16/04/2016 BBC Weekend News

Pope Francis has told thousands of refugees stranded on the Greek

island of Lesbos that they are "not alone" in their plight

Speaking on a visit to the island, the Pope called on the world

to respond to the migrant crisis, in a way he said is "worthy

And in a personal gesture, the Pope took three Syrian families

back with him to Rome for resettlement.

Thousands of migrants are stuck on Lesbos awaiting

processing after the EU reached a deal to return them to Turkey.

From Lesbos, Caroline Hawley reports.

He came to what's been called the front line

To meet the people who risked their lives

to get here, to plead for a

more humane international response to them.

The Pope is used to provoking emotions.

They're usually drawn from religious fervour, not

All the migrants in this camp are now effectively detained,

awaiting either asylum or deportation.

A deal between the EU and Turkey to try to stem the flow

of migrants has provoked questions about its morality and legality.

TRANSLATION: to a growing chorus of concern.

We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic

And respond in a way worthy of our common humanity.

Outside another camp, Syrians gathered for a glimpse

of the Pope, hoping, somehow, he'd be their saviour.

This man, a Kurd, said he'd rather die here than be

All the migrants we've met here have huge hopes and

expectations of the outcome of the Pope's short visit.

He'll hope, at least, to have managed to stir

But what difference will the Pope's visit

We want them to rethink the EU- Turkey deal, and how

At the moment it's being rushed through and

people aren't having a chance to have their claims for asylum fairly

The Pope flew back to Rome, taking with him three Syrian

families whose homes have been destroyed.

While thousands of others have been left

As controversial as the EU- Turkey deal has been, it has succeeded in

dramatically reducing the number of migrants arriving here. It has been

Europe's main aim. It's come at a cost of Europe having its humanity

questioned. The Pope's message was loud and clear, there has to be a

more merciful response. It is a message that has also come today

from the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales who spoke of

Britain's resettlement programme for Syrian refugees and said it had been

going very slowly and was, in his words, a great disappointment.

Boris Johnson has delivered a blunt message to President Obama,

saying he should not back the campaign for Britain to remain

The Mayor of London said it would be "nakedly hypocritical"

if the President gave support to Britain's membership of the EU,

Here's our Political Correspondent Eleanor Garnier.

Up and down the country it's Boris Johnson who is

Good morning everybody, thank you very much...

At referendum rallies, like here in Newcastle today, he's

urging voters to back the Leave campaign.

But on a visit to the UK next week, the US president is

expected to say Britain should remain in the EU.

A likely intervention that Mr Johnson

condemned in an interview with the BBC.

I just find it absolutely bizarre that we're being lectured by

the Americans about giving up our sovereignty, giving up control.

They wouldn't dream of sharing sovereignty.

Is he in danger of making America look like a hypocrite?

Not in danger of it, I'm afraid he is...

Coming just a few days before President Obama arrives on another

state visit to Britain, Boris Johnson's plain speaking

It's not the usual red carpet rhetoric rolled out before a

Especially from someone who aspires to live here one

But Boris Johnson likes to grab the spotlight and knows his comments

Senior Conservatives from the Remain campaign are not impressed. I don't

think you thought this one through very hard, it's a pretty unwise...

And naive comment to make. United States has pledged to come to the

defence of Europe if we're ever attacked. To expose their own

country to defend us. The idea the President of the United States can't

express concern at the wider implications for the West as a

whole, I don't think that's credible. Any intervention has to be

carefully managed. Resident Obama would want to be seen to be telling

which each voters what to do, but Mr Cameron will hope this special

relationship will give his campaign the boost it needs.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has warned that rescue

workers are in a "race against time" to help the victims of two

earthquakes which struck the south of the country.

32 people are known to have died, and dozens more are believed to be

From the island of Kyushu, Robin Brant reports.

Two big tremors in the space of a day and they fear more could be

coming. Across the region, roads are cut off. Some simply slipped away.

Others have been blocked by a massive landslide. CCTV footage

taken from inside this office shows how violent shaking was. The rescue

operation is focused on people feared trapped. Some in apartment

blocks, others in nursing homes. 20,000 troops have been mobilised to

help. It's almost midnight here but the place is deserted. That's

because it's simply not safe enough to stay. This is one of dozens of

buildings that came down in that first big tremor. At least six

people died here. Almost everyone else has left. The police are here,

there's some military here, we've seen taxis roaming around but that's

pretty much it. People in Kumamoto are sleeping outside, some in

gardens. For many, indoors just isn't safe. The night before last I

stayed in the gym and last night I was dozing off when the earthquake

happened around midnight. That's damaged the school buildings and the

gym, so I've been here since around 1am. Japan sits on one of the

world's most active seismic areas. Its buildings are constructed to

some of the highest standards in the world, but still, they fear the

effects of more big tremors here. - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -

have visited the Taj Mahal - the final engagement of their tour

of India and Bhutan. They sat briefly on the bench

where Diana, Princess of Wales was famously photographed

on her own, in the year Officials have said the couple

wanted to create new memories. Our Royal Correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell has It was one of those moments

which mattered much more to picture desks and photographers than it did

to the William was only nine

when his mother visited the Taj His officials say that visit 24

years ago has no particular But the images of his late

mother sitting alone at this monument to love,

Prince Charles having decided not to accompany her,

was one of the clearest signs at the time that their marriage

was in serious trouble. Hardly the happiest of associations

for William, then. But at the end of their first visit

to India it was an opportunity for him and Catherine to create

memories of their own. Albeit under the intense

scrutiny of photographers. They were waiting

for just one thing. Images of Diana's elder son

and his wife posing together at the place where Diana had been

left so tellingly alone. It was a moment not as significant

to William as the watching world may

try to make it, yet a fitting place to end

the What has the visit

here meant to you? Yet William understands

the resonance today's 24 years ago the images

from this place were Those images have now been

supplanted, at least in part, by something

very much happier. And on that note, this royal visit

to India and Bhutan concluded. According to officials,

the couple achieved what they wanted and had

a Nicholas Witchell, BBC

News, at the Taj Mahal. Football, and Aston Villa have been

relegated from the Premier League after losing 1-0 to

Manchester United. The defeat

at Old Trafford means the Birmingham-based

club will drop out of the Premier League for the first

time since its formation in 1992. We are back with the

late news at 10pm.