25/03/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Kasia Madera.

The headlines: another day of intense police activity

in Brussels, with two suspects shot before being arrested,

as police step up their efforts to stop new terror attacks.

One was shot by officers at a tram stop.

The French president says the network behind recent attacks

is being "wiped out" but others remain.

TRANSLATION: We know that there are other networks because even though

those involved in committing attacks in Paris and Brussels are being

destroyed, there is always a threat. Meanwhile America says it's killed

Islamic State's second in command The US military killed several key

Isil terrorists this week including, we believe, Hajji Iman, a senior

Isil leader. further into Palmyra,

capturing the citadel overlooking Also coming up, it's a moveable

feast, but could churches around the world finally agree to fix

the date of Easter? Three days after the carnage

at Brussels airport and on the Metro system, gunshots and

explosions rang out again, Two suspects were shot and wounded

during the operations. Prosecutors say they were among

three people detained. The suburb of Schaerbeek

was the scene of one of the raids on Friday,

where security forces wounded a man Security forces also made arrests

in France and Germany. French president Francois Hollande

has said the militant network behind the attacks in Brussels

and in Paris last November TRANSLATION: We have seen results

when it comes to finding the terrorists. In both Brussels and

Paris, there have been arrests. We know that there are other networks

because even though those involved in committing attacks in Paris and

Brussels have been destroyed, there is always a threat.

Meanwhile, the so-called Islamic State group

on the attacks in Brussels, presenting them as retribution

for coalition attacks on IS territory.

The video also contained threats of more.

It's a police operation, the woman's voice says.

Outside, they advance behind a bullet-proof shield.

Lying in the tram stop a man has been shot in the legs,

police still training their weapons on him.

The view from across the street shows a bomb disposal robot

approaching, he is holding a bag and they want to check

This is the same Schaerbeek district where the Brussels and Paris

This operation, though, it seems was triggered

by information gleaned from a raid in Paris yesterday where one man

was arrested, apparently preparing a new attack in France not linked

They take the kid and they shoot the man, I think, in the leg.

He was not dying, he was moving and the police asked him to put

Meanwhile, prosecutors today confirmed that one of the suspects

who is thought made one of the suicide vests in the Paris

attacks was one of the Brussels airport bombers.

In total, some 300 people were killed and injured in these

attacks, their fates are starting to become clearer.

Some 40 nationalities touched, in total.

The pain and suffering is felt not just here

From America to China, families are now mourning

David Dixon, an IT consultant from Hartlepool, texted his family

after the airport attack to say he was safe.

The father of a seven-year-old son died soon after,

Mason Wells survived the Boston marathon bombing three years ago

and survived again in Brussels, but has severe burns.

I remember seeing fire in front of my face and also fire down

I feel lucky to have escaped with what I did.

Brussels' airport is still closed, but the US secretary of state came

He said criticising Belgium for security

the facts are known is inappropriate, adding

the so-called Islamic State is lashing out in Europe

We will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs

and cowardice from the face of this earth.

But what many here fear is that the terror network

still lingers and despite the efforts to eliminate them,

there could be more bloodshed to come.

Earlier our correspondent in Brussels, Murad Shishani gave us

the latest on the raids and the shooting of two suspects.

it was a really dramatic day today. We've been to say about --

Schaerbeek after we heard an explosion and there was a really

tense situation. The police had a cordon surrounding the area, not

allowing people to go, even local residents, and there were loads of

journalists. However, over the last 24-hour is there have been three

raids in the capital and they have arrested yesterday, six, and today,

two, eight confirmed arrested. These are the situation, these raids can

be giving us an indication that the smoke has started coming down and it

is time to go deeper, how these networks have been establishing

themselves in Europe between France, Belgium, and there may be in Germany

some arrests linked to what happened in Brussels. Indeed, fast moving

events. We are hearing more about Nadeem El Shaarawy, linked to the

November attacks. It seems that the web is being shown. Indeed, El

Shaarawy has been confirmed, the second suicide bomber at the

airport, linked to the Bataclan attacks in France four Sedona. But

really for those who are following the networks between Belgium, France

and Europe, this isn't surprising -- four months ago. Belgium has always

been a backyard for most of the jihadists in Europe, especially

France. This is coming to the surface after the France tax in a

very obvious way but back in 2003, if I can go back, at this time these

networks were establishing logistics for people going to fight in Iraq

but after Syria, with about 500 jihadists going from Belgium, it

became a hotbed for many Jihadist networks am not just for logistics

job, but also providing fighters and operatives and this is what we've

seen over the last three days. And four months ago in Paris. Most of

them are coming from Brussels, Brussels neighbourhoods. Difficult

to come to terms with the idea that Belgium is in mourning, we can bring

pictures where people are paying their respects and paying tributes

to the victims of this most recent attack. Indeed, this is the

situation, they are still mourning and this is the last day of three

days of mourning. At the same time, you can look and see that people are

more defiant, as we saw in the Paris attacks. This time they are going to

work, from the early hours they went back to the streets and they were

full. Yesterday there was the military and security forces

presence and there have been raids but I've noticed that the Belgian

people are going out and trying to get normality to their lives. There

is a sense of shock, obviously. Today this afternoon we had the

first prayers for the Muslims today and we went to a mosque and we had

conversations with people and they are carrying the same feelings in

one way or another. American forces have killed a man

described as the so-called Islamic State group's

second-in-command. Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli,

also known as Haji Imam, is said to have been the target

of an operation carried The US Defence Secretary,

Ash Carter, confirmed the reports. We are systematically

eliminating Isil's Cabinet. Indeed, the US military

killed several key Isil Including we believe,

Hajji Imam, a senior leader, serving as a Finance Minister,

a senior leader, and responsible He was a well-known terrorist

within Isil's ranks, dating back to its earliest

iteration as al-Qaeda in Iraq, when he worked under

Zarkawi with liaisons The removal of this Isil leader

will hamper the organisation's abilities to conduct operations

both inside and outside This is the second senior Isil

leader we have successfully targeted this month, after confirming

the death of Isil's so-called I asked the BBC's Jane O'Brien -

in Washington - how much impact this action against leaders

of the so-called Islamic State might The wider issue is whether or not,

how much influence and how much control these Islamic State leaders

actually have an terrorist plots overseas, outside Iraq and Syria.

The Defence Secretary said that really, the way that things are

going, the range is very broad. It can be that they direct fighters who

had come into Syria, it can be that they are training people to carry

out attacks, but they don't actually see fighting in Syria, or Iraq. It

could be simply that they inspire lone wolf attackers who have had no

direct connection with Islamic State, but maybe self radicalised

and motivated. They are the ones that authorities are extremely

concerned about. So the real impact of Hajji Iman's death is difficult

to calculate at the moment but it is certainly significant in that they

have killed someone who is very experienced, has been around for a

long time, a former member of Al-Qaeda, and was, as the Defence

Secretary said, really in charge of the finances of Islamic State, that

will certainly hamper operational abilities to a certain extent.

Reports from Iraq say a suicide bomber has blown himself up

in a crowd at a football match, killing at least 26 people.

The attack was in the town of Iskandariya, south of Baghdad.

One report said the blast was at the end of the game,

just as the winners were being handed a trophy.

The Islamic State group says it carried out the bombing.

Syrian state television says that government forces have captured

the fortified citadel of Palmyra from Islamic State.

The city has been a focus not only because of its strategic importance

but also because of its cultural importance.

Palmyra is home to Syria's ancient ruins, damaged

This is the ancient Baalshamin temple,

there was a big international outcry

shared this picture of how it had demolished parts

This is a satellite image of the Bel temple that dates back

And this picture shows the destruction caused by Islamic

Syrian forces have been engaged in days of fighting

with the militants, who've held the city for nearly a year.

During that time IS has deliberately destroyed some

of the monuments, which date back thousands of years.

The UN's cultural arm, UNESCO, welcomed the prospect

of the ruins being recaptured, saying the site embodied history

and culture that had made the region a cradle of civilisation.

They captured the area around the Citadel, the Syrian Observatory for

Human Rights say they have entered the City from the north-west, while

yesterday they captured the south-east of it. So they are pretty

much encircling the City area and they are advancing inside. These are

governments forces are bordered by Russian air strikes and by militias

from different countries who are there to support President Bashar

al-Assad, mainly from Shi'ite sect. The Stones roll into Cuba to "start

them up" with a free concert expected to attract

half a million people. The row over the government's

plan to change the way it runs schools

in England continues. At a teachers' conference today,

the leader of the opposition, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn,

described the conversion schools into 'academies'

as 'asset stripping'. I want schools to be accountable to

their parents and communities, not as a process of asset stripping our

educational facilities, to be handed over to somebody else. So the first

thing... APPLAUSE

That is always done ahead of privatisation in many services is to

attack the skilled staff. So it's about breaking national pay

bargaining, expanding the use of unqualified teachers, driving down

prey, driving down the terms and conditions and driving down

standards. There is not a shred of evidence that academies

automatically improve standards. The latest headlines,

it's been another day of intense police activity in Brussels,

with two suspects shot as they were arrested, one at a tram

stop in the Schaerbeek district. Meanwhile America says it's killed

Islamic State's second in command Commemorations will take place

across Ireland this weekend, marking the 100th anniversary

of the 1916 Easter Rising, the rebellion against British rule

that was a key moment in the history Ceremonies will be held at historic

sites across Dublin, with more than half a million people

expected to attend events on Sunday. Our Ireland Correspondent,

Chris Buckler, reports. In 1916... 100 years ago, the back

streets of Dublin became a battlefield in a fight for

independence. Villa smashing into this building beside us. In the

City, buildings were turned into makeshift garrisons and the City's

post office, a military headquarters. The Irish Republic is

entitled to and hereby claims the allegiance of every Irishman and

woman. It was here on Easter Monday that Patrick Pearse read the

proclamation, declaring the Republic and the end of British rule. It was

less than a week from the start of the rebellion to the point of

surrender. In that time, the lives of civilians, British soldiers and

Irish volunteers were lost. And much of the heart of Dublin was

destroyed. Eight Field military strategy designed by men with more

knowledge of culture and conflict. There were scholars, writers,

teachers and they had a vision for Ireland. What had happened under

British rule, the Irishness was taken out of people. Relatives of

those who fought in the rioting will be remembering this weekend. It is

thought that Maureen O'Reilly was just 15 years old when she carried

messages between its leaders through the dangerous streets of the Dublin

chaos. Her account of what happened is held in Ireland's military

archives. I brought back a dispatch to hold the building at all costs. I

have a daughter myself who is 17 and I can't believe somebody was out for

the whole week at that age, Dodging Bullets, no fear. Initially in

Ireland there was anger at the rebels for bringing violence to the

streets of Dublin. But the execution of the rising's leaders changed

opinions and marked a moment where support for the Republic truly rose.

Search her, it's by! Given the deaths on all sides, there is

sensitivity in marking the centenary -- eight spy. It is seen as

important because in the story of the rioting are the origins of

modern Ireland. Let's take you to the Colosseum in

Rome, where the Pope is presiding over the annual wave of the Cross

procession. TRANSLATION: Driven by the sentiment that unites all of our

people, fear of losing our security, the possessions and life, but Jesus

shows us another way. Lord Jesus, how similar we are to

those people, how much fear there is in our life. We are afraid of those

different from bus, foreigners, migrants. We are afraid of the

future, of the unexpected, of misery. How much fear there is in

our workplaces and cities -- different from us. This is to mark

Good Friday just ahead of Easter and it is an annual event that takes

place at the Coliseum, which is dramatically lit up, with the Pope

residing over the annual way of the cross procession, which takes place

every year. Early on he helped the Good Friday liturgy at Saint Peters

basilica and on Monday Thursday he washed and kissed the feet of

refugees, something that was remarked upon -- mourned a Thursday.

We are seeing the Colosseum in Rome, lit up spectacularly as the Pope

decides over the Way of the Cross possession. They were live images

from Rome with the Pope at the Colosseum. Now we are going to

something completely different. The Rolling Stones are preparing

for a free concert in Cuba which is expected to attract

half a million people. The show's being seen as another

sign of real change on the island. It comes three days after US

President Barack Obama's historic A career spanning over 50

years, tours in every But the Rolling Stones had never

stepped foot in Cuba. Rock 'n' roll legends don't

get bigger than these, but under Fidel Castro their songs

were kept from the Cuban youth It wasn't so long ago

that your music was banned What does it say about

how Cuba has changed? Well, obviously something's

happened in the last... That is what happens

when you ban things! I think it feels like history

because, as you say, they haven't had big shows before,

and it would have been surprising ten years ago for this to have

happened, and anyone that has been It comes at the end

of an extraordinary week in Cuba. It began with the first visit

by a US president in 90 years and ends with the first concert

by Britain's rock royalty. This free concert has taken weeks

of planning and preparation, but now, in the final

hours before showtime, everything is in place

for the biggest concert Havana Their fans gathering in the Cuban

heat are getting excited. And I want to thank them

for giving us so much, The Stones, the Stones

we've come for, brother. We heard it Tuesday afternoon,

we booked it Wednesday morning. If ever there was a sign that Cuba

is changing, it is this, the world's biggest rock group

playing a concert for free in one of the last Communist

stronghold on earth. What is it you'll be looking

for in Cuba that you can't Cigars and an exciting audience,

thank you, that's great! Will Grant, BBC News,

Havana. It always falls on different dates,

but could that be about to change? Here's Our religious affairs

correspondent Caroline Wyatt. For Christians, this is the most

important religious festival The Archbishop of Canterbury,

Justin Welby, was with the faithful in Kent today, marking

when Christians believe, Jesus Christ died on the cross

and then rose again. And yet, those in East and West

celebrate Easter at different times, so why can't Christians get

together to fix the date? We started talking about it over

a thousand years ago, But given the number of people

and churches around the world that seem to support the idea of having

the same date for Easter, I think there's a better

chance for a long time, it could be certainly

within the five or ten years. It's a debate that may not be quite

as old as the moon and stars themselves, but it's certainly one

that dates back to the earliest The date of Easter is set

by the Spring equinox, which means for centuries,

astronomers, such as those at Greenwich, have been vital

in predicting when Easter It depends on two

astronomical things. The spring equinox

and also the full moon. It was the British monk,

the Venerable Bede, back in 700 who came up with a nice,

easy way of remembering it. It's the first Sunday

after the first full moon, It was only in the year 664

here in Whitby, when Easter should be marked

in this part of the world. Now though, there are hopes the date

for Easter could be fixed for the second or third

Sunday in April. Or perhaps resolve one

of the longest running disputes in Christianity, as well as making

it rather easier to plan your The the difficulty is

going to be that everyone We all have our own ways

of calculating Easter. We've all calculated it

this way for centuries. This is one tradition that may go on

long after we have completed the other Easter traditions.

Let's go back to the Colosseum where the Pope is presiding over the

annual Way of the Cross procession. On Saturday he will lead an Easter

vigil. For the time being, thanks for watching BBC world News