28/01/2016 World News Today

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

French police say a man carrying two guns,

ammunition and a Koran has been arrested

There are conflicting reports as to whether his companion -

A search went under way at one of Europe's top tourist attractions.

Up to four million cases of the Zika virus are predicted

The World Health Organisation issues a warning

Up to today, cases have been reported in 23 countries and

territories in the region. The level of alarm is extremely high.

Pomp and ceremony at the Elysee Palace -

and massive profits to be made - as the leaders of France and Iran

sign deals worth billions of dollars.

And the return of the polecat. Extinct in Britain for 100 years

and now numbers have recovered across the country.

French police have confirmed that a man has been arrested by security

teams at the entrance to a hotel in the Disneyland Paris theme park.

security alarm as he passed through a metal detector.

Police have confirmed that he was carrying two guns, a box of

As anything more emerged about this man? We know that he is 28 years

older, apparently not known to the police or intelligence services, no

police or criminal record. Investigators say that he has told

them he was carrying the guns to protect himself, for his own safety.

They are apparently still hunting for a woman they believe was

accompanying him. They have arrested a woman a couple of hours after the

incident. She was released after they established that she was not,

in fact, his companion. All the time being, this case remains with

criminal rather than anti-terrorist prosecutors, which would indicate

that the police are not quite sure what the man's motives may have

been, although obviously the fear is that he make have been banning

something similar to the November attacks in Paris in which 130 people

were killed and hundreds more injured. Around Paris and across

France, if there's any suspicion of an incident that could be

terror-related, did police have to act fast, don't they? That's right.

Today, the Interior Minister said that the threat level now is at

least as high, if not higher, than it was in November. He said that

lots are being uncovered and arrests made all the time. Ash Mac plots.

This is something the security services and the public are very

worried about. The president wants to extend the state of emergency for

another three months, despite opposition from human rights groups.

That move remains fairly popular with the public, according to

opinion polls. The Zika virus - thought to be

responsible for birth defects in babies - could infect

up to four million people That's the warning from the World

Health Organisation which will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to

discuss whether the mosquito-borne virus should be formally treated as

a global emergency, like Ebola. So far it's spread to 23 countries

in the Americas and officials are warning that, in Brazil alone, 1.5

million people could be infected. Our Science Editor David Shukman is

in the city of Recife in north-east Brazil,

where it's thought more than 100,000 people may have

caught the virus. The slums of Brazil are the front

line in what has become We watch as soldiers try to search

every single home here. Because one of the very few ways

to combat the Zika virus is to hunt While we are with the patrol,

soldiers find exactly the conditions The challenge is that

everywhere you look, And because in a favela

like this, the supply is not But if there is just

one gap in a tank like this, the mosquito can get in and you have

got yet another problem. Imagine multiplying that

thousands of times. In a tiny yard, a discovery,

a larva which, left alone, would emerge as a mosquito

within 48 hours. Health officials

sterilise the water. A tiny victory in a war

which is proving hard to win. Her brain is smaller than it should

be. There is no definite

proof that the Zika virus caused her microcephaly

but the evidence is growing. Her mother says she was caught

by surprise, but she will do In this one city, Recife,

her baby's life better. officials say up

to 100,000 people may be infected. On a map, pins mark the cases

of microcephaly, There is a major public

health challenge, probably amongst the most difficult

challenges we have to face And it is already becoming

a globalised issue. In a government lab,

analysis of a sample But despite all the gleaming

technology here, there are key questions about the virus that

scientists simply can't answer. If a woman has Zika,

is the risk of having That is very important for women's

choice, for the importance We don't know if there is a viral

treatment which will prevent This is the first major city

to be hit by the virus. Because it was taken

completely by surprise, That means it is almost

inevitable that more babies There is a lesson in this,

for the other cities around the tropics which are

vulnerable Day after day and street

by street, it will take real And for many babies

and others yet to be born, The coastguard in Greece says at

least 24 migrants drowned when the boat they were travelling in from

Turkey sank in the Aegean Sea, A number of the victims were

children. It is the second boat to sink in as

many days. One European leader today said the

Aegean Sea has become a mass grave. From Greece, James Reynolds

reports. The last journey of those who died

at sea ended this morning, Rescuers carefully brought

the bodies to shore. We don't know the names

of the children who died. We don't know who they

were travelling with, nor what made them or their families

get on boats that couldn't make it

through the sea. Out in the Aegean, rescue boats

continued to search for bodies. The shipwrecked migrants

from Iraqi Kurdistan may have spent more than 24 hours in the water

before they were found. This afternoon, outside

a police station, a small group of survivors

tried to keep warm. This man lost his wife

and two of his children. For a day at sea, he

held onto his youngest child's body, hoping in vain

that the infant could be revived. This doctor is treating some

of the other survivors It is very difficult

to manage the death It is very difficult

to deal with relatives, mothers and fathers

crying, because they have We found the migrants'

damaged boat on the beach. Well in Sweden, the country has

signalled a new tough line on immigration, saying that it could

ultimately deport up to 80,000 of the people who sought

asylum there in the last year. The policy was outlined by the

Interior Minister, Anders Ygeman, who said the

authorities are already being asked to prepare for expulsions, which

will have to be done using specially-chartered aircraft

and staggered over several years. Meanwhile, in the UK, the British

government has responded to growing calls to do more to help

unaccompanied children from Syria There are promises of extra money

and resources - but only in "exceptional circumstances" will

children from the camps Some fleeing war and persecution

with their families, but many millions end up on their

own. At the Calais camp

known as The Jungle, desperate young people

are knocking on Britain's door, This 15-year-old from Syria says

he has a brother-in-law in the UK and just wants

to be a schoolboy again. The government is under intense

pressure to do more to help the vast numbers of unaccompanied

children who have fled Some charities say

the UK should accept But instead, ministers

have come up with a plan which they say will discourage

vulnerable children from arriving

on Britain's doorstep. The plan focuses

first on the conflict Working with the United Nations,

Britain will help assess the scale of the child

welfare problem, but only will they bring any

children to the UK. Ministers say it is much better that

a vulnerable child I've said that we are prepared to

take more orphans from the region but I think it is right,

our approach, to take refugees from the region, not

encouraging people to make the difficult, potentially

lethal journey to Europe. Our approach is,

I think, compassionate and generous and I

think it is right. The refugee crisis continues

to claim lives on the EU's border. Today the UK pledged an extra

?10 million to support vulnerable children who make it to Europe,

and extra resources for But beyond Britain's

legal obligations, there

is no commitment to take any child. I think we need to see a more

engaged Prime Minister here, really looking at the issues and not

just saying we will only help There is a crisis in Europe

and are children Thousands of unaccompanied

children Last week, a court ruled that under

Britain's asylum obligations, three unaccompanied

children and a young adult in the Calais camp should be

allowed to join relatives in the UK. A full ruling will be issued

tomorrow and charity workers are trying to find any child who

might be affected. There is absolutely no sign

here that the desperate conditions that children and young people

are living in are preventing further children making the very

dangerous journey. The number of refugee children

who might come to the UK under today's scheme

is likely to be small. A few with relatives

here will be allowed in. Ministers argue that to avoid

exacerbating the migrant crisis and to protect overstretched

services, children without family and community ties

must be turned away. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has

met his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, in Paris as he

tries to relaunch trade relations with Europe after the lifting of

international sanctions. Iran has already signed a deal with

the French company Peugeot. An order for 118 planes from Airbus

is also due to be signed. French energy giant Total plans to

sign a deal to buy Iranian oil. A short while ago, the two leaders

spoke at a joint press conference of their hopes for their future

relationship The many documents and memorandums

were signed in the presence of the actually indicates that that also

includes the private sector, that there is a serious willingness for

and this cooperation is in the interest of both governments.

TRANSLATION: It is a new chapter of our relations.

And I would like this relationship to be useful.

Useful for both our countries, useful for the region, which, sadly,

has been marked by wars, crises and other tragedies, but I want it to

The rainy and delegation was said to have left feeling satisfied with the

deals. -- the Iranian delegation. They got what they were looking for,

a multibillion-dollar contract, the contract secured by the aeroplane

making company, Airbus, to sell a run 100 and two passenger planes.

The contract is said to be worth $25 billion, that is much

were expecting early in the day. And then we heard about other deals in

the oil market. Total is going to buy 200 barrels of oil a day from

the run, and there will be a joint-venture producing cars inside

the run, and there will be a Iran with Peugeot. And there are

other deals in agriculture and food and many other areas. They seem to

be quite happy with what they have got. When you talk about buying and

building new aeroplanes, that is the kind of thing the orderly Iranians

might not get to see, but there will be deals here that could make a

difference to everyday life. -- ordinarily Iranians. For the

Iranians, let's not forget the average age of the Iranian air

planes is something like 27 years, and that is not a good record. This

is the first thing that is going to affect Iranians. At the same time,

in the meeting between the presidents, we heard them talking

about new arrangements for European banks to enter a run again, and so

that trade can become facilitated. -- to enter Iran.

The former president of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo has denied

trial at the International Criminal Court.

It's a landmark trial - the first time a former head of state

Mr Gbagbo is accused of orchestrating a campaign of violence

His trial comes nearly five years after Mr Gbagbo's arrest.

The BBC's Anna Holligan is in The Hague.

These are the pro Gbagbo protesters which have gathered outside.

You can see that they are being controlled by the police.

There have been sporadic scuffles between the police and the

One protester was taken away in a headlock.

This is as close as they can get to the court. The hearing is underway

inside. One of their main concerns is that this is a case, they say of

victors' justice. When Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat,

3000 people were killed, there were murders, rapes and persecution on

both sides, and yet none of the supporters of the president have

been brought to justice by the ICC. This is a crucial case for this

court. It was created to bring the most powerful leaders to justice and

having a former head of state in the dock is evidence of the court was

Laurent Gbagbo. And they will be relying predominantly on evidence

that comes from a country and a government which has a vested

interest in securing a guilty verdict. So, much is at stake for

the ICC and the historic trial of Laurent Gbagbo and his co-accused,

and the police will, if you can watch outside -- the police will be

keeping watch outside the court for the rest of the day.

A new American study suggests that bed bugs have developed resistance

to the world's most widely used insecticide.

The tiny blood-sucking insects have thrived on the spread of global

travel, and evolved resistance to one chemical after another.

The researchers are urging alternative methods of control.

I've been talking to the BBC's Environment Correspondent Matt

They love us very much. They feed on us. They survive one blood, human

blood. They can survive for one year without a meal. They are extremely

tough. They are evolutionary miracles in some respects and they

can resist all of these treatments. Even the most widely used

insecticide, they are now showing signs of resistance to these. This

study has shown that you would have to up the dough is why a massive

amount? They tested these bedbugs and they had not seen the

insecticides for 30 years. About one third of a new -- one third of a

nanogram would kill them before, but they have developed resistance to

that. This sample was taken four years ago. In those four years they

might have developed better resistance. We don't have the

evidence yet, we have just two particular studies. And you get your

point with the chemical dosage where that is a problem for humans as

well. You cannot just blast them with huge amounts of chemicals. It

is counter-productive. The more chemicals were used on them, the

more that they get their evolutionary gear into play, and

that is what they have done. The scientists are urging the pest

control industry and individuals to use nonchemical methods if at all

possible, to use heat, to use traps and they want better protection,

they want people to be aware of the signs of bedbugs, apart from waking

up covered in bytes, there are other sites as well. A number of studies

have looked at ways of catching them and confining them. Something quite

sticky and then something that will catch them as they come out to feed.

Just one bed bug can infest the whole place. The fumigation has not

really work. If you leave one or two of them alive, they managed to

spread and grow again, and then they come out, and they feast.

Here's another story of some remarkable survivors.

The polecat, a native British animal,

In 1915, the only polecats left were to be found in Wales and Scotland

and it was feared they were heading for extinction.

But now a major nationwide survey has found that

Our science correspondent Rebecca Morelle has more.

With its distinctive markings, the polecat is a secretive creature

and it is a vital part of Britain's wildlife heritage.

But these animals were once pushed to the brink of extinction by us.

These little fellows scrambling out of their hideout to say how

But in the wild, thanks to their appetite for chickens

and game birds, they were considered a major pest and killed

Polecats became really, really rare at the start of the 20th century,

and were basically confined to a stronghold in mid-Wales.

But a new survey shows they are returning to the countryside

and Suffolk is just one area where they are making a comeback

Scientists say legal protection has helped them flourish.

This is something we really need to celebrate, the recovery

of a native carnivore we once almost lost completely from Britain.

We want to see them back here, as widespread as they can be.

Here at the British Wildlife Centre, we are incredibly lucky

to get a close-up look at what are normally very shy animals.

Conservationists are thrilled at their success story,

but now they fear that new threats could be looming on the horizon.

In the wild, growing numbers are dying after eating poisoned

rats, and more are being killed on the roads.

Some are also crossbreeding with their domestic

But many are optimistic that the animals

I love the idea that polecats could be living out there.

I don't necessarily need to see them, I just need

Sometimes when you just see their poo or a footprint or some

prey remains, it means they are there.

That's good, and the fact that they are back in England

in my lifetime has to be counted as a success.

This comeback is a rare natural recovery.

Now conservationists say they want to ensure that

The British actor Joseph Fiennes has admitted he was shocked to be cast

as Michael Jackson in a drama. He will play the character for a comedy

about a road trip set to have been taken by Jackson with his friends

Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor following the 911 attacks. He

admitted that as a white, middle-class London, he is not the

obvious choice, but he said that Michael Jackson had a pigmentation

issue with his skin, so that should not be a factor.

The toy firm, Mattel, has launched its Barbie doll in three new

body-shapes in response to falling sales and longstanding criticism.

It says the new versions - which it calls tall, petite and curvy - shows

that there was not a narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like.

Barbie dolls, with their tiny waists and large busts, have long been

accused of sending the wrong message to young girls

or creating unrealistic expectations.

The dolls, as you can see here, are available in seven skin tones and

multiple hairstyles. There was no word on any more realistic updates

to Barbie's male companion, Ken. Just time to remind you of the main

news. French police have confirmed that a man has been arrested by

security teams at the entrance to a hotel in the Disneyland Paris theme

park. It is reported that his bag set off a security alarm as it

passed through a medical detector, and police confirmed that he was

carrying two guns and a Koran. Lots of whether to talk about the

next few days. We have some severe weather for Thursday night into

Friday morning. The Met Office