Comes from it's b.b.c. Dot com for with Slash and stay tuned this is News and up next. You're listening to the b.b.c. World news on k. Or c c 2 Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station broadcasts on 91.5 f.m. From our studios in Colorado Springs Colorado you can also hear cares you see in the following communities 88.5 f.m. In West Cliff and Gardner 89 point one f.m. In La Hunter 89.9 f.m. In Lyman 90 point one f.m. In Manitou Springs 91.7 f.m. In Trinidad and Raton New Mexico 94 point one f.m. In Walsenburg and love Fida 95.5 f.m. In Lake George and Hartsell 95.7 f.m. In saliva Buna Vista and Villa Grove and 105.7 f.m. In Canyon City for questions or comments please call 719-473-4801 during regular business hours you can always become a member of k. Or c c by going to k. Or c c dot au argy and making your financial contributions safely on line. Welcome to News Hour from the b.b.c. World Service I'm a backache has been today claim and counterclaim in Venezuela allegations that ballots in last weekend's elections were tampered with we'll get the latest from Caracas and ask who if anyone can broker a peace in a country that spiraling out of control I will have the mystery surrounding a foreigner Vietnamese official who disappeared in Berlin and reappeared in Hanoi but did he go voluntarily the German foreign ministry said that he had been kidnapped in the Berlin park by armed guards Plus is President Trump right to think that u.s. Relations with Russia are at an all time and very dangerously low and the Chinese authorities restrict what you can get on the internet but the people don't mind the word of the title we have too many people in China if the government doesn't control things they'll be chaos. Us the news. And Arwa Neil Newman is with the b.b.c. News President Trump repeatedly urged his Mexican counterpart to stop publicly saying his government would never pay for a planned border war according to $1.00 sense to be a leaked transcript of their phone conversation the Washington Post says Mr Trump told Enrica Pena Nieto in January that a formula could be worked out to fund the proposed war during his election campaign Mr Trump had insisted that Mexico would pay for the war the senior Republican senator Bob Corker said White House officials suspected of leaking information to the media should be sacked if there's even a thought that somebody was involved get rid of them I mean it is our insanely what is happening at the White House right now or what has been happening to have people there that are leaking information that are talking to each of you to try to have their public policy ample minute because they're getting you to argue on their behalf when we know it's happening these people should be fired President Trump has accused the u.s. Congress of plunging relations with Russia to an old time and very dangerous low his Twitter comments came after he reluctantly signed into law all new sanctions against Russia approved by both houses of Congress. The un says that Islamic state militants are continuing to commit wanted described as genocide against members of the years e.-d. Religious minority the statement came on the 3rd anniversary of the start of the militants assault on the years e.-d. Community in northern Iraq Alan Johnston reports the faith of the years e.d. People combines elements of various and Middle Eastern religions but in the eyes of the Islamic state militants the you see these were unbelievers fit to be slaughtered and then slaves on mass and a u.n. Commission says that 3 years after it began constitutes a campaign of genocide continues the militants still hold captive some 3000 years e.d. Women and girls subjecting them to rape and beatings China has warned India of serious consequences if it does not withdraw its troops from a Himalayan region claimed by Beijing a Chinese diplomat in Delhi said the move by Indian soldiers was illegal and by a senator Rajan has more details the strongly worded warning came a day after the Chinese foreign ministry issued a detailed document accusing the Indian fortress off trespassing in the dock land area which borders China India and Bhutan India Ses It sent troops into that disputed zone in June to stop the Chinese from building a new road earlier a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman accused the Delhi of building roads and deploying a large number of armed forces on the Indian side of the boundary he said the moves were certainly not conducive to peace this is the latest world news from the b.b.c. . A woman in the United States who encouraged her teenage boyfriend to kill himself in a series of text messages has been sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison Johnson Massachusetts ordered that Mitchell Carter who was 17 when her boyfriend Conrad Roy died should serve at least 15 months in jail the court heard that she repeatedly urged him to take his own life an autopsy has shown that a young Kenyan woman. Whose body was found along side that of a murdered senior election official was strangled to death on Wednesday doctors said that the official Christmas Sunday who had been tortured and then strangled the killings which came which came just days before next week's elections have provoked a great deal of anger in Kenya the Inspector General of Police Joseph pointed to gave details of the investigation we have taken statements from 6 individuals and Dad 4 other persons of interest and we are looking for and we ordered if you wish to pay the toll can understand that we allow the families has to moan and will once again also the fact that we had it happen to all get and not to us and of being then to justice the Brazilian football at Maymont has joined the friends champions parries and your mom for a world record is $263000000.00 payment of the fee triggered a release clause in the player's contract with Barcelona Neymar has signed a 5 year contract with p.s.g. Deal and more than $100000.00 a week then Mark have become the fust team to secure a place in the final of the women's European football championships they beat Austria 3 nil on penalties when their semifinal match ended mil mil after extra time in Sunday's final they'll meet the winners of the 2nd a semi final between the holes the Netherlands and in England which is now under way b.b.c. World news. Hello and welcome to News Hour live from the b.b.c. World Service in London with me Rebecca Kesse being in a moment with tensions remaining at blurring levels between the government and the opposition in Venezuela is a negotiated deal even still possible coming up later in the program we'll be looking at relations between Russia and the United States described by President Trump today as being at an all time and very dangerous low so what does that mean in practice and the distressing story of the case of the teenager who sent text messages to her boyfriend encouraging him to take his own life the defense based their case on this you know how can someone push someone to kill themselves they're just exchanging words over the phone but the prosecutor said you know in this day and age this is a way of communication now that's the case of Michelle Carter who's being sentenced today for involuntary manslaughter and we'll have more on that later but let's begin with Venezuela mired in months of political discord protests and violent clashes that have left dozens dead tomorrow the Madeira government plans to inaugurate the new constituent assembly it claims it has a mandate for following the elections on Sunday opposition groups boycotted the vote and planned to demonstrate on the streets again tomorrow this amid claims today that the vote had been meddled with while tame a Paris is former top aide to former President Hugo Chavez and Mr Madeira He says the political situation is a great concern of course in a normal country you would have a government that was for everybody and you would have a loyal opposition but that's not what you have in Venezuela in Venezuela you have a government that intends to make revolution and the not position that has at least a large group of it which has an insurrection all tactics which which has the aim of overthrowing the government. This is not a normal set of institutions is another not not a normal political system today we're on the brink of political violence becoming the norm. So what are the chances of bringing Venezuela back from that brink Jennifer McCoy is professor of political science at George state Georgia State University in Atlanta and is a former director of the Carter Center's America Program 1st though John Walsh is senior associate with the Washington Office on Latin America I asked him who if anyone now has the political clout to broker a deal between both sides in Venezuela No one actor has a political clout certainly not the United States certainly not the Organization of American States I think the idea of brokering a negotiated exit in genuine democratic elections for a new government that recognizes that Venezuela is a plural society is going to need to come from many different places including governments that are currently close to mature and Chevy's more historically and those who have been opposed and those who have been clear that the recent constituent assembly was in fact illegitimate that sounds like quite something to try and organize what are the chances of that happening any time soon well it's a tall order and it's always said about diplomacy that it it always feels until it succeeds I think it needs to be a very vigorous effort on behalf of everybody who wants to see Venezuela not just avoid a March to 30 years and dictatorship but also an even worse outcome of generalized violence and even civil war Jennifer McCoy What's your take on this and what do you think would have to happen to even get the 2 sides to a any sort of negotiating table yes well I do agree with what John has said that there's no. And currently a single person that's that's apparently it will take a person or an institution or a group acceptable to both sides to actually serve as a mediator. As happened previously in 2002 when I was the director at the Carter Center but at that time we had a combination of the OAS the United Nations and the Carter Center together and so sometimes it takes a group to be able to find the combination of people that both sides will trust I think that what's most important now is to think about not only pressures as are being discussed internationally in terms of the individual sanctions and in terms of diplomatic isolation but also incentives and that could include financial incentives promises of emergency loans and a but also offers to serve as guarantors for any agreement that is reached because both sides fear recrimination if the other is in power and persecution so there needs to be guarantors of due process protections of freedoms and rights and the international community can help with that as well possibly some sort of immunity from prosecution for both sides well transitional justice is a concept to help to move a country from war to peace or from authoritarianism to democracy and in that the contemporary idea of transitional justice is not strict amnesty not just wiping the slate clean for everyone but instead it is to hold accountable people particularly looking at the victims and giving reparations to victims in this case if we're talking about criminal activity in the form of human rights abuses and or corruption the victims may be quite widespread maybe the entire population if we're talking about the effects on. On health and food shortages so reparations is part of it up making financial cut but actual compensation or getting reduced sentences for severe crimes in exchange for telling the truth giving information. Ok and that sort of thing yeah John you talk about the pressure that needs to be put on the murderer government he's on the Quite a lot of considerable pressure already from neighbors the international community from within I don't mince of his own supporters and yet they do seem to be sticking with him including the military so far right I think there is building pressure but it's also really important to recognize that the government holds the cards right now they have the power they have the institutions they have the weapons and I think potential dissidents within the government and within Chevy small More broadly what we could refer to as democratic the small are going to be loathed to step out when they know that they could be next the repression could fall on them and I think that the signal that the government is trying to send with the Constituent Assembly now and its reaction to sanctions is that they are in control and people need to think twice before they speak out against them so they are looking to tamp down recognizing that it's a threat to them for people from their own movement to question the legitimacy of the steps are taking So what happens next and is there any model that we've seen in history or anywhere else in the world where this sort of negotiation extracting somebody from power or some sort of transition that could be drawn upon here that may work in them as well and yes. There have been cases of military regimes being helped internationally and one time to exit the scene one I'm thinking of is actually Haiti in. 1904 when negotiations with Sam Nunn Colin Powell and Jimmy. Carter helped to find a home for the military regime at that point in Panama to leave the country and to bring back President our understand who had been elected previously and then deposed that's one kind of example of helping to find an exit solution for those who may have been accused of actual crimes and very briefly John who might have the winning card internationally who may be the most significant foreign player in any brokered deal I think it does have to be a coalition and it has to be as an assembly of players who have trust both sides I think the Vatican can play a crucial role the u.n. Will need to play a crucial role I believe an assortment of countries in the region who would have the credibility with at least one side or the other even including smaller countries like El Salvador larger countries like Colombia those with a real interest in making sure that Venezuela does not fall apart John Walsh the senior associate with the Washington Office on Latin America and we also heard from Jennifer McCoy professor of political science at Georgia State University in Atlanta. That's close live now to Washington because in the past half an hour or so reports have been emerging that the special counsel appointed to investigate allegations of Russian interference in last year's election Robert Muller has impaneled or when rolled a grand jury we can get the details with our correspondent Anthony. Anthony politics is moving at breakneck speed in the States at the moment can you get us up to speed with who Robert Mueller is and what his role is Ok as you mentioned Robert Muller is the special counsel It was appointed by the deputy attorney. The general when the Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from this ongoing Russia investigation of meddling in the 2016 election so there was appointed by the deputy attorney general given a broad powers to investigate any possible ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government as far as meddling in the campaign goes and any issues surrounding it so it's a pretty extensive mandate and he's been operating ramping up hiring his staff as an office here in Washington d.c. For the past few months and and so we just got news today that he is as you mentioned impaneling a grand jury to assist him in this investigation Ok and what is the role of a grand jury how would they go about doing that Ok well Grand Jury of a federal grand jury is made up of between 16 and 23 people citizens average people who are given jury summons they come in every day and they are given the power to assist in criminal investigations they can issue subpoenas for documents they can take sworn testimony from people involved subject to the investigation and if they see fit and 12 of the members of the grand jury agree on that they can issue criminal indictments and bring people to trial so this really represents a new phase of this investigation a more serious phase and Reuters just just looking at a headline there they are reporting that the grand jury grand jury has issued subpoenas in connection with that June 26th meeting between Donald Trump Jr and members of the Trump campaign and Russian lawyers and another Russian lobbyist so this seems to be something specifically that this grand jury is going to be looking at that that controversial meeting from last year Ok That's interesting that's just happen now you know saying Ok so this system seemed to be in place so that putting the building blocks that we don't have any challenges at this point do we I mean what sort of time scale. Are we looking at in terms of moving forward on this right we don't have any charges and we may not get any criminal charges out of this a grand jury can be impaneled and can investigate and can conclude that there is nothing there usually these things can take months you know the citizens are called in every day for an extended period of time in order to conduct these investigations there is an old saying that if a prosecutor wanted a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich I mean there's so much discretion given to the prosecutors that they can they can tend to shape a grand jury the way they want to so if they have their eye on someone they can usually get an indictment out of it but but that does not necessarily mean that this grand jury is going to come up with any sort of indictments and there is actually already one grand jury operating according to reports that was looking into former national security advisor Michael Flynn and some of his long range deals while he was working on the Trump camp and phonies a great to hear from you thanks so much for that live in Washington now coming up later on the program we have a map of dark matter drawn up by 400 scientists studying a mind boggling Check this out 26000000 galaxies and there might be even more to come I'm still optimistic we might actually see something extra there but in the same time we're using this data as a way of preparing ourselves for the next generation providing you prefer a new Einstein to tell us what does it all mean why is the universe made the way these why indeed more of that to come under a mind of on top headlines from the news room this hour leaked transcripts appeared to show that Donald Trump repeatedly pressed Mexico's leader not to say that his country wouldn't pay for a planned border wall and 3 years after Islamic state generalities began their assault on Iraq he is it the minority the u.n. Says they continue to face genocide. You with news are live from the b.b.c. With me Rebecca Kaz Now this is a case that surely every parent's nightmare when 18 year old comrade Roy the 3rd from Massachusetts took his own life in his pickup truck he was encouraged to do so by his girlfriend Michelle Cottle that was the ruling made by the judge when he found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month what makes this case extraordinary is that the comments that the judge decided what instrumental in his death came as text messages which she's now been sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison with the judge saying that she must serve 15 months well during the trial called his defense team that and the depression medication that she was taking had had an effect on her judgment but I've been finding out more about the case from Jon Ronson Muser reporter with The Cook Boston Globe Michele and Conrad sent text messages over the span of 2012 when they 1st met and then all the way up until 2014 Oh a lot of the text messages were about you know your ordinary every day teenage stuff about you know friends and hanging out but there's also very much darker side Conrad for some time long before he met Michelle had struggled with suicidal thoughts he had even attempted to commit suicide in 2012 and he talked to Michelle a lot about this early on Michelle Chai to talk Conrad out of those thoughts that he was having and the feelings that he was going and eventually Michele started to encourage and prosecutors say that you know she began to think that this is what he wanted and helped him to by Lee take his own life yeah it's a really upset in case this John isn't it and clearly the judge thought reading these texts that any Most people reading what. When Rudd was writing would come to the conclusion that he was actually looking for a way out you know one point he says another day wouldn't it and then she writes back you can't keep putting this off you have to keep going I mean she really does seem to be urging him on and then this crucial line when he's got out of the truck she tells him to get back in the truck and matts the the crux of the case it is it is and I mean this case was it was watched by everyone really because you know hinge on whether a person's words could make them criminally responsible or not I mean Michelle and Conrad lived 30 miles apart from each other their relationship was based all in text messages so this was really an unusual case but the judge in this case when he decided to call the show he said you know play the some role that she did not issue a simple instructions get out of the trial and that's where. You say it's an unusual relationship and I think they only met each other a couple of times I mean are people all skin questions about how these 2 very young people seemed to be having a sort of virtual relationship they didn't meet face to face very often did they. Know they did and maybe a few times that and you know the defense based their case on this you know how can someone push someone they kill themselves they're just exchanging words over the phone but the prosecutor said you know in this day and age this is a way of communication now right so just as very much is being there physically Michele Carter the prosecutor said was there virtually And that was enough to push him over the edge and has she at any point explained why she behaved in this way the prosecutor argued that Michele wanted to be the grieving girlfriend she complained to young women in her class that she didn't have any friends and she. I desperately to hang out with young women in school but in government here ally isn't anything and so she saw the way her friends reacted when she did what prosecutors called a dry run for Conrad actually held them so she sent text messages to her friends expressing concern about his mental state expressing that he may have killed himself what actually was still alive and her friends were you know saying oh my God you know get him help is everything Ok you want me to stop by and the prosecutor is saying that she's fed off of that in attention of possibly being coming agree being grow friends and so they say that that was her thinking when she told him to get back in the truck and that that was her time to get the attention that she never had. John Ransom there from the Boston Globe and she was speaking to me just before the sentencing of Michel. Now this week Apple face that of criticism for its decision to remove a number of apps from his online store in China m v p n virtual private networks commercial software program that allow users to circumnavigate China's strict Internet controls so over this week's installment of our regular China desk we thought we'd look at what the actual experience of using the Internet is like in China Here's John sub with foreign journalists based in China have of late been losing a bit of sleep along with Apple's removal of some v.p.n. Programs from its china store there are indications that the Chinese government is preparing other ways to limit or deny access to the software and so as you'd expect foreign journalists who rely on v.p.n. Has to access ordinarily blocked sites like Google Twitter and Facebook to name just a few have been devoting many column inches to the impending crisis Hugh. But in the local park just down the road from the B.B.C.'s Beijing bureau there's less a sense of alone and more the total Bill Hughes meant do you ever use a v.p.n. Maybe and should. Repeat and repeat and I don't know that. You don't know what. In. Fact and now we're here to have the last comment there comes from a woman who tells me she's a 30 year old university graduate with a technology degrees should one way to think about the Internet world wide web is as a giant ecosystems. Over the last few decades some big beasts of a merged Google. Facebook. You Tube. Survival depends on a kind of natural selection of course the ability to exploit technology to become useful and relevant to millions of global users. China's Internet can also be viewed as an ecosystem but an altogether different one cut off and isolated from the world a kind of Galapagos here another strange and powerful force drives evolution in politics and while absolutely Web sites have developed that mirror those in the outside world instead of Google there's by do instead of You Tube there's Yoku and instead of Twitter waybill war and so on but they are themselves uniquely adapted to bend to the will of the Communist Party social media sites for example deployed both complex computer algorithms as well as armies of human senses to comb posts for sensitive comment one of the keys to Internet success and survival in this world is to keep censorship subtle and sophisticated enough not to alienate your users completely. Or what how but we have too many people in China if the government doesn't control things they'll be chaos that we don't have a religious face like people in other countries the government is trying to prevent problems to prevent disorder it's better this way in the local park in half an hour of asking we can't find one person willing to openly disagree with the need for censorship you are happy living in in the Chinese Internet ecosystem. To some extent yes yes you can swim around happy happily and in the Chinese Internet because I can find whatever I want. John Sudworth with China desk more coming up after the. Distribution of the b.b.c. World Service News Hour in the u.s. Is made possible by American Public Media with support from Dana Farber Cancer Institute working to unleash the immune system's power to fight cancer and develop promising new therapies videos white papers and patient stories are available at Discover care believe dot org. You know I drive junky cars Hello this is Nina Totenberg when my husband and I were courting he was really scandalized by my very old Mazda 626 and when we were invited to a state dinner at the White House he said that I should rent a fancier car I refused of course it's amazing to think that I kissed her and that dumped cars into my favorite programs go to k. R.c.c. Does the war cheaper details. Still to come the frosty relations between Russia and the USA a growing colder but do they constitute a dangerous all time low as President Trump argues also the Gupta's of South Africa how an Indian family rose to dominance in the post apartheid era and mind of facing criticism in the South African press and all the details of an extraordinary new map showing the vast amounts of dark matter in our universe 1st the news. B.b.c. News with Neil Nunez the Brazilian football a name has joined the French champions Barry saga for a world record $263000000.00 payment of the fee triggered a release clause in the player's contract with Barcelona Naima has signed a 5 year contract with p.s.g. He'll earn more than $100000.00 a week Leaks transcripts appear to show that Donald Trump repeatedly urged the president of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto to stop saying publicly that his government would never pay for a war to be built along the border between their countries the transcripts as published in The Washington Post during his election campaign Mr Trump insisted that Mexico would pay 3 years after Islamic states jihadists began their assault on Iraq's years e.-d. Minority the un says they are continuing to face genocide it says the militants still hold captive some 3000 years 80 women and girls subjecting them to rape and beatings Polish prosecutors have spent more than 8 hours questioning the head of the European Council Donald to ask about the plane crash 7 years ago that killed Poland's president Lech Kaczynski was to to ask who was the Polish prime minister at the time says he has nothing to fear the Venezuelan prosecutor's office has asked the court in the capital Caracas to suspend the inauguration of a new Constituent Assembly on Friday over allegations of electoral fraud the announcement comes after the head of a company that supplied the voting system said the results were tampered with a woman in the United States who encouraged her teenage boyfriend to kill himself in a series of text messages has been sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison a judge in Massachusetts ordered that Michele Carter who was 17 when her boyfriend Conrad Roy died should serve at least 15 months of the sentence b.b.c. World news. Coming up next what is next in the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Washington d.c. But 1st to outer space and beyond because researches have just released the most accurate map yet of dark matter in the universe at Sema 400 scientists from around the world have put it together studying and get this 26000000 galaxies is genuinely mind bending stuff but what does it tell us about our universe I've been speaking to our science correspondent palet gauche and I asked him to remind us of the basics 1st what is dark matter about 80 years ago there was some anomalies in observing the movement of stars and galaxies and seemed moving as if there was far more material in space than could be observed in that became known as dark matter and then researches observed that galaxies were continuing to accelerate away from each other now of the Big Bang the acceleration should have been slowing down and that was accounted for by force or dark energy no one really knows what these things are but taken together they account for 96 percent of the universe so if you really want to learn about the universe we really need to find out how the 96 percent work said tell us about this survey then because the numbers connected with this alone a pretty impressive and the map they've come up with is also pretty impressive Well this is all about big numbers 400 scientists worked on it they used the most sensitive camera ever built to photograph 26000000 galaxies and some of the galaxies were 4X7MBB miles away you're making my head hurt dark matter is invisible but what it does do is that it distorts the light from those galaxies so you can build up a picture of where it is and so here is the person who is the most you're being polite because it looks like some randy. Red and Blue splotches but it actually is the starting point of trying to understand how Dark Matter and Dark Energy influence the universe around us must make an earlier to Professor often a fan of University College London and he told me what was so important to learn what dark energy and dark matter are the map covers an area of the sky which is larger than the area covered by $6000.00 full moons and it goes quite deep right so it's a big chunk of the universe and we've used here 26000000 galaxies so I would say secretly billeted of the results which matters here I'm still optimistic we might actually see something extra there but in the same time we're using this data as a way of preparing ourselves for the next generation providing input perhaps for a new Einstein to tell us what does it all mean why is the universe made the way to us while we wait for the next Einstein to Madge what does it mean as far as we can tell at this stage our understanding of physics is about to go through this total change arguably the biggest change in thinking in science I doubt you that ever occurred so this is one of the most exciting areas of science at the moment and will undergo a totally new understanding of how the universe works it is exciting and that was part of those that from science team. You're listening to news hour live from the b.b.c. In London with me Rebecca cares b. Now it's no secret that relations between former Cold War rivals Russia and the United States have been getting decidedly chilly have recently now it might be fair to say that positively icy as we were hearing earlier Robert Miller's Justice Department probe into allegations of collusion with the Russians continues apace and all of this is being played out on social media as is the new norm today Russia's prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said hopes for improving relations with the u.s. Under its new leadership over he also claimed President trumpet being humiliated by his own Congress later President Trump tweeted our relationship with Russia is at an all time and very dangerously low you can thank Congress a couple of hours after that senior Republican senator John McCain tweeted our relationship with Russia is dangerous a dangerous low you can thank Putin for attacking our democracy invading neighbors and threatening our allies so just how low is dangerously low is and is that assessment an exaggeration I've been speaking to Evelyn Farkas who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense responsible for the Pentagon's policy towards Eastern Europe under President Obama I would say that relations between the United States and the Soviet Union the historical predecessor to the Russian Federation during the Cuban missile crisis were the all time low so we're not there we don't have thank God or nuclear crisis what do you make of the fact that at no point in his Twitter feed well so far has he had any criticism for Russia being to blame for this all time lows he puts it I think that's highly alarming because as Senator McCain said in the tweet that you quoted the Kremlin is responsible for the current state of affairs we wouldn't have to sanction Russia if they hadn't invaded 2 of their neighbors if they hadn't changed borders in Europe for the. 1st time using military force in World War 2 If they hadn't violated the treaty on enemy nuclear forces if they hadn't started this acid mating people outside of Russia and in Russia certainly the Russians all making a much tougher stance now we heard from Mr Medvedev today on. Talking about Mr Trump's total weakness to quote him what might the Russians move be next well I think with this time and what Prime Minister Medvedev is trying to do I believe at this point it looks like what he's trying to do is sort of shame our president into taking some sort of cooperative action towards Russia because this is my read of it he's essentially say you're letting Congress take control and so then the response from our president would be oh no I'm not and therefore I'm going to do x. Or y. People listening to this man millions of people will remember the Cold War And remember the impact it had over Absolutely pretty much every diplomatic relationship in the world at that point people are talking about you know relations getting colder between these 2 are we really heading back to those days unfortunately yes I think we're back there and the difference is that this time we are so reluctant that we're not facing the reality and I think it's really dangerous because the reality is that they decided that the United States and the West was in an adversarial situation with Russia on the question of sanctions many of these sanctions on Russia and I we've had new ones this week but they've been in place for a while now and some would argue that they're not really working is that fed you think I disagree I think if they weren't working you wouldn't have the Russian government making such a fuss about them they clearly are feeling the pinch and as much as of course the u.s. Sanctions are linked with e.u. Sanctions so. Don lockstep for the most part until the most recent ones and that means that Russian elites cannot go easily overseas you know they can't go into Europe for vacation they can't send their children there as easily so there are real restrictions on freedom of movement if you will for these people and these entities that are supporting President Putin and his military adventurism it does affect capital and it does affect their access to advanced technology in certain areas including the defense industry which is very critical for us in the West of course and I was evident is that she's now a senior fellow at the think tank the Atlantic Council. Now next week South Africa's President Jacob Zuma faces a vote of no confidence following accusations of widespread corruption one of the businesses to have been involved in the scandals belongs to the Gupta brothers families whose influence extends from media ownership to coal mines and almonds the common thread being the ownership companies that were state owned the Gupta's have been the subject of highly critical media coverage as well as a report by South Africa's public prosecutor's office examining their links to President Zuma and members of his family as well as government ministers the group does deny any suggestion of corrupt behavior in fact they've submitted sworn affidavits to the contrary and they say the media is in the hands of a white monopoly capital which aims to tarnish then name so in the 3rd of this week special report man being run I was granted a rare interview with Gupta and discussed frankly their reputation which I wanted to Stevie Cameron It takes a bit of destruction to the travel of businesses and the manner of the achieve this description goes. Then could not understand why so much of the stands coming in this country slowly we understand this is illegal Poli. Who is behind this media ownership region would want any new computer to come in the country in a way the doesn't your success shows that it is perfectly possible to be nonwhite in South Africa and do incredibly well in very little time but for to success you have a t.v. Station a newspaper you have interests in energy. Airlines rail. Just the very fact that you can do that should show that actually please not just run by white people no but please understand up to a limit so what happening this is a few families one or politically who controlling this country or legally they do not want any newcomer to come in the industry on that level one of the reasons your reputation seems to be so damaged is because of what they're calling state capture now there was a report on this recently carried out by some academics and some legal professionals in this country Firstly why did your family go to court to stop the report being published if you look at the state capture please understand from. The hundreds of billionaire Mond and family. 34 years of business this is not a stupid business I told this to the board historically inconclusive there's no single finding in their. Revenue is an 8.9 percent that real estate get to they're not looking into I think they would say that even if only 8.9 percent of your total revenue comes from government it will talk about it is that it may just be 8.9 percent of your total revenue from government business but the government also has the ability to grant licenses to allow you to buy up bits of industry where you can make money outside the government and I think allegations basically that you've been much too close to the president and to the government you know there are stories which. Often cited of ministers being called. And being either pressured for example though there was a minister who was pressured to try and get South African Airways to drop the route to India so that an airline that you have an interest in Jet Airways would be able to sort of monopolize the reached effectively it's things like that and our other other ministers used to say that they were offered bribes that's why people think state capture now but reach base is that something that no one ever bring a proof for that no one if you don't know what they're talking number one number 2 when you say a particular minister has been told been offered some money or whatever but the given or whatever different let's let's reach them separately so this is the example of the depth of the former deputy finance minister Mr Jonas who says that he was being offered 600000000 rand by your brother to be the finance minister and to be co-operative I see in public protector that a few differed because most of distinction news to me as well and then when I see this I rented specifically to my brother Mr I said this is our freedom for Mr John this is given but Mr Ajay given a counter effort effort I said in my whole life I never met this man I never seen you might meet you I said No I was not even that 6 weeks in the country you might meet another brother we don't know what he's talking but what possible good would it do him to put out these allegations that he and he and the finance minister he worked with with those sacked from their jobs overnight with very little explanation they were both very trusted characters in the Treasury what possible interest would he have to invent these allegations so I asked him that's what I'm saying and I don't know honestly we don't know why our name is being dragged in or at least things without any reason why we will be doing that when they're targeting politically they're running their own agenda so what is a normal business family read to do with this so one of the other things that comes up in the state capture report is sort of examples like the Cole So your family took over. Opteron coal mine and the price that the government and she company paid for the call went from $150.00 rounds per ton under your predecessors Glencore and then it went up to $57150.00 on adding 100 percent that's for the misperception the creating you know being paid 571 months but on this contract exactly getting paid even now until next 2018 reaping exactly 150 what Glenn called was being has Eskom given you another contract for the same mine which is now worth 571 rounds but on the no it's not ours it was invest businesses Q I know I'm saying overpriced or transparent you can pick from Eskom you can pick what contractor authenticity we do you absolutely deny that there's been a change in the price since you took it over the board or there's no contract price yes ma'am if this is all completely untrue why aren't you suing Are you saying the capture of poor people who are talking about this all the time I have to run my business 7 and a half 1000 employees who is hopefully looking at my family to give every month salary I look after my business what I go for this gossip newsletters What should I do please some people think one of the reasons that you will not survive but in very well is because of your place relationship with the president President Zuma his son worked for you for a number of years you have business interests together his daughter did his wife do you think given that you do sometimes put in bids for government business especially in government contracts and state owned companies is there a conflict of interest that you know or which contract please show me the contract have you won no government contract I'm saying show me one contract you do do some business with the government 8.9 percent of your revenue since last year comes from government contracts directly do you think it's difficult given your relationship with President Zuma do conflicts of interest arise not where they. Do not want us to do. Business in this country because effecting better in this country there is currently a vote of no confidence about to be called on President Zuma Because matter please do you feel guilty because part of the reason that's being cited is the good time having to do with a simple business family if President Zuma doesn't lose the vote of no confidence clearly everybody who could succeed him sounds like they would be against you how long do you think you can stay in South Africa No I think this is again the material question I wanted to stay aside have kicked off what I what I love this country I am proud Proudly South African and I respect all my fellow South Africans and that was so good that speaking to the B.B.C.'s Vina Rana in Africa still lots more to come from news that we're going to be heading for Vietnam next. Distribution of the b.b.c. News Hour in the United States is made possible by American Public Media with support from the Lera tax automation for businesses of all sizes add a layer of works to simplify sales tax and other business taxes with real time rates an automatic filing more and more at a cavalier a dot com a.v. a L a are a dog call. And remind some of our top stories this hour the standoff in Venezuela continues both the inauguration of the newly elected constituent its constituent assembly and the opposition rally both planned for tomorrow John Walsh a senior associate with the Washington Office on Latin America told us a way out of the crisis must be found I think the idea of brokering a negotiated exit ends in genuine democratic elections for a new government that recognizes that Venezuela is a plural society it's going to need to come from many different places including governments that are currently close to mature and Chevy's more historically and those who have been opposed and those who have been clear that the recent constituent assembly was in fact illegitimate Joan Walsh senior associate with the Washington Office on Latin America speaking to us. This is Rebecca b. His new life from the b.b.c. World Service now a rather bad tempered diplomatic spat as a rep did between Germany and Vietnam this week following what German officials are describing as the abduction of a Vietnamese national from a bill in public by around 20 armed men in a scandalous violation of German sovereignty they say chin so I'm Tynan is a former oil executive who the Vietnamese government accused of embezzling funds today he appeared on Vietnamese state t.v. Claiming he had given himself up and went home voluntarily This is. During my escape I wasn't thinking mature Lee and decided to hide and during that time I realized I need to return to face the truth and especially my superiors Well earlier I spoke to Jenny Voight bureau chief of a.f.p. In Hanoi and she's been covering the story so he's a former Communist Party member and the former head of a fairly significant state own firm I mean he's accused of mismanaging a huge sum of money as you say he's accused of losses $150000000.00 later accused of embezzlement relating to a real estate case that charge comes with the death penalty he's not been seen for a year he sort of quietly disappeared from Vietnam around this time last year and only reappeared this week when officials here in Vietnam said that he had handed himself over to Khalif the German foreign ministry said yesterday that he had been kidnapped in the Berlin park by armed Vietnamese guards and they call this a scandalous violation of their Law So really we've seen a very serious escalation and tonight we saw him appear on state media I'm eating parts of his confession yet this is an extraordinary story isn't it because the German authorities are absolutely livid. About this he was taken from a park by around 20 men saying that expelling venoms Intelligence Agency station chief I think but he's been speaking in a video in Vietnam What's he had to say about it so he came back and said that he indeed spent a year in Germany said he was very scared and said he came back you know upon the coaxing of his family he owned up to his responsibility as the head of the state oil a construction firm. Ascensions that is ready to cooperate and he's seeking leniency from authorities as the investigation moves forward Well the Germans seem to been no doubt that it was an abduction and they're complaining very loudly about that in the meantime though what happens next will it be a trial and what is this telling us now about the authorities in Viet Nam This case is actually involved in a sort of broader crackdown as you say there's a few things at play here there's a new administration a new leadership in power since last April they were seen as being quite conservative quite hardline we also have a change in the administration in the u.s. As you know some of the observers have said that without a kind of emphasis on human rights coming out of Washington the loss of a major trade pact which is the t p p that there isn't really a tool coming from the u.s. And perhaps other nations to enforce human rights here in Vietnam which doesn't frankly have a very good track record when it comes to treating dissidents or critics in a very internationally acceptable manner shall I say if the enemies will convince the this man was guilty of this crime and it embezzled Elise funds and they knew he was in Germany why did they not approach the German authorities and ask them to extradite him to face trial I mean I think that's really the big question for today we know that Mr Tang was seeking. I'm in Germany Germany and I think a lot of people are wondering you know how we got sue the point of him coming back and to hear these sort of explosive allegations from Germany and we're all wondering how we got to this point and really watching with keen eyes about what happens next. Jenny Vaughan with a.f.p. Speaking to me earlier from Hanoi. Now let's return to Venezuela where the prosecutor's office has asked the court in the capital Caracas to suspend the inauguration of a new Constituent Assembly on Friday tomorrow over allegations of electoral fraud members of the new constituent assembly elected on Sunday would you to be sworn in tomorrow but the body will have the power to rewrite the country's constitution and the opposition plans to be back on the streets tomorrow they also say that those elections were tampered with which is a claim rejected by President Maduro supporters So what can we expect then tomorrow we spoke to Katie Watson in Caracas Well this is a ration 70 that has being put back it was meant to be taking place today but President Maduro said that he was delaying it now they're all than $500.00 delegates who will be sworn in at. 'd that it's actually going to be alongside the National Assembly it's the same kind of building if you look at it in the center of Caracas so that should be taking place at around 11 or 12 midday 'd on Friday at the same time the opposition has pushed pushed back a rally it was going to again rowdy today but it's deciding to rally on Friday again to coincide with this inauguration so both sides will be will be very busy yeah I'm sure we've been describing the mood in Venezuela now as tense for weeks but how would you assess the mood that today. I think it's one of uncertainty really I mean. You know that also for months we've seen violent confrontations in in the last few days it's been relatively quiet on the streets I think the feeling is that the opposition is perhaps more deflated than defeated you know we saw all the rest of the re-arrest of the Lopez and there's men who were taken away by the Venezuelan intelligence offices in the middle of the night that certainly you know your position got many people here concerned I think that it's just a creeping feeling of uncertainty as to you know what will happen now once the constituent assembly is in place and what that means for democracy in Venezuela Well you know we were discussing earlier whether a compromise is possible in Venezuela between the 2 sides when you speak to people on the streets do you get a sense that there's any appetite for that. From the people on the streets everybody would like to be compromise reality I don't think there's going to be compromise any time soon I mean the government is being very defiant cracking on with you know this vote which from the beginning was very controversial. The opposition is not united it's not a kind of one body that can can go against the government there is kind of disparate groups that are trying to come together but it's not a easy task so no I think in a dialogue at this stage is you know if not going to happen any time soon I was Katie Watson in Caracas and just after we spoke to her as I mentioned the prosecutor's office has now asked a court to suspend that planned inauguration tomorrow we'll have to watch that to see.