28/02/2016 BBC Weekend News

Syria's ceasefire holds for a second day despite concern about the impact

In northern Syria, a glimpse of the battle against so-called

Islamic State - a BBC team reaches an area freed by Kurdish fighters

They found it, they stopped it and they detonated it.

It sent debris for hundreds of metres across this field.

After a week of heated Cabinet division over Europe,

a call from both sides of the debate for Conservatives

Manchester United rely on the heroics of a home-grown

I'm live on the red carpet in Hollywood ahead of the most

controversial Oscars in years. The Foreign Secretary,

Philip Hammond, says the success of a truce in Syria depends

on Russia, with concern about how its air strikes may

derail a fragile process. Tonight, the truce appears

to be largely intact. The battle against so-called

Islamic State goes on, however, and in northern Syria,

Kurdish fighters backed up by air strikes have been retaking

territory from IS. Our correspondent Quentin Somerville

is live tonight in Northern Syria. While we've been here they've still

been air strikes, shootings and car bombs, but there's been a big

change, they've mainly been in battles with the Islamic State and

with Al-Qaeda. That's the huge difference here. The Syrians we've

been speaking to our using a different language, in fact using a

word you don't often hear in these parts, that word is calm.

The truce is on in Syria, but so, too, still, is the fight

In Shaddadi, air strikes and the Kurds

Here, on the streets, the militants once held a slave

But the Islamic State can still surprise.

American jets help repel an attack in Talabiad.

This town was taken months ago by the Kurds, but IS snipers

and commandos attacked in droves an hour before the truce.

And across a long stretch of territory.

IS attacks have transformed the security situation

here in north-west Syria, security is a lot tighter along

the roads, in fact, it's impossible from the West.

the roads, in fact, it's impassable from the West.

If we stop the vehicle, this wasn't just an attack

with ground troops and snipers, they also deployed typical

The Kurds got lucky, they found it, stopped it and detonated it.

It scattered debris for hundreds of meters across these fields.

Just imagine the damage this would have done to local

So the Kurds have control here but it isn't absolute and,

of course, there is no truce with the Islamic State.

But elsewhere this ceasefire of sorts is mostly

It's not a return to normal life, but it's a start.

Today, the jets flew over, but they didn't bomb

We hope that they stick to their word and the calm

Back in Shaddadi it's a defeat, not a ceasefire, that is making

The Islamic State is gone, but their markings on shop fronts

We'll all come back here to recover our lives taken

This town was a place for the whole nation,

Arabs, Kurds, Christians, we all lived together.

The men with guns won't be disappearing here.

A truce isn't peace, but it's a moment of

And, for Syria right now, that's good enough.

So, calm is the start, but then comes hope. The hope is that the

ceasefire of sorts continues and leads to more peace talks. In the

last half hour the BBC has heard from the United Nations that

tomorrow humanitarian aid will finally start making it into

besieged towns, villages and cities in Syria. They are hoping over the

next five days they will get relief to over 150,000 people. That's a

remarkable weekend for Syria. After a week of bitter differences

within the Cabinet on Britain's future in or out of

the European Union, a senior minister called today for his fellow

Conservatives to respect each other. The Work and Pensions

Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who's part of the Leave campaign,

said "don't play the person, Our political correspondent,

Alex Forsyth, is at Westminster now. It has been an intense first week of

this campaign, Alex, it has, there are profound differences across the

political spectrum on this issue but the deepest divisions are

undoubtedly within the Conservative Party where you have Cabinet

ministers who sit side-by-side round the same table taking different side

in this debate. Today you have Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan

Smith accusing those who want the UK to remain in the EU of

scaremongering. He said they were being pessimistic that Britain could

stand on its own two feet. He didn't name names but referenced comments

made by the Prime Minister and Chancellor who hate leaving the EU

would be a risk, a leap into the dark, a profound economic shock.

There are questions, too, over the access ministers who wants to leave

will get to government documents. Senior Conservatives on both sides

are determined to try and keep this civil, they say they want to focus

on the issues and policies and not make this personal. Beneath that,

tension is building at the highest levels of government. And we're just

a week into this campaign. There are still four months to go.

Greece has warned that the number of migrants and refugees

in the country could triple in the next month

because of the caps being imposed at border crossings in the Balkans.

22,000 migrant men, women and children are already

in Greece, including several thousand in a makeshift camp

Our correspondent Danny Savage reports from Athens.

For days now just a trickle of people have moved north out

The crossing to Macedonia has remained closed for most

of the time, and the 6000 people here are growing restless

We will try to cross the border not from

Hundreds of miles south in Athens ferries from

the Greek islands have all but stopped bringing migrants

That's because the camps and holding centres are filling up

fast, there's a real feeling of no more room at the inn here.

To illustrate that point, on Friday, 1700 people arrived on little boats

But on the same day, just 10% of that number

So the government is scrambling to build new camps to house

The army is moving in to put tents up on the new sites,

At one proposed camp, locals blocked the gates in protest,

they say they don't want to be outnumbered by migrants.

TRANSLATION: How many people will amass on the border?

We're talking about a bundle of souls we cannot take

We feel that we live in a country where no one is actually

Migrants are not prisoners, they are free to move.

We found this queue of taxis outside a camp in northern Greece.

80 euros will buy a ride to the border and there's

This afternoon, migrants managed to block

the railway line next to the border again.

This week is a crunch point for this chaotic situation.

With politicians planning more Europe-wide talks.

A tiny minority are getting out of Greece.

The one-month-old twins we found last

week were two of the few to cross this weekend.

Votes are still being counted after Ireland's general election,

with none of the parties on course to secure a majority in parliament.

Protracted negotiations on the formation of a new government

are now likely - with questions about the viability

There's a warning today that a million buy-to-let properties

could be making a loss by 2020, partly because of changes to way

could be making a loss by 2020, partly because of changes to the way

From April, people who buy homes in order to rent them out will have

And from next year, tax allowances for landlords will be reduced.

Our business correspondent Joe Lynam reports.

Jay Cook has five buy-to-let properties in Kent.

But he won't be buying any more thanks to a new higher stamp

He also won't be able to deduct as much mortgage

interest from his tax bill from next year.

So what will he do with his properties?

The only reason why we've not immediately sold is sold

The only reason why we've not immediately sold

we are tied in with fixed-rate mortgages with penalties for early

repayment, so it doesn't give us the ability to sell immediately.

But certainly, I think, going forward,

as those fixed-rates finish, subject to the prices available

in the property market, I think we will

Do you think there will be lots of other buy-to-let investors

Absolutely, I think it has become a much less

attractive investment and people can't afford a loss every month.

There are around 2 million buy-to-let landlords,

just like Jay, between them they own 5 million

But a new study says that if interest rates were to rise

years, around 1 million buy-to-let properties would be loss-making.

Lucia Hall and her family have been renting in Watford for a decade.

She feels that buy-to-let investors have pushed the dream of home

ownership out of reach for them and welcomes

It may help house prices to at least stop accelerating

There's been a massive advantage for buy-to-let landlords for a long

Now there are so many young people renting,

and they are stuck renting, having to pay out half

their income in rent, there is no way they can say

save for deposits, way they can ever even think about buying a house.

The Treasury says by restricting some of the tax reliefs

it has addressed the unfair advantage enjoyed by buy to let

The government also says rents won't go up, many landlords

Fifa's new President, Gianni Infantino, told the BBC

today his organisation must ensure "everything comes out"

following the turmoil surrounding his predecessor,

Opening a ?100 million World Football Museum in Zurich,

Mr Infantino insisted Fifa could be fixed quickly.

You have to start as of now to live the reforms,

so already as of now and for the future, there will be no

And as for the past, of course, we have to make sure

that we co-operate fully with all the authorities to make

sure that everything comes out if something has happened.

The first major trophy of the English football season

is being decided today as Manchester City take on Liverpool

in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley.

Manchester City went in front with a goal,

but then late on, Liverpool's Coutinho equalised to take the game

The score is still 1-1, and if it stays that way,

the game will have to be decided on penalties.

Meanwhile in the Premier League, Arsenal's title challenge suffered

a setback as they lost to Manchester United.

For United, the local teenager who helped them secure a midweek win

Old Trafford reserves a special joy for the local lad made good.

This is 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, scorer

of two goals on his debut in the week.

Trusted to take on Arsenal today and take them on he did.

Half an hour in, this is the finish and celebration of a man

for whom football is pleasure, not pressure.

Arsenal were favourites for this, but Rashford has no regard

for reputation, three minutes later instinct took over again,

The Gunners two down to a teenager few

They got one back thanks to another young

Mancunian striker, Danny Welbeck, once of United and junior team

Fletcher Moss, the same club that produced Rashford.

That might have made the second half nervy for United.

This time he cued up Ander Herrera.

Now Arsenal were shaken, needing points

to sustain their title charge, they surged.

Louis Van Gaal's reign has rarely seen such drama.

Arsene Wenger must have felt the same.

For all their spending on global talent,

it's taken a boy from down the road to give United's season a teenage

Hollywood's biggest night begins in a few hours,

but the runup to this year's Oscars has been dogged by controversy over

the lack of diversity among the nominees.

The debate's likely to be addressed by the host of tonight's ceremony,

the black comedian and actor, Chris Rock.

Our entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba is on the red carpet.

Yes, they are making all the final checks here. This is of course a

show watched by millions around the world, so they have been getting

ready for months, but what they want quite prepared for is the storm that

has erupted, because for the second year in a row, all of the acting

nominees are white. Rapid change, that's

what the Academy is promising as the red carpet's

prepared for tonight. But there is a perceived

overall lack of This isn't just talking

about diversity for the sake of diversity, it is also bad

for business, it's bad for Hollywood to be so behind in

The Times that they are not developing projects

for people of different backgrounds Movies reflect our

society and are supposed to be a reflection of

who we are as people. For Hollywood not to make diverse

movies really is a big Actors who have long campaigned

for greater diversity are welcoming that it has become an issue

recognised at all levels. I think it really must start

in the boardrooms and it's going to take bravery

and it's going to take And, you know, making sure that

people aren't fearful to Kast And, you know, making sure that

people aren't fearful to cast black actors, black actresses,

in roles that may not be For many, the expectation

is that this will be the last year the acting winners are all

guaranteed to be white and that the discussion

becomes exclusively The numbers clearly indicate that

there were senior clergy involved. For best film, the Academy

loves to reward Will the spotlight this

year fall on Spotlight? A film about the Boston Globe's

investigation of a church When the banks committed

the greatest fraud in US Or perhaps The Big Short,

about the run-up to the global But the narrow favourite

is perhaps survival drama Its lead actor, Leonardo

DiCaprio, looks almost Even last year's winner,

Eddie Redmayne, I think it's pretty

much certainly Leo's In a year where everyone,

including, of course, recognises that what's

been happening around the Oscars has, to a degree,

overshadowed the awards themselves. Before we go, the actor Frank Kelly,

West known for playing Father Jack in the cult comedy Father Ted, has

died aged 77. Drink! Drink! Drink! He starred as the foul-mouthed

elderly priest between 1995 and 1998. His stage and screen career

spanned 60 years and included roles on Irish TV comedy shows as well as

a minor appearance in The Italian Job in 1969.