
0:11:59 > 0:12:03by an Oxfam worker, at a party in South Sudan in the same year.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05It comes as the Head of Oxfam International,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07announced a plan to deal with allegations of abuse.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Winnie Byanyima says the charity, has been shamed.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Our Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale has the full story.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12His report contains some distressing details.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Haiti in 2010.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15And the chaotic aftermath of an earthquake.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17A country heaving with humanitarian workers.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Some of them there to help like this young woman working
0:12:19 > 0:12:27for Oxfam for the first time.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I studied Oxfam in University in England and learned about them,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33they are the lead in the world, after Unicef, a lot
0:12:33 > 0:12:34of humanitarian response.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39I always dream of working for them.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42But her dream turned sour as a more senior colleague became over -
0:12:42 > 0:12:43friendly and then not so friendly.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48You will understand why we have protected her identity.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51He literally pinned me against the wall, he was groping me
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and grabbing me, kissing me and I was just trying
0:12:54 > 0:12:55to shove him off.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I got him off eventually anti-got mad and through his glass at me
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and it shattered on the floor, and later on we got in the car to go
0:13:02 > 0:13:05home and he got in next to me and I was scared so I got out
0:13:05 > 0:13:07and I went to sit on the back.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11I didn't fall out of my seat, he threw me out of my seat and then
0:13:11 > 0:13:12pinned me to the ground.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15One of my colleagues, a woman, also my room mate,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17reached back and tried to grab me and pick me out.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19I was hitting him, kicking him.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22She helped me and I got back into the middle seat and I jumped
0:13:22 > 0:13:24into the front seat, on the passenger side.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28As soon as we got home I ran out of the car and went up to my room,
0:13:28 > 0:13:33I didn't want to say anything.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And then in South Sudan she was assaulted by another Oxfam
0:13:36 > 0:13:41colleague after a New Year party.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45I went to my room and I was starting to undress and go to sleep
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and he just walked in, shoved me on the bed,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51he tried to rip, he did rip some of my clothes off,
0:13:51 > 0:13:58he got naked, forced and soft...
0:14:03 > 0:14:04he got naked, forced himself...
0:14:04 > 0:14:06I was shoving him, kicking him and screaming for anyone.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10I know that the man next door heard because in next morning he even
0:14:10 > 0:14:12said something like, hey are you all right
0:14:12 > 0:14:13after what happened last might.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Nobody came to help and I just pushed him and kicked him
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and kicked him, and eventually he got up and walked
0:14:18 > 0:14:21outside for a bit and I ran to the door and shouted.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24And I stood at the door with all my might, keeping it pushed
0:14:24 > 0:14:26shut as it was pushing from the other end.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28It felt like, for so, so long.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29I was exhausted.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30I don't know, I was just crying.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32I didn't know what to do.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33I was screaming for help.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35I thought someone would come help me.
0:14:35 > 0:14:43But nobody came.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Today Oxfam announced they had said at the new commission
0:14:45 > 0:14:47to investigate cases like these.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49There will also be tough and Ajax on staff references and three
0:14:49 > 0:14:51times more money spent on internal safeguarding procedures.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54But can you guarantee that there are no sexual predators
0:14:54 > 0:15:01working for Oxfam today?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03We have cases that we are investigating today,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06and I am determined that we deliver justice in those cases.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Thousands and thousands of Oxfam staff, doing the right thing
0:15:08 > 0:15:10in the most dangerous places in the world.
0:15:10 > 0:15:18Protecting people, saving lives, that work must go on.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22You cannot give that guarantee that there are no sexual predators
0:15:22 > 0:15:30working for your organisation?
0:15:30 > 0:15:33How would I be able to guarantee that there is no one
0:15:33 > 0:15:35who is going to offend?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37What I can guarantee is that we will build a new culture
0:15:37 > 0:15:45that doesn't tolerate bad behaviour.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50What went on in Haiti has cost Oxfam donations and public trust.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52So it is promising justice and changing its rules.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54But its future depends on changing a culture that seems
0:15:54 > 0:16:02to tolerate sexual misconduct.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33I think it is absolutely clear that that partnership, that economic
0:16:33 > 0:16:37partnership will be one and can be one that will be of benefit both to
0:16:37 > 0:16:40German businesses that want to continue to operate and trade with
0:16:40 > 0:16:44United Kingdom and UK businesses that want to continue to trade and
0:16:44 > 0:16:50cooperate with Jimmy and other members of the remaining EU 27. --
0:16:50 > 0:16:56Germany. What I believe we are looking at a partnership that is not
0:16:56 > 0:17:00based on an existing model but one that recognising the different
0:17:00 > 0:17:05position of the United Kingdom as we leave the United Kingdom -- European
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Union and recognises the importance of those trade links and those
0:17:07 > 0:17:13businesses cooperating that will have been referred to from German
0:17:13 > 0:17:19companies but also is also important to UK companies as well.Angela
0:17:19 > 0:17:24Merkel said the partnership will be different and not as close.
0:17:24 > 0:17:31TRANSLATION: In the end, it needs to be not as
0:17:31 > 0:17:37close a partnership as we have had but I think we as 27 will be very
0:17:37 > 0:17:42carefully vetting and seeing it is as close as possible but different
0:17:42 > 0:17:49to what Britain currently has as a member, which is what they want.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Let's take a look at some of the other
0:17:53 > 0:17:54stories making the news.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57The Brazilian army is to take full control of security
0:17:57 > 0:17:58in Rio de Janeiro state.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59President Michel Temer ordered the intervention,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01saying organised crime has virtually seized control there.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03The state is in a deep economic crisis.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06In the city of Rio, street crime is on the rise
0:18:06 > 0:18:13and criminal gangs have regained control of the shantytowns.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15A court in Turkey has ordered the release on bail
0:18:15 > 0:18:17of the German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, whose detention
0:18:17 > 0:18:20in Istanbul has been a major source of diplomatic tension.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22The order came as prosecutors filed an indictment on charges that carry
0:18:22 > 0:18:24an 18-year jail sentence.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Mr Yucel was accused of terrorist propaganda and spying
0:18:26 > 0:18:34after writing articles about Turkey's Kurdish minority.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Two Swiss athletes at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
0:18:41 > 0:18:43in South Korea have become the first competitors to be hit
0:18:43 > 0:18:45by an outbreak of the norovirus.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47The Swiss team says the freestyle skiers have been taken away
0:18:47 > 0:18:49from the rest of the team.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51The pair have been named in Swiss media as Fabian Boesch,
0:18:51 > 0:18:59pictured here, and Elias Ambuehl.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09The new South African president has delivered his first State of the
0:19:09 > 0:19:14nation address to parliament in Cape Town a day after being sworn into
0:19:14 > 0:19:18office. He set out his plans for the economy and for ending the
0:19:18 > 0:19:24corruption scandals that forced his predecessor to resign. Mr Ramaphosa
0:19:24 > 0:19:28told MPs this is the year that tide will be turned on corruption in
0:19:28 > 0:19:33South African institutions.We must fight corruption, we must fight
0:19:33 > 0:19:43fraud and collusion, as well as in the private sector with the same
0:19:43 > 0:19:51intensity that we want to fight it in the public sector. We must
0:19:51 > 0:19:58remember that every time someone receives a bribe, there is someone
0:19:58 > 0:20:04who is prepared to pay it. We will make sure that we deal with both of
0:20:04 > 0:20:11them. With me now is a journalist who has
0:20:11 > 0:20:18worked in Africa for 20 years and now director of the society in
0:20:18 > 0:20:21London. A wonderful dawn has arrived, do you
0:20:21 > 0:20:24agree?Whether it is going to be wonderful, we will have to see but
0:20:24 > 0:20:31there is going to be a huge change. Cyril Ramaphosa has a very strong
0:20:31 > 0:20:36vision, he has a terrific track record. He started as a trade union
0:20:36 > 0:20:40leader and completely outfoxed... This was in 1986, he completely
0:20:40 > 0:20:45outmanoeuvred the mining companies. He then became the main negotiator
0:20:45 > 0:20:58for the new South Africa and again, the ruling apartheid... Taught him
0:20:58 > 0:21:01things like fly fishing, and things like that, which he became very good
0:21:01 > 0:21:04at. When he came to the negotiations, he again outmanoeuvred
0:21:04 > 0:21:10them. And put things in the Constitution that they really didn't
0:21:10 > 0:21:14want. But he is just a very good communicator and a very good
0:21:14 > 0:21:18negotiator. You have met the man. How does his
0:21:18 > 0:21:23character and temperament differ to his predecessor?He is a very calm
0:21:23 > 0:21:29person. When you meet him, he talks to you, he is totally focused on
0:21:29 > 0:21:35you. He does not just talk for the sake of it. Very precise. In South
0:21:35 > 0:21:39African terms, it is a bit awkward because he comes from a very small
0:21:39 > 0:21:43ethnic groups so in that way, he is not part of the big ethnic
0:21:43 > 0:21:47competition that is going on. He is outside of that. And I notice when
0:21:47 > 0:21:55he went around after Nelson Mandela was released from prison, there was
0:21:55 > 0:21:59three people that went with him, carrying his bad, the head of the
0:21:59 > 0:22:05military wing, he was murdered, the third one was Cyril Ramaphosa. We
0:22:05 > 0:22:13know that Nelson Mandela wanted Ramaphosa to be his successor.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19Let's look ahead. Massive challenges. Unemployment at 27%. Of
0:22:19 > 0:22:24the country living in poverty. What has he got to do to tackle this
0:22:24 > 0:22:28downward spiral -- half the country. I think stopping the corruption is
0:22:28 > 0:22:35the first thing. Jacob Zuma is facing 784 charges. To have survived
0:22:35 > 0:22:39so long without hanging round his neck, it is just absolutely
0:22:39 > 0:22:45extraordinary. I think it is because of that sort of corruption that
0:22:45 > 0:22:49investors on the outside and the inside have held back and are
0:22:49 > 0:22:52sitting on their hands and I think now they will move, they trust him
0:22:52 > 0:22:56and I think he will try and get the economy going again. And that
0:22:56 > 0:23:02economy can drive the whole of southern Africa. Zimbabwe,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07Mozambique, Angola, also in change. I think if southern Africa really
0:23:07 > 0:23:13gets going, Africa as a whole will do a lot better than it has been.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17The budget next week. Maybe we will get some indicators then. Always
0:23:17 > 0:23:21good to speak to you. Thank you very much.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24There's been a massive fall in the number of Orangutans
0:23:24 > 0:23:25on the island of Borneo.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27A study has found that within 16 years,
0:23:27 > 0:23:28the population there has halved.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29The researchers said that while deforestation
0:23:29 > 0:23:32was partly to blame, a large number of the animals
0:23:32 > 0:23:34were being killed by hunters or as punishment for raiding crops.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Victoria Gill reports.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39Hanging onto survival.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Zoo programmes like this preserve small populations
0:23:41 > 0:23:47of Bornean orangutans.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50But in the wild, they are being pushed rapidly towards extinction.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Their rainforest home continues to be cleared
0:23:52 > 0:23:54for agriculture and mining, but a 16-year-long study has now
0:23:54 > 0:23:56revealed that Borneo's orangutans are disappearing from areas
0:23:56 > 0:23:57where the forest is untouched.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02They are being targeted by hunters.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Even in the areas where we think they're safe, we are losing them.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And in some of the large populations where we have measured this loss,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10it's 50% over 16 years.
0:24:10 > 0:24:17It is an astonishing decline at the population level.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Even without animals being deliberately killed,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21scientists estimate that deforestation alone could wipe out
0:24:21 > 0:24:23another 45,000 orangutans here in the next three decades.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25But this bridge-building project is a much-needed sign of hope.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Where the forest is fragmented by agricultural drainage ditches,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30a team from Chester Zoo and the Malaysian charity Hutan
0:24:30 > 0:24:38is physically reconnecting it with tough polyester straps.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42This remarkable footage captured by a tourist is the project's
0:24:42 > 0:24:49first sign of success.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52When these animals use their arms, they move around, they move that
0:24:52 > 0:24:54height, they swing in the forest canopy and that's what they
0:24:54 > 0:24:56rely on in the wild.
0:24:56 > 0:25:04The zoo has learned from that to build bridges that
0:25:05 > 0:25:07will reconnect that habitat, just like the ones
0:25:07 > 0:25:13in the zoo enclosure.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15To actually see them using them and moving more freely
0:25:15 > 0:25:17across this habitat, that is so fragmented,
0:25:17 > 0:25:18is a really positive sign.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20This is very much a short-term solution.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23The long-term solution is to reforest the area.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Palm oil grown here makes its way into a huge variety of our food
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and other products, so conservationists are urging us
0:25:29 > 0:25:31consumers to check it's sourced sustainably.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Our choices, scientists say, could decide whether there
0:25:32 > 0:25:34is a future for these critically endangered apes.
0:25:34 > 0:25:42Victoria Gill, BBC News.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53And that's the way it is looking this hour. Plenty of developing
0:25:53 > 0:25:56stories which you can follow@BBC.com.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some
0:25:58 > 0:26:05of the team on Twitter.