05/09/2014 BBC News at Ten

A fragile ceasefire in Ukraine, after pro-Russian rebels and the

Ukrainian Government agree a deal. The truce, after almost five months

of fighting and 2500 deaths was announced by Ukraine's President. I

have given an order to the chief of my military to declare a ceasefire

in half an hour. A show of force at the NATO summit

in Wales, as leaders welcome the truce. Obviously we are hopeful, but

based on past experience, also sceptical. The halt in fighting has

not stopped the EU imposing more sanctions on Russia. Flying out of

Spain, Ashya King's parents are given permission by the High Court

to take him to Prague for cancer treatment.

Migrants march in Calais, claiming ill-treatment by French police who

are trying to stop them crossing the channel. Warnings over e-cigarettes

are alarmist say researchers who believe they could help save

thousands of lives. President Obama drops in at stone hedge, taking one

unsuspecting family completely by surprise. Later on BBC London - more

details emerge about the suspect in the murder of Palmira Silva, found

beheaded. One stop closer to a return to Parliament, Boris

Johnson's short listed for the Uxbridge seat.

Good evening. After months of fighting in eastern Ukraine a

ceasefire has been agreed between Russian rebels and forces. Ukraine's

President announced the news at the summit in Newport, South Wales.

Leaders warned Russia to abide by the deal, insisting they would

defend their allies against any aggressor. NATO has announced a new

4,000-strong rapid reaction force, including 1,000 British troops which

could be deploy to a crisis in Eastern Europe.

In a moment, we'll be reporting from the front line in Eastern Ukraine.

First tonight our political editor Nick Robinson reports from Newport

on the day's dramatic developments. No war has ever been paused. No

ceasefire declared quite like this. Just after 3. 30pm this afternoon,

the President of the Ukraine marched on to the golf course, the place

where Europe raised the Ryder Cup, now host to a summit for the most

powerful military club in the world. President Poroshenko made this

dramatic announcement. I give an order to the chief of my

military to declare a ceasefire in half an hour, at 6pm Ukrainian time.

Just a few hours earlier the Red Arrows had roared overhead, just one

part of a fearsome display of air power from nine countries, laid on

for NATO's watching leaders, or perhaps in truth for their watching.

This was the day NATO decided to deploy more forces on the eastern

border, the border with Russia. This is what the ceasefire is meant

to stop - 2,000 miles away from the summit, Russian-backed rebels,

battling with Ukrainian forces in the port of Mariupol. Back in Wales,

the reaction to the news was, we'll believe it when we see it. Obviously

we are hopeful. Based on past experience also sceptical that in

fact the separatists will follow through and the Russians will stop

violating Ukraine's sovereignty. This summit agreed to establish a

4,000-strong rapid response force. David Cameron said 1,000 troops

would come from Britain and a further 3, 500 will take part in

military exercises, designed to reassure countries in Eastern

Europe. They fear Vladimir Putin. He may

have unveiled a peace plan earlier this week, but NATO is working on

the assumption that his intentions are anything but peaceful. We stand

behind Ukraine's right to make its own decisions, not to have them

dictated by Russian tanks rolling over the border. New sanctions would

come into force, he said, until a Ukrainian peace plan was

implemented. I put it to the Prime Minister how some would see this

ceasefire. Putin has won because the Ukrainians realised that the West

have done too little, too late and Putin will get away with his

aggression. I would challenge the view that the EU t West, America,

have somehow been weak in response to what has happened. I think it is

very important to focus on the pressure that we can realistically

and effectively bring to bear and that is economic sanctions pressure.

What though of that other great challenge - the search for an

American-led strategy to confront the forces of the so-called Islamic

States, what the US called ISIL. President Obama's plan is becoming

clearer. It will be unveiled when he takes the chair of the UN General

Assembly next month and has the backing of what has been called a

core collision of ten NATO nations. There's great conviction that we

have to act as part of the internation community and that was

encouraging. Support may come from a more surprising source - the BBC has

been told that Iran's Supreme Leader has approved contact between Iran

and the US about how to combat Islamic State.

The test of whether this summit has confronted the threats from the

south, as well as the threats from the east, will come long after this

military hardware is removed from this golf course and it will come

thousands of miles away, in Ukraine and in Iraq and Syria.

Fierce fighting continued in Eastern Ukraine, right up to the start of

this afternoon's ceasefire. There had been heavy shelling at the part

of Mariupol, a key objective for the pro-Russian rebels trying to secure

a corridor between Russia and Crimea. From Mariupol our special

correspondent sent this report. If this was the last morning of war,

the opposing forces seem determined to spend their fury. These men are

from a far right Ukrainian militia defending Mariupol.

From the apartment blocks, the soldiers watched rebel movements.

Below them, children played on, as if oblivious to the unfolding

battle. Civilians watched the smoke rise from the explosions.

Throughout the morning, we have been hearing the sound of heavy shelling.

In the distance now you can hear rebels using rocket fire, but we

have seen Ukrainian jets overhead and heard outgoing artillery. It

seems with the ceasefire just hours away, the plan for a ceasefire, both

sides are trying to gain as much military advantage as they can.

In this ambulance wounded civilians for whom a ceasefire came too late

to save them from tragedy. Among them a woman whose young

grandchildren were killed hours before the peace deal was signed.

Lubov Vasylivna saw her granddaughter, aged six and her

disabled grandson, aged ten, cut down by an explosion.

"When I held my granddaughter, Karolina, the whole left side of her

was shredded. I was in shock. Nikita was still in his wheelchair. It was

difficult. There was blood everywhere."

"I don't know how I'm going to survive this. The images of them are

in front of my eyes." Despite the promise of peace, some

families are still fleeing. This woman is a widow who says too

afraid to stay any longer. They have promised a ceasefire. Do you not

believe in that? "Oh, God willing it will happen. If it does, we'll come

back." There are as many as one million displaced people in theest,

with peace in pros -- in the ease. With peace in prospect there is hope

aid can get through to people like these. The local commander took us

to meet those who are barely surviving. He would hear their fury.

There was a body lying here for two days, she tells him. We couldn't

bury it. No-one cares about us, we are like abandoned dogs. The fighter

is lost for words. The conflict is not settled, the

land is divided. The people of the east know simmering hatred can erupt

into war again. After all they have suffered, only the test of time will

convince them that peace is really coming.

Let's return to Newport and speak to our diplomatic correspondent. The

most important summit in NATO's history, that is how it was billed.

Have they achieved enough? Well, I think the mood here is pretty

positive. If you think of the perceptions going into this summit,

there was a sense that the NATO alliance was old fashioned,

cumbersome, that the western leadership seemed to be on the back

foot. What have we had? President Obama showing his hand, coming one

the ambitious start for a new collision, enlisting the first

members here, to count their threat of Islamic State in the Middle East.

On Russia, NATO said will position more troops in Europe, have a rapid

reaction force. And saying it is holding open the door to new

members, including Georgia, the former Soviet republic that

President Putin went to war over. Then this evening, this you yan

ceasefire. Did western sanctions, sanctioned by NATO countries make a

difference? Well, possibly a little bit. There could have been other

domestic reasons if the intentions are genuine. This ceasefire has to

be tested and still has to hold. It whats been a very good -- it's been

a very good note on which to end this summit. The parents of

five-year-old brain tumour patient Ashya King have been given

permission to take him to Prague for treatment. He was removed from

Southampton General Hospital by his parents after they disagreed with

staff about his treatment. The couple were arrested in Spain, but

later reunited with their son. Ashya will receive proton beam therapy at

a specialist clinic. Our correspondent is here. This is the

treatment that the family have been seeking all along. What a journey to

get this treatment. Ashya was made a ward of court when his father took

him from the hospital. Wardship is when the court takes custody of a

child and control of every major decision, in terms of the health and

welfare of that child because they consider the child to be at serious

risk. Following that extraordinary hearing on Tuesday, when the Crown

Prosecution Service announced they were withdrawing that European

Arrest Warrant in respect of Ashya's parents. Ashya himself remained a

ward of court T judge ordered his parents summit the treatment plan to

the court. That was considered today. The treatment was considered.

Travel arrangements for Ashya and whether there were sufficient funds

for treatment and travel. The judge ordered his parents be allowed to

take him to that Czech Republic for that proton beam therapy. When he

gets to the hospital, he will be returned to the full custody of his

parents and he will be able to have the treatment that they always

wanted him to have. Some of Britain's top experts

in smoking and addiction say thousands of lives

could be saved every year if smokers Their advice contradicts

recommendations from the World Health Organisation, which

said last week that e-cigarettes As Hugh Pym reports,

it's left many confused. Getting a clear picture in this

debate isn't getting any easier. Last week global health chiefs

warned of the potential dangers Now British experts say

that's misleading and they're No surprise they are popular

among staff at this Lancashire-based e-cigarette

business, Totally Wicked. Some smokers are switching to

e-cigarettes as they still have nicotine,

but the vapour, produced by heating the fluid electronically, is a lot

less damaging than tobacco smoke. And experts backing e-cigarettes say

tens of thousands of unnecessary If people were to switch

wholeheartedly or completely to e-cigs, and even if they carried

on using them for the rest of their lives, you'd be looking

at cutting that number to no more So it's a huge potential

public health gain. In less than a decade e-cigarettes

have gone from a standing start to Today's report says they could

prevent 6000 early deaths a year if a million smokers switch

from tobacco. But last week's report said use of

e-cigarettes among adolescents had And that is why some argue there is

a danger of enticing younger people The biggest worry is that these

cigarettes might be used to get a whole bunch of young people

into the nicotine habit, We don't know what effect that

would have in the long-term. We need more information

and regulation. We are at the beginning

of a new surge with these cigarettes and we just don't know enough about

these things yet to say thumbs up. With apparently mixed messages

coming from the medical profession perhaps

it's not surprising that businesses In pubs like this, for example,

you are allowed to use e-cigarettes Management

at this bar say it is simply too difficult for staff at busy times to

work out who is smoking tobacco There is a big marketing push

on e-cigarettes, as major tobacco companies have been

buying up some leading brands. Another twist

in this often confusing story. Because it's vapour,

not tobacco smoke. The Lord Mayor of London, Fiona

Woolf, has been appointed as the new chair of a major inquiry into

historical claims of child abuse. Ms Woolf, who's a tax lawyer,

replaces Lady Butler-Sloss. She stepped down because

of concerns that her brother was the Attorney-General at the time

of some of the alleged abuse. Around 200 migrants have marched

through Calais this afternoon demanding their "human rights and

freedom", amid allegations of heavy handed tactics by police. Extra

officers have been deployed in the town to cope with the increase in

the number of migrants trying to get to Britain illegally. Lucy

Williamson is there. As I talk to you tonight, the

migrants we have been spending the evening with are somewhere in the

darkness behind me, waiting by a highway for what they all call their

chance. Some have been waiting for it for months. Thousands of miles

from their families. We have been hearing their stories.

At dusk, Calle' migrants begin their nightly walk in search of a truck

that will smuggle them into Britain. John has been doing this for five

months. In that time, he has lost a brother to the conflict back home in

Sudan. It is the only thing that dampens his relentless humour. Faces

like his are now part of the backdrop in Calais. Their stories

are lost in the battle to survive. You have respect here in France.

Today, some began a protest march to tell their stories, of police

violence, they said, and lack of human rights. One man told me police

had punched and kicked him to the ground. Another showed a broken arm.

But few say they are giving up. Four British truckers, checking their

vehicles is now a daily chore. And even tourists returning home our

targets. And as numbers of migrants grow, the tension in the town is

rising, too. TRANSLATION: The crypt -- the

situation is getting critical. It is dangerous for the people who live

here. I know the migrants are human beings but it seems they are

settling down in Calais. Foremost, this is not the end but the last leg

of a very long journey, across deserts and overseas, driven by a

desire for work, a common, simple hardship, and that powerful

universal emotion, hope. We heard earlier from the NATO

summit in Wales about the situation in Ukraine, and concerns about

the threat from Islamic State. But the global instability

doesn't stop there. There's the recent conflict in Gaza,

Islamic extremism in sub-Saharan Africa and tension

in the South China Sea. Now,

two decades after George Bush senior spoke of a new world order following

the end of the Cold War, some are talking of a new world disorder,

as turmoil appears to spread. John Simpson analyses

the current situation, the causes and connections

behind it, and what can be done. It has been a summer of blood, as

bad as anything in recent times. Parts of Gaza city now look like

Berlin in 1945. Journalists have been murdered gruesomely on camera,

simply for being American. Innocent Iraqis have been targeted for not

being Muslims. A new and ultraviolet groups have blazed their way across

the region. Quiet towns have been destroyed and the inhabitants

murdered, or enslaved. A commercial airliner was blasted out of the sky

by a rogue missile, and everybody on board was killed. Over the summer,

it really has looked as though a New World disorder is establishing

itself. Europe has seen images reminiscent of the worst of the Cold

War. Russia's intervention in Ukraine, the cost so far, 2000 dead,

260,000 people displaced. In Iraq and Syria, we have watched the

establishment of a self-proclaimed Islamic State across the region. The

cost, hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced. But the trouble

isn't limited to these countries. In Nigeria, the ultra-Islamic Boko

Haram, now dominates the north-east. 10,000 dead, more than 600,000

displaced. Al-Shabab in Somalia has been responsible for heavy bloodshed

in Kenya. 3000 dead, 1 million displaced. At present, the threats

to peace seem manifold. Self-styled Islamic State, IS, has spread far

and wide and has managed to attract support from various parts of the

world. Last week in Afghanistan, for instance, I travelled north from

Kabul to a province where we had arranged to meet a commander who was

fighting alongside the Taliban. But now he said he was interested in

linking up with Islamic State, ISIS.

TRANSLATION: I know about ISIS and we have links with some of their

members and we wait to see if they meet the requirements for an Islamic

caliphate. If they do, we're ready to join them. They are great Islamic

fighters. In Europe, our complacency has been interrupted by the

infiltration of large numbers of heavily armed Russian troops into an

independent country, Ukraine. President Putin's match oh tactics

are only now being effectively challenged. By failing to act on

threats we have created a permissive environment. For my money, there is

a link between Syria and Ukraine, not in a direct political sense, but

in the sense of having to fight -- having failed to act in relation to

Syria. The West gave a clear signal that it would probably not act in

various other contexts. So what response does the West make to the

varied threats it faces? One response is military. The Americans

confirmed today they had killed the head of Al-Shabab, the Islamist

group in Somalia. And their response to IS has been to attack it from the

air. This has certainly halted its advance but it is not a long-term

strategy. In fact, President Obama has admitted publicly he hasn't yet

developed one. Today, a familiar figure from the past called for a

tougher approach. Paul Bremer famously announced the capture of

Saddam Hussein in 2003, although the way he ran near a was much

criticised. We got him. He wants a clear strategy against IS and in

Ukraine. There is a real need for leadership. There is no question

that we have to use military force to deal with ISIS. It has to be

defeated, it has to be defeated militarily. It is hard to remember a

time when there were as many countries in serious trouble as

there are today. These are also the countries most threatened by

extremism. In the long run, the real answer is to help them sort

themselves out, but it won't be easy. John Simpson, BBC News.

The former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he

will lead a drive for Scotland to gain more powers within the United

Kingdom if Scots reject independence in the referendum this month.

He told the BBC that a no vote was not a vote

Meanwhile, the Deputy First Minister of

Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has urged voters to back independence, saying

The polls are tight and today the two campaigns continue to scour

One question not on the ballot paper is whether Scotland should get more

powers from Westminster, and 400 miles south, that is exactly what

this former Prime Minister promised if Scotland votes to stay in the UK.

Gordon Brown told me he would lead the drive here to give

Whatever happens, people will know that

the majority party in Westminster in Scotland, the Labour Party, is

And when the referendum is over, this issue will not go away.

We will ensure that on the floor of the House of Commons we will push

It was a rare Westminster appearance by Gordon Brown,

Labour thinks many of its supporters are tempted to

vote for independence because they just don't trust politicians here

in Westminster to give Scotland what it wants if the vote is a no.

And all three main parties have sketched out their own plans

for more tax and social policy to be devolved.

But it doesn't convince the campaigners for independence,

who say Gordon Brown failed to give new powers to Scotland

What I believe passionately is this is the only guaranteed opportunity

That is why I say to people out there, if you are more convinced

than not - because few people are 100% convinced about anything

in their lives - but if you are more convinced than

not, vote yes, because we might not get another chance.

The campaign which has felt remote from Westminster for months is now

Labour knows it is their voters who could prove decisive

and hope this pledge of more power will convince Scotland to stay.

The Green Party is calling for a wealth tax on the top 1%

of earners, those earning over ?3 million a year, in

At the party's annual conference, leader Natalie Bennett said the

Greens' general election manifesto would also include a guaranteed

income for every adult and child in Britain with a pledge to raise the

President Obama is flying back to Washington tonight after

But before he left Britain he decided to make a detour

He headed to Stonehenge for a stroll around the ancient stone circle.

"That's one off the bucket list", he declared, as Duncan Kennedy reports.

From momentous decisions in Wales to historic monuments in Wiltshire,

President Obama's huge cavalcade looked an unlikely site as it wound

through country roads en route to the world's most famous stones.

Avoiding the queues and the ropes that hold back everyday tourists,

the president strolled around. He spent 20 minutes inside the ring,

the burden of the world's crises momentarily kept at bay outside the

great stone monoliths. The president may have been here for one reason

is, but this family got two eye-popping sites for the price of

one, a unique addition to the family album. He was really sweet. He asked

our names and said I was outnumbered because I had three boys and my

husband. There was a bit of banter between the boys, saying that boys

are best. He said, I don't know if I agree with that. It was an amazing

experience for all of us. Knocked it off the bucket list, he told

reporters as he left. If only all politics were that easy. This will

have been a rare, stress-free moment for the president to cherish, before

putting thoughts of the great stones behind him to fly back to the

concrete realities of home. Now it's time

for