02/06/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi.

King Juan Carlos of Spain announces he will abdicate, after

The King says a new generation has to be at the forefront.

His son, Crown Prince Felipe, is to become the new king.

Spain's ambassador in London tells us there is much to

It's a challenge for the future, and for the splendid new king,

Felipe VI. He has been the key figure

The White House unveils new plans to curb greenhouse emissions,

aiming to cut emissions from power plants by 30% by 2030.

Qatar's winning bid to hold the 2022 World Cup comes under investigation

by FIFA, as allegations emerge of corruption in their campaign.

And how one Cuban changed his life by making the treacherous

ocean crossing to Florida on just his wind-surfing board.

King Juan Carlos is to abdicate in favour of his son Prince Felipe

King Juan Carlos' reign ushered democracy into Spain but

in recent years the monarchy has been battered by

royal scandals, including corruption allegations against his son-in-law.

The King has spoken to the Spanish people saying it's time

for a younger, energised generation to take the country forward.

A message from the King to the people of Spain.

King Juan Carlos telling them he was abdicating to make way for his son.

TRANSLATION: Today, a new generation must lead.

Younger people with more energy, determined to push through with

the reforms we need and to face our future challenges.

I've only ever wanted to contribute to the welfare

This was the key moment of Juan Carlos's reign.

1981, and members of the Spanish armed forces seize control

They're hoping to revive the authoritarianism of the late

But the young King spoke up for democracy and they were defeated.

I wasn't afraid for Spain, because I knew what the rest,

and what the whole majority of the armed forces and the people

in general wanted, and really needed for me to do that night.

After the 2004 Madrid bombings, the Royal family visited survivors

in hospital. He was seen as a man for the people.

His youngest daughter, Princess Cristina,

caught up in a corruption scandal and the King himself criticised

in 2012 after a lavish elephant hunt in Botswana as Spaniards faced the

All that damage, as much as failing health, may have played

a role in Juan Carlos's decision to hand the crown to his son Felipe.

And the new royal generation now under pressure to restore

Well, demonstrations have begun in parts of Spain.

Partly organised by Spain's left-wing parties,

who are calling for a referendum on whether Spain should continue

What are we expecting on that demonstration front? I think it will

be interesting to see whether we see really in large numbers on the

streets and night. I predict not, but I might be wrong. I think we

will see tens of thousands of people turn out, particularly from the left

or supported by the political left. Parties here in the elections

recently picked up 20% of the vote, so it is a significant section of

the population in that -- in Spain that would support a republic.

Republicanism is much more mainstream and potent than it was in

Britain. I don't think we will see hundreds of thousands on the

streets, that would be a game changer, that would show that people

are pushing for some kind of change against the institutions want

themselves. What are people saying in the dread about this news? A

short time ago, I was -- in the Madrid? I was at the ambassadors

palace, he said the announcement can completely by surprise. I think

there is a lot of surprise here. I do not think there is shock. If you

go back to the beginning of the year to that corruption scandal, Princess

Cristina, the youngest daughter of the King, had to appear in court in

a long-running corruption investigation, back then we met with

royal officials and they were keen to point out that application was

not an option. Why has it happened six months on? Possibly because

there is less speculation in the media, there has been a lull in

whether the King might abdicate. There has been less media pressure,

maybe the Royal family and the King himself think it is a better moment.

As the King has pointed to himself and royal officials have said this,

he has become less popular, his son, Prince Felipe, has become more

popular. There is no doubt that the Royal household hope that Felipe can

turn things around and stem the tide, especially of young people,

moving away and sporting the monarchy less in the country. --

supporting the monarchy. A short time ago, I sat down with the

ambassador from Spain and he told us more about what's King Juan

Carlos's abdication would mean for his country. Yes, perhaps only a few

people around the King himself, and the Royal family, new the decision

of the King. But, perhaps, we should think that, the King was allowed

this decision in the last six months. He said this morning, his

last birthday, which I think is the 5th of January, he perhaps took the

decision and after that, perhaps was reflecting on that. Did the news

come as a shock to you personally? Yes, because in our country, Juan

Carlos has been a key figure in the last 40 years. In politics. Our

history, of recent history, he took over the power from Franco, and was

able to give it back to the people. And he managed to democracy, the

freedom, the piece, everything. I put it to you that King Juan Carlos

has left the monarchy in slightly less robust shape that when he came

to the throne in 1975. He has been able to understand, the political

realities are changing all over Europe and all over the world. And

then he was always a very wise man. I think it is the wisdom and the

experience, he decided to put on the front line, he decided to go out

because the Prince, Prince Felipe is a very well-prepared man. He is

young man, I think he took that decision. How far did his low

approval ratings, particularly compared to his son, Crown Prince

Felipe come influence his decision to abdicate? I think nowadays, we

will see, nowadays, you can take account of the main political

forces, the People's party and the Socialist party, they are 84% in the

last general election, they are supporting the King and the Crown

and the monarchy as the system. I think not, I think the King is

regulating his figure with the decision. In this time of austerity

for Spain, can meet country afford a monarchy? Of course, I think the

monarchy is a symbol of stability. And the young King, the new king, is

linked with the same feeling of the young of the country. I remember,

Prince Felipe was always asking the defence secretary about the salary

of the troops, the family of the military people, visiting them

abroad, the missions in Afghanistan or Bosnia, etc. He is a man with a

new feeling for the new realities. That was Spain's ambassador to

London talking to me short time ago. The US government has announced

a sweeping plan to curb climate change by cutting carbon dioxide

emissions from power plants It's a key part of President Obama's

climate change initiative and the environmental protection

agency says it will improve people's But many

in the coal industry accuse Mr Obama of waging a war on coal, and say

they'll fight the regulations. Aleem Maqbool reports

from coal country in West Virginia. The world's carbon emissions are

at record levels. America is one

of the chief culprits, burning vast amounts of coal, producing more than

double the amount of greenhouse gas But announced today,

the most significant environmental All told, in 2030, when the States

meet their final goals, our proposal will result in 30% less

carbon pollution from the power sector across the United States,

in comparison to 2005 levels. That is... Thank you.

APPLAUSE But here's the thing,

when they talk about cutting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants

like this one, there is really only one effective way to do that,

and that's to burn less coal. It's why many in the industry here

in America accuse President Obama The hills of West Virginia sit

on massive coal reserves, Executives from the industry here

say the new rules are going to have a major impact on America's

competitiveness on the world stage. It comes on the heels of a number

of initiatives and programmes from this president and from this

administration that has already We're dealing with

a very radical environmental community that would like to see

coal eradicated completely. In spite of America's massive

power needs, many environmentalists They're happy President Obama

is pushing through these ground-breaking rules bypassing

Congress, but the challenge is Now a look at some of the day's

other news. Hundreds of separatists in Ukraine

have launched an attack on a border guard camp at Luhansk,

in the east of the country. The border agency says five

militants were killed. There has also been an explosion at

the headquarters of the self styled Four people have been arrested in

France on suspicion of involvement The Interior minister,

Bernard Cazaneuve, said the arrests took place in the Paris

region and in the south of France. The announcement follows

the detention of a man on Sunday in connection with the killing

of three people at a Jewish museum Mehdi Nemmouche was said

by prosecutors to have spent a year in Syria,

apparently with jihadist fighters. At least 16 people have been killed

in heavy fighting in the Libyan city of Benghazi between militias and

forces loyal to a renegade general. A number of soldiers were killed

in the clashes at an army base holding troops loyal

to general, Khalifa Haftar. The general has been behind

a number of attacks on militant A new Palestinian unity government

has been sworn in marking a key step towards ending

a nine-year long rift between the mainstream Fatah Party that governs

the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. Israel says it will not deal with

a Palestinian government backed by Hamas and the US has expressed

concern over the role Hamas will The new government is made up

of 17 independent ministers led by the current prime minister

Rami Hamdallah. Joining me from Washington is

the former foreign minister He's now with The Carnegie Endowment

for International Peace where he overseas research on the

Middle East. What will the international community want to see

from this new government before they give it its endorsement? I think

first of all it is a much-needed step to end the seven year rift.

Also to satisfy public opinion, which has been calling for such a

government for some time. We need to understand that this government is

not going to be entrusted with continuing negotiations. That is

part of the mandate given to President Abass. In real terms, this

is not going to affect the negotiations with Israel, which have

stopped anyway, or the recognition of Israel. I do not expect

international communities to do much. I think they will judge the

Government by actions and I think they will continue to deal with

that. In fact, President Abass is coming to Washington soon,

accompanied by the Prime Minister. You do not think that there will be

sanctioned by the American Congress against this new government? Because

if Hamas is there, either in the back-seat seat or FriendFeed, then

that would automatically trigger those sanctions. Sanctions is a

strong word. Congress is likely to withhold current aid to

Palestinians, or attempt to do so. Such an attempt would be lobbied

against by the administration, which has already indicated that they will

not prejudge the Government and we are going to see whether its

actions, you know, contradict the positions taken in earlier by the

Palestinian authority. We also, I think, need to recognise that there

are no real negotiations going on at the current time between

Palestinians and Israelis. And in my own view I think the administration

is more concerned with the Israeli position than stopping these

negotiations because of settlement activity than with the formation of

a government that in the end everybody recognises. No peace is

going to be possible without that. They will need to have some kind of

signal, will be not, from this government? In a phone call on that

Sunday, -- on Sunday, John Kerry said that they must commit to the

principles of nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel

and acceptance with previous agreements. Will they do that? That

is something President Abass already commented on in his conversation

with John Kerry. The Palestinian authority has made it clear on a

number of occasions that there is no going back on agreements previously

signed. They recognised each other in 1993. That recognition still

holds, in my view. Thank you very much indeed for giving us that

analysis. Thank you. Five members of the Taliban,

including one former security adviser to its chief, have been set

free from Guanatanmao Bay by the US, Sergeant Bergdahl was, according

to the US, critically ill. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is

said to be furious for being left out of the loop

on the prisoner exchange. Republicans

in the US are also highly critical From a pro-Taliban news website,

images, it seems, of the welcoming party

for the Taliban detainees from and the Taliban leaders' assertion

that this is a victory are sure to stir the controversy in

the United States These are the hardest

of the hard-core. These are

the highest high risk people. And others that we have released

have gone back into the fight. Among the five who have been

in the prison since 2002 It has been pledged that they

won't return to the battlefield. But in Afghanistan, too, there has

been anger from the Government, which was not told about

the prisoner exchange in advance. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,

from the beginning, has been against the detention of its citizens and

limiting them in Guantanamo Bay, or But the recent release

of five Afghan citizens in exchange for an American army

sergeant goes against the agreement And their transfer to the

Qatar government was not agreed

upon by the Afghan government. continues to defend what it has

done. For some reason we took

a position in the 21st century, when some of her adversaries may not

be traditional state actors, that we would not do our utmost to

bring our prisoners of war home. That would break faith with

the American people and the men and women

who serve in uniform. So regardless

of who may be holding an American prisoner of war, we must do

our best to bring him or her back. As for the soldier's parents,

emotion is now tinged with the knowledge that they must now

wait before they can see I am so looking forward to seeing

your face after these last five

and a half years. And to giving you a great big hug

and holding you in my arms again, For now, the sergeant is at this

US medical facility in Germany, just starting what will be a long

and difficult rehabilitation. World football's governing body,

FIFA, says an investigation into allegations of corruption over

Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup will be

complete by next week. The publication of the report

by chief investigator Michael Garcia comes amid fresh claims that

payments were made to officials who Those involved in

the bid have denied any wrongdoing. Our sports editor, David Bond,

reports. It is a decision that has been

haunting FIFA Is it going to overshadow the

Brazil World Cup? In Sao Paulo today,

the FIFA General Secretary evading questions about how Qatar won the

right to stage the 2022 World Cup. Please could we have one question,

just for the BBC. It was the same in Doha,

where Qatar's Finance Minister was But World Cup officials might not be

able to avoid FIFA's chief investigator, who is conducting

interviews in the region this week. Newspaper claims that Qatar's former

FIFA vice president paid ?3 million in alleged bribes to football

officials to build support Qatar deny any wrongdoing but

at a question and answer session today, the Prime Minister reflected

growing concerns. There is an inquiry underway, quite

rightly, into what happened in terms I think we should let that inquiry

take place, rather than prejudge it. My memories of that bidding process

are, as I have said, not happy memories, in terms of the

way the whole thing was arranged and But let's let

the inquiry take place. So what now for FIFA's

investigation? American lawyer Michael Garcia today

announced he would finish interviews next week and produce his report

by late July. He is only investigating

whether individual politicians He cannot look into those who have

resigned or been expelled already. Therefore the chances of a revote

remain unlikely, unless the weight

of allegations continues to grow. One former FIFA adviser is

pessimistic. FIFA has weathered a

lot of scandals before now. So I think we need to work

on the assumption that FIFA will hunker down and delay

and that the chances of another vote But with the Sunday Times promising

more revelations in the weeks ahead, the feeling is that the doubts over

the 2022 World Cup An Egyptian satirist is ending his

programme. He has been dubbed Egypt's answer to John Stewart but

says the atmosphere in the country no longer allows for political

satire. He had come under mounting pressure for taking aim at the

Muslim Brotherhood and military. He says he has declined offers to

broadcast on non-Arab challenge channels because he said that he was

concerned he would be branded a traitor.

For years, Cubans have been risking their lives

Many make the journey across the shark-infested Florida strait.

One intrepid Cuban, Jorge Armando Martinez,

decided to make the dangerous crossing on his windsurfing board.

He's been telling the BBC how he managed to survive on just a bag

I am 28 years old and I came to the US on a surf board, from Cuba.

There was a lot of hardship there and I had to find

So I started to train as a windsurfer

I had to sell almost all my belongings.

I only kept my bed, my fan and windsurfing kit.

It was a group of us with the same idea.

All we had to do was train hard and get ready for the unknown.

We did not really know what to expect on the Florida Straits.

I was only carrying a bottle of water and around ten sweets.

The trip was supposed to take just six hours.

I knew I could reach speeds of up to 50 or 60kmph

I did not expect to have so many problems.

After four days at sea, I began to get used to it.

I rationed my water and had a sip everyday.

I was quite confident about my route,

thanks to a compass I had on my wrist.

I got to Marquesas Keys, which was on my right.

There was a beach and that was where someone found me.

Some fishermen were passing by very close to me.

They saw me and asked me if I was a rafter.

I said, "No, I am just very thirsty.

They took me by boat to an ambulance that was waiting for me in Key West

I was in very bad shape, dehydrated.

But I think everything will go well for me here

I like the challenge of being in a developed country.

It gives you the opportunity to work honestly and

The story of one very brave Cuban air.

King Juan Carlos of Spain has announced his intention to abdicate,

In a televised address he said "A new generation must be at the

His son Crown Prince Felipe will take over the throne.

For much of his reign, Juan Carlos was seen as one of

the world's most popular monarchs, but recently many Spaniards have

But for now, from me and the rest of the team, goodbye.

Hello. It looks like this week will be a mixture of everything. Some

sunny spells, some showers, some of which could be heavy. Particularly

on Tuesday. Midweek