30/04/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.

Wherever you are in the world, resistance to antibiotics now poses

a major threat to public health. That's the stark warning from the

World Health Organisation which says the implications of this growing

resistance are devastating. Iraq is voting in its first

parliamentary election since American troops departed - but it's

taking place with half a million people displaced by the fighting,

and some areas beyond the government's control.

Also coming up... After a prison execution by lethal execution in the

US goes wrong the state of Oklahoma is to review how it carries out the

death penalty. From the gangster grit of Mona Lisa

to the cartoon caper Who Framed Roger Rabbit - we'll be remembering

Bob Hoskins one of one of Britain's best loved actors who's died aged

71. Hello and welcome. We start with a

warning from the World Health Organisation that drug-resistant

superbugs now pose a major global threat to our health. The WHO's new

report warns of "devastating" implications unless "significant"

action is urgently taken. Its study describes a 'post-antibiotic era' in

which people could die from simple infections that have been treatable

for decades. The WHO analysed information from 114 countries. It

found that antibiotic resistance is happening now "in every region of

the world". It focused on seven bacteria responsible for common

serious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and blood infections. And

it suggested that two key antibiotics are no longer working as

they should. Here's our Global Health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar.

Warnings in recent years about people around the world becoming

resistant to antibiotics used to save hundreds of millions of lives.

This is the first major global report saying it is already

happening in many parts of the world. It concentrated on seven

different bacteria responsible for things like pneumonia and blood

infections. Reports suggest that two key antibiotics no longer work for

half of the patients in several countries. This is a last resort

drug used to treat people with life-threatening infections. In

patients tested in Greece, more than 60% were resistant. In the UK there

was a more rate of resistance, less than 1%. This is a global problem

with people travelling around the world and passing on resistant forms

of bacteria. The WHO says the world is headed for a post antibiotic

error if action is not taking and the struct -- these diseases may

once again killed. It is estimated 20,000 people die from

drug-resistant infections every year in Europe alone. Joining me from the

World Health Organisation's headquarters in Geneva is Dr Carmen

Pessoa. She heads the anti-microbial resistance programme. It is not a

new story that bacteria is becoming resistant, we have had the warning

before but what is changing now? This report shows that for the first

time in a comprehensive way, high levels of resistance has been

identified in all parts of the world. Whenever it has been booked

for, it has identified this high level. -- looked for. It is no more

for the future order speculation, it is a fact. The resistance to last

resort drug has been identified. Our some regions more susceptible than

others, perhaps the more developed countries? This is an issue which

concerns all countries. It is not a problem that is isolated to a single

country. It concerns and has been identified in most parts of the

world. It is an issue that requires action by all countries and in a

concerted way. It is an issue that the entire planet has two face and

address. What kind of actions matter most now? The good news about this

is that the solutions are in our hands. Actions should be taken by

all of us because we are all part of the solutions as well as the

problem. It is about people using intime microbiology in a more

sensible way. Patients should only take these drugs when needed and

when prescribed by health care workers. It is about doctors

prescribing only when needed. And also, applying infection prevention

and control to avoid the further spread of these pathogens. It is

also about policy makers in governments providing support to

health care facilities to improve control conditions in hospitals as

well as improving policies to support the development and

production of new antibiotics. We all need to take action. Thank you

very much for being with us. Iraq is holding its first

parliamentary elections since the US pulled its troops out of the country

three years ago. The vote is being held after some of the worst

violence and unrest since 2008. There is heavy security at polling

stations and in some areas outside government control, voting is simply

not possible. But for those who can make a choice, the key decision is

whether to give Prime Minister, Nouri-al-Maliki a third term in

office. Quentin Sommerville reports from Baghdad.

Politics in Iraq can be a matter of life and death. At this election

rally last week, first one explosion and then watch the white van on the

right. 33 were killed here. Militants targeting the Shi'ite

coat. A grisly start to elections. -- Shi'ite crowd. West of Baghdad,

we headed to the border under armed escort. This is the road to

Fallujah, the city has fallen to Al-Qaeda inspired insurgents. Iraqi

government control ends. This is as far as we can go. We are told it is

not safe. This means large part of the province cannot vote which will

further marginalise this in a community. Politics has been about

exploiting sectarian division. The failures this election could make

matters worse. The army is being outmatched by the insurgents so in

an existence largely unseen nearly half a million have fled their

homes. Few are willing to talk for a few of reprisals. But these women

wanted their stories told. Their homes have become a battle ground.

This woman told us the Fallujah how my day had been cursed by God. She

said the government needed to help others. -- to help them. The Prime

Minister is hoping for a third term. He is Shi'ite and foreign cine

involvement in the rising violence. His main rivals says the world has

forgotten Iraq. The shame is not just what is happening in Iraq, the

shame is this is happening under the very eyes of the international

community. We see a country which is systematically being destroyed. The

Sunni militia are fighting alongside the Americans and helped turn the

tide against Al-Qaeda during the war. This man kept fighting. The

militants since it never venture. He told me, they killed my wife and the

beheaded my son. The Americans back -- abandoned as but it is the

government I blame, they gave us no support. How can I go on without my

family. As the polls close this evening, Iraq stands as a rare

saying, democracy in the Middle East but it is country in crisis and the

sport might not be enough to deliver it from the brink. -- and this

vault. To Nigeria now where demonstrators

have been marching through the capital. More than 230 girls were

abducted from their school in the south-east. This is a fairly small

demonstration with a police south-east. This is a fairly small

protection around them. The message is, bring back our girls alive. The

idea is they will move to the National Assembly and present a

letter they're calling on politicians and the military to do

more to bring back the missing girls who were abducted more than two

weeks ago. Let's hear from some of the people who have come out for the

demonstration despite the rain. Our message today is that we need our

girls. We need them allies. Mothers are crying, children are crying. We

need them. In the United States, President

Obama has said a botched execution in the United States has fallen

short of standards required when the death penalty is carried out. The

prisoner, Clayton Lockett, had been sentenced to death after shooting a

nineteen year girl and watching two accomplices bury her alive. Prison

officials say that he died of a heart attack more than forty minutes

after he was given his first injection. Richard Lister reports.

Clayton Lockett was convicted of shooting a 19-year-old woman and

watching as his friends buried her alive. Last night he suffered his

own gruesome death. His was to have been the first of two executions by

lethal injection on the same evening at this Oklahoma prison, but

something went badly wrong. After being strapped to the gurney a

doctor injected him with a sedative. At 6:33pm he was declared

unconscious and injected with two more drugs to end his life but at

6.36 he began writhing on the gurney and trying to speak. At 6:39pm he

was still lifting his shoulders and head of the gurney, grimacing,

appeared to be in distress. A prison official had been expected to

confirm his execution to waiting journalists but as time passed, it

became clear there was a problem. I notified the Attorney General's

office of my intent stop the execution and requested a stay of 14

days for the second execution scheduled for this afternoon.

Minutes later Clayton Lockett died of a massive heart attack. Lethal

injection is now the most common method of execution in America.

Sourcing the drugs has become difficult. The European Union banned

the expert from -- there exporter. American drug companies demand

anonymity. Lawyers lost a legal battle with the state to reveal its

drug supplier. But Clayton Lockett's slow death has put the

execution of Charles Warner on hold and may trigger lawsuits about

whether lethal injections are humane Joshua Marquis is a District

Attorney in Astoria, Oregon with a lot of practical experience as a

lawyer in this field - he's both defended men facing the death

penalty and more recently sought and obtained verdicts of capital

punishment. Thank you for joining us. Looking at a case like this, how

can it be argued that lethal injections are humane?

I would note that the drugs that were attempting to be used in

Oklahoma are to drugs that I would say I have administered these drugs

as part of a O V. The idea that administering drugs that are used

commonly in medical procedures as humane as a ridiculous argument. It

is about the testing of the cocktail of drugs and this inmate? For many

years there was a particular cocktail as it is referred to. The

first is a sedative, the second freezes the person's breathing, and

the last stopped their heart. If you have a cat or dog that is euthanised

either in America or Britain, those are the drugs that will be used. The

EU has cut off the drugs all states have been forced to come up with

other drugs, as you say cocktails. They are combinations but we will

not see the drugs that are being mixed offer various surgeries, they

would be called cocktails. They are combinations of drugs to put the

patient is comfortably as possible out of consciousness. That is what

we are doing in respect of the fact that this man's victim did not die

slowly or comfortably. He shot gun to her to death and then buried her

while she was still alive. This case has made headlines around the world,

but in the United States, is there much public concern about the

prospect of our death row inmates suffering in this way? What is

interesting is that in the United States there are 50 states, every

state makes individually. 35 states have the death penalty. Roughly 60

to 85% of Americans approve of the deathknell naughty -- death penalty

in some degree. Thank you very much for joining us from the state of

Oregon. Now a look at some of the day's other news.

The International Monetary Fund says that Russia is "experiencing

recession now" because of damage caused by the Ukraine crisis and

western sanctions. It's led the IMF to significantly reduce Russia's

economic growth forecast for this year as capital continues to leave

the country. The economy is now forecast to grow by 0.2% - much

lower than the initial forecast of 1.3%.

Meanwhile the acting president of Ukraine says his Government is

unable to contain the latest unrest in the east of the country.

Oleksander Turchynov also said Ukraine was on "full combat alert"

amid fears Russian troops could invade. Pro-Russian separatists have

seized control of more official buildings including in Luhansk and

Horlivka. Russia denies accusations its funding and orchestrating the

unrest. An explosion at a train station in

Urumqi in China's restive Xinjiang region has killed three people and

injured at least seventy nine. -- 79. State media said at the blast

was centred around some luggage and said the attackers also used knives.

It comes as President Xi Jinping ended a tour to the region during

which he said stability there was vital for the whole country. There

are long standing tensions in Xinjiang the area where the Uighur

Muslim population complain of repression under Chinese rule - an

accusation Beijing denies. Police in the northern English city

of Leeds have charged a 15-year-old boy with murder over the death of

his teacher. Ann Maguire's death on Monday is thought to be the first

time a teacher has ever been murdered inside a British classroom.

The teenager can't be named for legal reasons and is due in court on

Thursday. One of Britain's best loved

character actors, Bob Hoskins, has died. He was 71 and had been

suffering from pneumonia. His role in the movie Mona Lisa earned him an

Oscar nomination. He also starred in The Long Good Friday, Who Framed

Roger Rabbit and the television drama Pennies From Heaven. Hoskins

retired from acting nearly two years ago after being diagnosed with

Parkinson's Disease. David Sillito looks back at his life. Outside of

church? You don't go crucifying people outside of church, especially

on Good Friday! What's the matter, Harold? Eric's been blown up. In the

Long Good Friday, Bob Hoskins played a gangster, Harold Shand. If you

want to understand screen charisma, watch this scene. He didn't even

need to talk, his face could do it all. He was a natural. Of course, a

little guidance helps, and on this set he had some. I spent a lot of

time with villains before the film actually went on. Then most of the

gang in the film were real faces, you know. And if I was doing it

wrong, they'd come up and whispher, "you wouldn't do that." "What would

I do?" "I don't know, but, well you wouldn't do that." So I had to do it

until they agreed it was all right. It is impossible to explain, it is

not the sort of thing you can put into words. Bob Hoskins's

breakthrough had been the TV series Pennies From Heaven. # Yes, yes. #

My baby said yes, yes. # I am glad she said yes, yes. # Instead of no,

no. # His biggest television role before this had been a public

information series teaching adult literacy. I'm going to feel a real

mug, sitting amongst a bunch of strangers. If you cannot read or

write, it is not something you want every to know about, is it? He

himself was dyslexic. He had left school at 15 and in his 20s

accompanied a friend to an audition. Yeah, I was in the bar at the Unity

Theatre and a fella said, "you're next." "Oh, am I?" I'd a few of them

and I thought, "All right, where are we going?" Action! Before he knew

it, he had done reading, landed the lead and he was never out of work

again. Told you I was cheap, didn't I? In Mona Lisa, he was again a

villain and winning awards. His co-star was Cathy Tyson. I'd say to

him, "Have you ever loved someone?" And he says "all the time", and he

was really upset because my character does not love him. We did

that again and he said, I think you can to do that again, cann't you?

And we did. And then all this emotion came from me. That was a

turning point for me and my acting career. He described himself as an

educated, five feet six inches with a face that looked like a squash

cabbage, but he was soon getting the big roles in Hollywood, again

playing the tough guy, this time though he was tussling with a

rabbit. I do. You don't. I do. You don't. Listen, when I say I do, that

means I do. What do you mean nothing? I mean nothing, Denny. He

appeared in more than 80 films. One notable co-star today, Michael Caine

said described him as one of the nicest and best actors he had worked

with. Take a picture, climb a drainpipe, find out. Ratty, why

didn't you say it was you? Come inside, bring your friend. Bob

Hoskins announced his retirement in 2012 after being diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease. But what a career. He pretended it was luck.

But from that first reading it was obvious that they had spotted the

Hoskins charisma. Let's get you sorted. Bob Hoskins

who died today. Ten years ago - this Thursday - Latvia became one of

eight former communist countries to join the European Union.

Next month, its citizens will join in the latest round of European

parliament elections. The BBC's Joe Lynam takes a look at what the

experience of EU membership has been like for one of its smallest

members. Barely 25 years ago Riga's Hanseatic

beauty beauty was hidden behind the Soviet Union's iron embrace. 15

years later it willingly and joined a bigger union, the European union.

So has membership left a sweet taste for Latvia? Take this family run

biscuit factory. It has boomed since the EU became its main market

instead of Russia, producing 10,000 biscuits a day. Ten years ago we had

employed 25 people. Now we are employing 80. Our turnover has

increased by 80%. Instead of having one country for export, we have 18,

so we have increased our production tenfold. Tiny Latvia only has two

million people and since joining has received 4.3 billion euros from the

EU to spend on roads, schools and modernising homes. Over the last

decade, Latvia's GDP has almost trebled and it is now the

fastest-growing economy in Europe. Not everyone is happy. Yannis is an

arable farmer who voted no to EU membership. And despite having

received over 400,000 euros in grants, he still thinks the EU has

been bad for the country. We have to accept the rules of the EU

agriculture policy game and they are not the same as the ones we had in

the first independence in 1980. Then we had carefully developed Latvian

agricultural policy and we were one of the best at exporting

agricultural products. Currently we are losing because of the

agriculture policy of the European Union. When Latvia joined the

European Union ten years ago, it Union. When Latvia joined the

the four this country in it. Union. When Latvia joined the

poorest. Ten years later it is still Union. When Latvia joined the

one of the poorest, but incomes have risen by over 50%, despite a

terrible recession. The challenge for Latvia is to keep the momentum

going and have finally reach the European norm. The impact of the EU

depends on the generation. For the older generation that grew up in the

Soviet period, that is their childhood and that is what they

remember. They still feel distant from what is going on in the West.

But for my kids, they go there for education, some of their friends

live there, some of their friends study there, that is home to them

much more than anything here. To show their closeness, it is the City

of Culture. Latvia have always punched above their weight in the

arts. Not least this opera singer. I can hardly believe I am telling

you this. Our final item is the casing of a pig. An act that has

aroused debate. He kissed the animal in front of his primary school

pupils to keep a promise to them. He made a promise in March to keep them

from stopping letter. There is a lesson for you. - litter. A reminder

of our main news: The World Health Organisation has warned that

resistance to antibiotics poses a major global threat to public

health. It says the world is heading towards

an era when people could once again die from common infections and minor

injuries because some of the key drugs no longer work. It blames the

over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics for accelerating the

spread of superbugs. This is a report that came after an

investigation in 140 countries. Next is the weather. From me and the rest

of the team that World News Today, thank you for watching.

Hello once again. It looks as if there is the really is going to be

one of those days, really cloudy to start off the day and some pulses of

wet weather. Not only