16/02/2018 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today.

Our top stories:

Robert Mueller brings charges

against Russian nationals for trying

to help Donald Trump win the 2016

presidential election.

For

committing federal crimes while

seeking to interfere in the United

States critical system.

The FBI says

it mishandled information warning

about the danger of the Florida

School shooter.

A former Oxfam aid worker tells the

BBC she was physically abused and

sexually assaulted by colleagues in

Haiti.

The new South African president has

been setting out his plans to end

corruption in his first State of the

nation address.

A new dawn is upon us. And a

wonderful dawn has arrived.

Hello and welcome to world News

today. The office of Robert Mueller,

the special counsel investigating

Russian interference in the US

presidential election has filed

charges against individuals and

companies. Three have been accused

of conspiring why afford. Details

are still coming in on the

indictments but a short while ago,

the US debt that the Attorney

General made this statement to

reporters.

The defendants allegedly conducted

what they called information warfare

against the United States. With the

stated goal of spreading distrust

towards the candidates and the

political system in general.

According to the allegations in the

indictment, 12 of the individual

defendants worked at various times

for a company called Internet

research agency, a Russian company

based in Saint Petersburg. The

conspiracy was part of a larger

operation called Project Latka.

Let's get more now from our

correspondent in Washington.

Details are coming in by the minute

but can you just take us through

some of the charges outlined?

The

larger charges, meddling in the US

2016 election, wire fraud to

undermine election law. It lays out

the scope of these activities, the

entire apparatus to influence the

2016 election. Individuals connected

with travel to the United States set

up servers within the United States

to hide their attempts at online

election meddling. They met with

experts in the United States to

learn about how they could best

influence the presidential election

and did what they could to try to

boost the campaign of Donald Trump

and undermine Democrat Hillary

Clinton but those were the only

candidates that were involved in it.

They also tried to support Bernie

Sanders, who was running against

Hillary Clinton in the primary and

the Green party candidate running in

the general election, to siphon off

some support from the Democrat. Also

worked against Republican candidate

in the primary is. Ted Cruz and

Marco Rubio. This was an all

encompassing effort that try to

create rallies on the ground in the

United States spread disinformation,

setting up fake and sometimes

assumed identities of real Americans

in online accounts and use them to

spread a series of hash tags and

social media means and other

attempts to undermine the US

presidential election process.

Do

the indictments sit whether

crossbred any new light on who or

what organisation was set --

directing this alleged activity?

It

names actual individuals who were

involved in this. Essentially, this

indictment lays out who was

involved, people within the

boundaries of Russia, but who were

coming to the United States to

attempt to influence. They said they

even had contact with grassroot

supporters of the Donald Trump

campaign, although if there is

anyone in the campaign who worked

with them, it was unwittingly, they

did not know they were Russians

because these individuals were

posing as Americans on the ground in

the US.

OK, we will leave it there.

More funerals are taking place

in Parkland in Florida,

for the victims of Wednesday's mass

high school shooting,

when 17 people died.

Last night thousands

attended a candle-lit vigil,

with many in the crowd calling

for tougher gun controls.

President Trump is heading

to Florida today, as our

North America Correspondent Aleem

Maqbool reports.

They are coming to mourn a girl shot

dead inside her school.

One of the 17 victims of America's

latest mass shooting.

Alyssa had been passionate

about playing football and had been

a popular and talented people.

Earlier, thousands had gathered

to remember all of those who died,

in many cases friends that only

a few days ago they had

shared classrooms with.

They included 14-year-old

Jaime Guttenberg, all family members

say stood up for those

who were bullied.

Her father spoke at the vigil.

I sent her to school yesterday.

She was supposed to be safe.

Among the others who died,

Meadow Pollock, who was going

to university next year,

Joachim Oliver a basketball player

who loved writing poetry.

Nicholas, a promising

swimmer and academic,

and 14-year-old Cara,

who her family says

was a great student who loved

being at the beach.

All lives cut short by a former

student at their own school who had

returned with a gun.

This is where Nikolas Cruz

bought his weapon.

All he had to do was produce

his driving licence,

give the most basic of personal

details and then answer a question

to say that he was not mentally ill.

He was 18 at the time,

too young to buy alcohol

here but old enough to walk out

of this job within the 15 rifle.

Young survivors are insisting

on better gun control but feel many

adults are letting them down.

The fact that I have to say this

is horrifying but I feel the need

to because this is the blood

of children that is on the floor

of the school now.

These are 17 children that are dead.

Those children are the future,

the feature of this country.

And what are we telling our children

and showing the feature

of our country when they have

to come to school and

worry about being shot?

Politicians again promised change.

You call this a talking point,

why would this be any different

to all the atrocities that have gone

before, what makes you feel

this is different?

I have never seen students speak out

as boldly as they have.

Maybe this is the turning point.

Close to the school students

demonstrated to demand

a solution to stop this type

of tragedy happening again.

In truth America remains a long

way off finding a way

to end its problems with guns.

There's been a big development

in this story in the last half-hour.

A statement from the FBI.

It says that someone close

to the gunman, Nikolas Cruz,

did contact the agency

at the beginning of January,

talking about his erratic behaviour,

his gun ownership, his desire

This admission by the FBI, how is

that news being greeted where you

are?

I have to say for the last day

or so we have heard from authorities

constantly. If you see something,

say something. Well, somebody did.

The students and families I have

spoken to are absolutely furious

about this. The FBI director said he

called the victims' families and

told them about this admission that

they failed to properly investigate

the tip and he says he cannot

imagine the added pain this is

causing them. I spoke to one father

whose son was inside and for a while

when he was in there, he could not

get in contact with him and he was

so scared and he was blunt that the

agency needs to hold up their hands

and say exactly step-by-step what

had gone wrong because he said he

failed these families. 17 people

died.

We had seen some discussion about

gun control. Do you think this

announcement by the FBI is now going

to crowd out those arguments?

That is certainly the fear. The

talking point from staunch

conservative Republicans who have

defended the second Amendment have

said from the beginning, as they

have with every school shooting,

that we have to wait to get the

facts of the case before we jump to,

as they call it, politicising the

issue aren't talking about gun

control. Donald Trump has said from

the beginning, this is someone who

was known to be mentally unstable

but he was silent on gun control.

For those voices, certainly, this is

added ammunition to say, look, we

could have prevented this, if the

FBI had stepped in on warnings that

people had put forward. On the other

side, I think as was said in the

package, I have never seen students

come together so boldly, really, to

demand not just ask, but to demand

that the country changes it stands

and bushes for safer gun laws and we

saw students pulling out their

phones and showing these videos and

when I asked one of them why he did

that, he said it was specifically so

he could record what was happening

and change people's minds about this

very issue.

very issue.

We are expecting

President Trump to be in Florida

later on Friday.

We are also hearing of another

school shooting. Police have been

responding to an incident. Details

are not clear and we don't know of

any injuries yet but this is what

people are posting on Twitter,

showing a sense of panic in the wake

of that Florida shooting.

In the last half an hour, another

school has posted this, confirming

it is

school has posted this, confirming

it is not a drill.

it is not a drill. We will keep

across this and bring you any more

details as we get them.

A woman employed by Oxfam

as a junior aid worker,

during the relief effort in Haiti

after the 2010 earthquake,

has told the BBC she was physically

abused and sexually assaulted

by a more senior male colleague.

abused and sexually assaulted

She also claims she was the victim

of another sexual assault

by an Oxfam worker, at a party

in South Sudan in the same year.

It comes as the Head

of Oxfam International,

announced a plan to deal

with allegations of abuse.

Winnie Byanyima says

the charity, has been shamed.

Our Diplomatic Correspondent James

Landale has the full story.

His report contains some

distressing details.

Haiti in 2010.

And the chaotic aftermath

of an earthquake.

A country heaving with

humanitarian workers.

Some of them there to help

like this young woman working

for Oxfam for the first time.

I studied Oxfam in University

in England and learned about them,

they are the lead in the world,

after Unicef, a lot

of humanitarian response.

I always dream of working for them.

But her dream turned sour as a more

senior colleague became over -

friendly and then not so friendly.

You will understand why we have

protected her identity.

He literally pinned me

against the wall, he was groping me

and grabbing me, kissing me

and I was just trying

to shove him off.

I got him off eventually anti-got

mad and through his glass at me

and it shattered on the floor,

and later on we got in the car to go

home and he got in next to me

and I was scared so I got out

and I went to sit on the back.

I didn't fall out of my seat,

he threw me out of my seat and then

pinned me to the ground.

One of my colleagues,

a woman, also my room mate,

reached back and tried to grab me

and pick me out.

I was hitting him, kicking him.

She helped me and I got back

into the middle seat and I jumped

into the front seat,

on the passenger side.

As soon as we got home I ran out

of the car and went up to my room,

I didn't want to say anything.

And then in South Sudan

she was assaulted by another Oxfam

colleague after a New Year party.

I went to my room and I was starting

to undress and go to sleep

and he just walked in,

shoved me on the bed,

he tried to rip, he did rip

some of my clothes off,

he got naked, forced and soft...

he got naked, forced himself...

I was shoving him, kicking him

and screaming for anyone.

I know that the man next door heard

because in next morning he even

said something like,

hey are you all right

after what happened last might.

Nobody came to help and I just

pushed him and kicked him

and kicked him, and eventually

he got up and walked

outside for a bit and I ran

to the door and shouted.

And I stood at the door

with all my might, keeping it pushed

shut as it was pushing

from the other end.

It felt like, for so, so long.

I was exhausted.

I don't know, I was just crying.

I didn't know what to do.

I was screaming for help.

I thought someone

would come help me.

But nobody came.

Today Oxfam announced they had said

at the new commission

to investigate cases like these.

There will also be tough and Ajax

on staff references and three

times more money spent

on internal safeguarding procedures.

But can you guarantee

that there are no sexual predators

working for Oxfam today?

We have cases that we are

investigating today,

and I am determined that we deliver

justice in those cases.

Thousands and thousands of Oxfam

staff, doing the right thing

in the most dangerous places

in the world.

Protecting people, saving lives,

that work must go on.

You cannot give that guarantee

that there are no sexual predators

working for your organisation?

How would I be able to guarantee

that there is no one

who is going to offend?

What I can guarantee

is that we will build a new culture

that doesn't tolerate bad behaviour.

What went on in Haiti has cost Oxfam

donations and public trust.

So it is promising justice

and changing its rules.

But its future depends on changing

a culture that seems

to tolerate sexual misconduct.

I think it is absolutely clear that

that partnership, that economic

partnership will be one and can be

one that will be of benefit both to

German businesses that want to

continue to operate and trade with

United Kingdom and UK businesses

that want to continue to trade and

cooperate with Jimmy and other

members of the remaining EU 27. --

Germany. What I believe we are

looking at a partnership that is not

based on an existing model but one

that recognising the different

position of the United Kingdom as we

leave the United Kingdom -- European

Union and recognises the importance

of those trade links and those

businesses cooperating that will

have been referred to from German

companies but also is also important

to UK companies as well.

Angela

Merkel said the partnership will be

different and not as close.

TRANSLATION:

In the end, it needs to be not as

close a partnership as we have had

but I think we as 27 will be very

carefully vetting and seeing it is

as close as possible but different

to what Britain currently has as a

member, which is what they want.

Let's take a look

at some of the other

stories making the news.

The Brazilian army is to take

full control of security

in Rio de Janeiro state.

President Michel Temer

ordered the intervention,

saying organised crime has virtually

seized control there.

The state is in a deep

economic crisis.

In the city of Rio, street

crime is on the rise

and criminal gangs have regained

control of the shantytowns.

A court in Turkey has

ordered the release on bail

of the German-Turkish journalist

Deniz Yucel, whose detention

in Istanbul has been a major source

of diplomatic tension.

The order came as prosecutors filed

an indictment on charges that carry

an 18-year jail sentence.

Mr Yucel was accused of terrorist

propaganda and spying

after writing articles

about Turkey's Kurdish minority.

Two Swiss athletes at

the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

in South Korea have become the first

competitors to be hit

by an outbreak of the norovirus.

The Swiss team says the freestyle

skiers have been taken away

from the rest of the team.

The pair have been named in Swiss

media as Fabian Boesch,

pictured here, and Elias Ambuehl.

The new South African president has

delivered his first State of the

nation address to parliament in Cape

Town a day after being sworn into

office. He set out his plans for the

economy and for ending the

corruption scandals that forced his

predecessor to resign. Mr Ramaphosa

told MPs this is the year that tide

will be turned on corruption in

South African institutions.

We must

fight corruption, we must fight

fraud and collusion, as well as in

the private sector with the same

intensity that we want to fight it

in the public sector. We must

remember that every time someone

receives a bribe, there is someone

who is prepared to pay it. We will

make sure that we deal with both of

them.

With me now is a journalist who has

worked in Africa for 20 years and

now director of the society in

London.

A wonderful dawn has arrived, do you

agree?

Whether it is going to be

wonderful, we will have to see but

there is going to be a huge change.

Cyril Ramaphosa has a very strong

vision, he has a terrific track

record. He started as a trade union

leader and completely outfoxed...

This was in 1986, he completely

outmanoeuvred the mining companies.

He then became the main negotiator

for the new South Africa and again,

the ruling apartheid... Taught him

things like fly fishing, and things

like that, which he became very good

at. When he came to the

negotiations, he again outmanoeuvred

them. And put things in the

Constitution that they really didn't

want. But he is just a very good

communicator and a very good

negotiator.

You have met the man. How does his

character and temperament differ to

his predecessor?

He is a very calm

person. When you meet him, he talks

to you, he is totally focused on

you. He does not just talk for the

sake of it. Very precise. In South

African terms, it is a bit awkward

because he comes from a very small

ethnic groups so in that way, he is

not part of the big ethnic

competition that is going on. He is

outside of that. And I notice when

he went around after Nelson Mandela

was released from prison, there was

three people that went with him,

carrying his bad, the head of the

military wing, he was murdered, the

third one was Cyril Ramaphosa. We

know that Nelson Mandela wanted

Ramaphosa to be his successor.

Let's look ahead. Massive

challenges. Unemployment at 27%. Of

the country living in poverty. What

has he got to do to tackle this

downward spiral -- half the country.

I think stopping the corruption is

the first thing. Jacob Zuma is

facing 784 charges. To have survived

so long without hanging round his

neck, it is just absolutely

extraordinary. I think it is because

of that sort of corruption that

investors on the outside and the

inside have held back and are

sitting on their hands and I think

now they will move, they trust him

and I think he will try and get the

economy going again. And that

economy can drive the whole of

southern Africa. Zimbabwe,

Mozambique, Angola, also in change.

I think if southern Africa really

gets going, Africa as a whole will

do a lot better than it has been.

The budget next week. Maybe we will

get some indicators then. Always

good to speak to you. Thank you very

much.

There's been a massive fall

in the number of Orangutans

on the island of Borneo.

A study has found

that within 16 years,

the population there has halved.

The researchers said

that while deforestation

was partly to blame,

a large number of the animals

were being killed by hunters

or as punishment for raiding crops.

Victoria Gill reports.

Hanging onto survival.

Zoo programmes like this

preserve small populations

of Bornean orangutans.

But in the wild, they are being

pushed rapidly towards extinction.

Their rainforest home

continues to be cleared

for agriculture and mining,

but a 16-year-long study has now

revealed that Borneo's orangutans

are disappearing from areas

where the forest is untouched.

They are being targeted by hunters.

Even in the areas where we think

they're safe, we are losing them.

And in some of the large populations

where we have measured this loss,

it's 50% over 16 years.

It is an astonishing decline

at the population level.

Even without animals

being deliberately killed,

scientists estimate that

deforestation alone could wipe out

another 45,000 orangutans

here in the next three decades.

But this bridge-building project

is a much-needed sign of hope.

Where the forest is fragmented

by agricultural drainage ditches,

a team from Chester Zoo

and the Malaysian charity Hutan

is physically reconnecting it

with tough polyester straps.

This remarkable footage captured

by a tourist is the project's

first sign of success.

When these animals use their arms,

they move around, they move that

height, they swing in the forest

canopy and that's what they

rely on in the wild.

The zoo has learned from that

to build bridges that

will reconnect that habitat,

just like the ones

in the zoo enclosure.

To actually see them using them

and moving more freely

across this habitat,

that is so fragmented,

is a really positive sign.

This is very much

a short-term solution.

The long-term solution

is to reforest the area.

Palm oil grown here makes its way

into a huge variety of our food

and other products,

so conservationists are urging us

consumers to check it's

sourced sustainably.

Our choices, scientists say,

could decide whether there

is a future for these

critically endangered apes.

Victoria Gill, BBC News.

And that's the way it is looking

this hour. Plenty of developing

stories which you can

[email protected].

Don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some

of the team on Twitter.