26/03/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, broadcasting in the UK

Thousands gather at a memorial in Brussels as prosecutors announce

three men face charges relating to Tuesday's bombings,

Iraq buries the victims of a suicide bombing during a football match

which killed more than 40 people, many young boys.

Syrian forces backed by Russian air strikes are advancing

on the hostorical city of Palmyra in a major operation

Campaigners for Britain to leave the European Union reveal the names

A man named as Faycal C has been charged with terrorist killings

in the wake of the Brussels attacks

Meanwhile a demonstration in solidarity, planned for Sunday

in the heart of the city, has been cancelled after a request

Since Tuesday, the investigation into the attacks has moved quickly -

With the latest, here's Damian Grammaticas.

This is now a watchful country on alert, all the time.

Brussels airport may not open until next week -

teams are checking whether the building is safe to use again.

But the police investigations appear to be making progress.

The man who was shot in the legs at a tram stop yesterday,

He was dragged away by police and is still being questioned

and from the number of men arrested, two have now been charged.

Belgian prosecutors gave only first names and they have identified one

of them as Faycal C, charged with murder and of being part

What we know about Faycal C is that he was arrested

right here outside the offices of the federal prosecutor

on Thursday evening, two days after the attacks,

but what he was doing here, we do not know.

Nor is it clear what part prosecutors believe that Faycal C

played - could he be the third airport attacker who ran away?

Painstakingly, the evidence is being assembled to unravel

French police and American FBI agents

Earlier this week I called the Belgian Prime Minister

and offered support in bringing to justice any terrorist involved

in planning or aiding this attack on innocent people.

Belgium is a close friend and ally of the US and when it comes

to our friends, America has their back, especially

as we fight the scourge of terrorism.

The security services here are stretched

by the bomb scares, manhunts and investigations

and the government has asked people not to turn out for a planned peace

march tomorrow, saying they do not have the manpower to protect it.

There are enquiries, important enquiries going on and for this

we need a lot of police capacity, all over the country.

It is our main priority to let the police in the best circumstances

The organisers say they have now postponed their march,

designed as a demonstration that Brussels will not be cowed by fear,

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered his condolences

to the families and friends of 41 people killed in a suicide

bombing at a soccer stadium in Iraq on Friday.

Many of the dead were young boys attending a trophy ceremony

In a statement, the President of Fifa said he was "shocked"

The so-called Islamic State says it carried out the attack.

Here's what one local resident said he saw.

TRANSLATION: There was a local championship here in the

neighbourhood. At the end of the game, there was an award ceremony

and the district Governor and other political people were there. Lots of

residents had come to watch the game. While the ceremony was taking

place -- Katie Ghose, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowd,

killing many people. Syrian government forces backed

by militiamen and Russian air strikes have retaken parts of

the city of Palmyra. The Unesco World Heritage site

was taken by the so-called Militants destroyed archaeological

sites, drawing global outrage. The Russian Defence Ministry says

more than 150 targets have been hit Syrian activists say it's

the heaviest assault against IS in Palmyra,

in a three-week offensive. Our Middle East Editor

Sebastian Usher reports. This has been the heaviest

day of fighting so far in the Syrian Government offensive

to drive IS out of Palmyra. Tanks and armoured vehicles

have been pounding Syrian state media is making

the most of the advance, which has provided

a major propaganda boost An army commander

interviewed on Syrian TV TRANSLATION: We are still

destroying the terrorists using large convoys and driving

away from the city. The battle for Palmyra

has been fierce, with heavy losses

reported on both sides. The government has called

on its elite troops and other militias, including

most notably Hezbollah. Devastating firepower has been

provided by Russian The Army has taken most

of the high ground around the city, including a medieval

castle that overlooks the spectacular

ancient ruins that once drew tens of thousands

of tourists each year. The loss of that priceless site

to IS last year shocked the world, which then watched

in horror as the jihadists Syrian media suggesting

that the capture of Palmyra being imminent, the country's

head of antiquities has promised TRANSLATION: I felt the greatest joy

in my time as head of antiquities when I heard the freedom of the city

had become a reality. But the city of Palmyra,

ancient and modern, Recapturing it would open up

an important new front against IS in its Eastern Syrian

stronghold of Raqqa. This could be a decisive moment

in the war against IS. Dr Joshua Landis is the Director of

the Centre for Middle East Studies Thank you for being with us. We

heard there, the head of the Syrian antiquities promising to repair the

damage done. But will that be possible? Much of the city, the old

city, the antiquities, are still standing. Palmyra is a vast, vast

Roman relic. Two of the most beautiful shrines have been blown to

pieces. But still, there is an extraordinary set of ruins in

Palmyra, so it will still be a grand sight, even if much has been

destroyed, so the choicest pieces have been destroyed. But this is

clearly a big day for Assad, to fight Isis, take back the biggest

city he has taken back from any rebel group so far. And that is

going to make his job a lot easier, to sell himself as the saviour of

Syrian history, antiquities and in a sense, civilisation, against Isis.

Given what happened in Brussels earlier this week, resident Assad

looks like he is in a good position in saying that he is fighting the

terrorists here. Well, he is fighting the terrorists, and this

puts the United States in a very embarrassing position in some ways.

Just yesterday, there were questions about whether it was good that Assad

had taken back Myra. But in a sense, this does put the United States and

Assad's army on the same side, and they are in a sense partners, trying

to take back ISAs territory. Given that this book -- this operation is

showing results, why is it that Assad was able to let the city go in

the first place? He lost Palmyra and the same time as rebel groups were

being honoured by the US and Great Britain and the West were taking --

armed, taking towns like Idlib, he was being pushed in by Saudi Arabia,

and other groups were arming the Southern command, so he was pinned

down all over the place and I guess he thought that antiquities would

have to be sacrificed in order to maintain big centres. Thank you very

much. Greece has begun moving migrants

from the camp on the Macedonian border, where more than

11,000 people are living. Buses were used on Friday

to transport about 400 people to new shelters elsewhere

in the country. A deal has come into force,

meaning many migrants entering Greece from Turkey

will be sent back, and other countries further north

in Europe have imposed severe

restrictions to block migrants. Children still managed to play here.

But conditions in this sprawling camp are grim. It has become a

makeshift home to thousands of migrants who arrived from Turkey,

hoping to move north through Europe. Greece wants to move people from

here, to other camps and reception centres so it can process their

claims for asylum. So far, buses have taken around 400 people, mostly

women and children, from the camp. But many here are reluctant to go.

And they do not know what will happen to them if they are moved. I

think, here, some of it is good but even if we go to another camp, it is

the same. But maybe, nearer the Borders. Last week, the deal came

into force meaning migrants hoping to reach Germany and other Western

European countries will be sent back unless they claim asylum in Greece.

Countries to the north have put up fences along their border to try to

stop people making the journey further into Europe. On the Greek

island of Lesbos, protesters showed that anger at the detention of

migrants under the New Deal, and aid agencies have warned reception

centres are already well overcapacity. But Greece is

determined to push ahead with the plan and says the operation to

remove people from this camp will intensify from Monday. Jonathan

Blake, BBC News. Stay with us on

BBC World News, still to come: A lucky escape after an

extraordinary journey for a cat called Cupcake.

With great regret, the committee have decided that South Africa be

Streaking across the sky, the white excluded from the 1970 competition.

Streaking across the sky, the white hot wreckage drew gasps from

onlookers on Fiji. This is BBC World News today,

the latest headlines: Crowds continue to gather at Place

de la Bourse in central Brussels to remember the victims

of Tuesday's suicide bombings. Prosecutors have announced they've

now laid charges against three men in connection with the suicide

attacks which killed 31 people Funerals have been held for victims

of a suicide bombing at a football stadium in Iraq. Many of the 41 dead

were young boys. The campaign for the UK to leave

the European Union has revealed the names of 250 leading

business supporters. Those eager to stay insist

the big names on the list are only there in a "personal

capacity" and say the majority Our Business Correspondent

Joe Lynam reports. The economy is central

to the referendum debate and until now, those

campaigning to quit the EU struggled to get high-profile

business leaders The new Business Council

by the Vote Leave group Included on the list

is the former boss of HSBC, Michael Geoghan, the hotelier

Sir Rocco Forte, as well as the entrepreneur and investor

Luke Johnson And the council

will be chaired by John Longworth, who resigned

from the British Chambers of Commerce for speaking out

against EU membership, in breach of the organisation's

neutrality on the subject. We have got a list of supporters

and business champions who are some of the top business

people and business owners, people who created their own

businesses actually signing up The Britain Stronger In campaign

is quick to say that all of those on this council are there

in the personal capacity and some of their companies

may not feel the same. The list also did not have any

current chief executives from Britain's largest companies.

Last month, 36 FTSE 100 bosses signed

a letter urging Britain to remain in the EU.

They included Carolyn McCall from easyJet, Sebastian James

from Dixons Carphone and Sir Roger Carr from BAE Systems.

If you look at almost all of the opinion polls carried out

in the last several months, the overwhelming majority show

businesses wanting to stay in the European Union,

from the CBI to the British Chamber of Commerce, to the poll of polls,

18 different polls, 18 different polls showing small businesses

would prefer to stay in the European Union.

How companies react in the event of a vote

to quit the EU is an important part of the referendum debate.

As are the opinions of business leaders.

But come the 23rd of June, they will have one vote each,

We are joined now by Lucy Thomas, who is Deputy Director

of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, and from Dubai,

Farzana Baduel, founder of the London based

Thank you both for being with us. Farzana, if we come to you first,

tell me why Hugh added your name to this list. I was concerned about the

dynamic. -- why you added. London is a global city, Britain is a trading

nation and my business takes me outside of Europe, my officers are

in New York, Delhi and Dubai outside London. My issue was, what impact

will this have in terms of talent? Instead of being able to hire

someone from outside the UK, there is a greater priority being given to

workers from the EU, so therefore, my talent pool is reduced. At the

moment I am trying to bring in somebody from South Africa and some

of the US and it is more difficult for me to get them to come and live

and work with the UK -- in the UK with me than to hire someone from

the former Soviet Union. The other aspect is the red tape issue. I run

a small business and I do not have these streams of lawyers working for

me and lobbyists going to Brussels and dealing with all of the European

in directives, introducing the maximum 48 hours etc, I do not have

time to keep up with the increasing bureaucracy coming out of Europe.

All I need to do is focus my business, hire the best talent,

whether it is in Russia or in the EU. I need to be free as an

entrepreneur to choose my talent and be free from bureaucracy. Lucy,

Farzana says the talent pool is reduced and there is lots of red

tape involved being part of the EU. Well, I think she should take that

up with the UK Government because they set the visa restrictions and

any other limits on non-EU migration. And actually, leaving the

EU would do nothing to change that. There are those on her side of the

argument who would want to retain free movement of people and

actually, in order to continue to access the world's largest free

trade single market, like we currently can, we would have to

continue to take free movement of people from the rest of the EU so I

am not sure how leaving would solve a problem. Secondly, on the red tape

issue, again, if we were to continue to have that free access to the

single market, like for example Norway and Switzerland do, who are

not part of the EU but want to continue to trade, they accept the

overwhelming majority of EU rules, but yet they have no say over them,

so Britain would lose our seat at the table and would still have to

accept those rules. Thinking specifically about employment rules,

for example the working time directive, the UK as an opt out from

that, so we are not bound by the working time directive. A number of

the other employment rules which some businesses claim are too

onerous, it is the UK Government which over and fermented them,

so-called gold-plating, making it harder for businesses. So once again

I think this question of leaving the EU solving some of these problems is

something not true. OK, but going back to this list. These are not

small figures, they are figures from the world of banking, sport, hotels.

It is quite a credible list. What is striking is that every single one of

them signed this in a personal capacity, they are not representing

their business and the thousands of people employed. Unlike the list of

businesses backing our campaign, released a few weeks ago, where it

included a third of the FTSE 100 and not one FTSE 100 chief is included

on this other list announced today. So there is a whole range of people

and I do not doubt the credibility of Farzana and those who have

signed, but I think the fact that people were not signing on behalf of

their company, that there is no current serving FTSE 100 company,

and indeed some of those who have signed at themselves that would have

themselves talked about the huge uncertainty for the British economy.

Farzana, what is your reaction to that? I would say first and

foremost, if you look at immigration figures, the fact is that people

from the EU are given preferential treatment of people from outside the

EU, and there has been a recent clamp-down on people coming in from

other countries. You may say that it has nothing to do with the European

Union. From my perspective, I'm in the process of trying to bring in

someone from the US and some from South Africa. I am unable to bring

them in and my immigration lawyer told me it is because of all of the

pressure coming in from the immigrants coming in from the

European Union, and in order to ensure that the net migrants are

meeting the political objectives of the current government, it is having

a negative impact. That has a negative impact upon me, for I

cannot hire according to talent, I have to hire according to the talent

in the EU pool. Unfortunately, we will have to leave that there. Lucy

and Farzana, thank you so much for being with us.

And now, the sport. Some of the high profile

teams looking forward to the European Championship

in France later this year are beginning their preparations

in earnest this weekend. None more so than

the world champions. Germany are playing England

in Berlin and lead 2-1 through a Toni Kroos goal

just before half time. Harry Kane's just got

one back for England. Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor recovered

from almost being run over at the start line to win gold

at the World Half Marathon Championships in Wales Kamworor

is the defending champion... but immediately fell over

as the race began and was engulfed Incredibly, he came back from this

to win in a time of 59 Double Olympic and World distance

Champion Mo Farah couldn't keep with the leading Kenyans' pace

in front of his home crowd but held off Ethiopia's Abayneh Ayele

with a typical sprint finish We now know three of the four

semifinalists at cricket's England beat defending champions

Sri Lanka in Delhi by 10 runs They qualify alongside

West Indies from their Group, knocking both South Africa

and Sri Lanka out in the process. England are likely to have a

semifinal against New Zealand who won their fourth match

in a row on Saturday by 75 The Black Caps scored 145 for 8

and then bowled their opponents out Australia play hosts India

for the last remaining Finally, Nigeria could face a fine

from African football authorities following the extraordinary scenes

at their Africa Cup of Nations An estimated 40,000 people watched

in a 25,000-capacity stadium on Friday after fans

were let in for free at the Ahmadu Bello

Stadium in Kaduna. Some supporters climbed up

floodlight scaffolding While others sat on the roof

of neighbouring houses. No off-pitch incidents were reported

but African Football Confederation are considering penalising Nigeria

for poor crowd control. It's a happy ending

to an extraordinary story. A cat has survived eight days

trapped in a box of DVDs which was sent in the post

from Cornwall, in South West England, to the town of Worthing,

more than 250 miles away. Vets traced the owner of Cupcake

the cat, through her microchip. The eight days she spent in the mail

left her very weak. She was quite dehydrated,

obviously quite scared and nervous. But she has done really

well, she has responded Cupcake's owner, Julie,

travelled all the way from Cornwall to Worthing for this

tearful reunion. When I realised she was missing

two weeks ago, it was the most horrible,

scary feeling. I feel terrible about what has

happened, you know, because... I mean, I put everything in the box

and sealed it straightaway so I don't know how

she managed to get in. It was a miracle, she was alive

and she has managed to survive Time to go home now, another 250

mile or so journey for Cupcake. The Rolling Stones have performed

to an estimated The rockers gave an energy-filled

concert featuring a set list of their greatest hits

to an overflowing sports stadium It was the first big gig

by any rock band in Cuba - under the former leader,

Fidel Castro. The Stones concert came two days

after US President Barack Obama ended his landmark

visit to the island. So very unpleasant conditions at the

moment. Lots of service spray on the roads and severe gales in western

and northern Scotland. For the remainder of the weekend it is not

looking great. There will be some sunshine but it will be changeable.

This is the weather system that has upset the weather right now. Lots of

cloud shrouded in the country, and heavy rain. But the rain should pull

into the North Sea as we head into the early hours of the morning. It

is across northern Scotland where we will see the sting in the tail from

the weather system, strong winds, possibly 70 to 80 mph gusts on some

of the exposed coasts. Further South, still a bit of a breeze but

just a few showers dotted around. Some clear spells about as well. The

forecast for Easter Day in Scotland and Northern Ireland and a breezy

start, but the worst of the winds will have eased from the North of

Scotland. What we have at this stage is just a mixed of sunshine and

showers. The best of the weather will be in the South East of

England, East Anglia into Lincolnshire the top further West,

certainly Wales, the South West of the country and along this Channel

coast, plenty of showers which will be gathering during the morning,

pushed in by that south-westerly wind, so, really love with sunshine

followed by showers, sunshine again -- will really blustery.

Temperatures typically around eight or nine Celsius, maybe nudging to

ten or 11. This is Storm Katie, which is out in the Atlantic, it has

not formed but as we head into Monday, the storm could potentially

affect Southern and south-eastern areas of the UK. We are talking

severe gales, possibly 70 mph early in the morning, but then the storm

will pull away into the red Sea, blow itself out and conditions will

improve in the afternoon. -- into the North Sea. There will be is in

around. Tuesday, a mixed bag with sunshine and showers, still breezy.

Just to emphasise again, it is looking pretty nasty tonight across

western and northern Scotland, then Monday morning in the South East of

England.