:00:13. > :00:22.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories: the International Red
:00:22. > :00:27.Cross has called for immediate release of seven of its workers
:00:27. > :00:33.abducted in Syria. We hear from a survivor of a terrifying trip
:00:33. > :00:39.across the Mediterranean. A Muslim court says the word Allah should
:00:39. > :00:46.only be used by Muslims. Christians will appeal the decision. We
:00:46. > :00:48.discover if Afghanistan is still the world's worst dangerous place
:00:49. > :01:10.to have a baby. Hello. The International Committee
:01:10. > :01:15.of the Red Cross has called for immediate release of seven of its
:01:15. > :01:21.aid workers abducted in north- western Syria. They were seized in
:01:21. > :01:25.the Idlib province, where they were delivering aid and assessing health
:01:25. > :01:30.facilities. It is not clear who carried out the killing. The chair
:01:30. > :01:37.of the International Committee of the Red Cross has given his
:01:37. > :01:42.reaction. We know the last point was in a rebel-held area. We pass
:01:42. > :01:51.through these areas regularly puts up with work on both sides of the
:01:51. > :01:55.conflict. -- regularly. We work. We call on the grid holding them to
:01:55. > :02:03.release them unconditionally. We are here to serve the Syrian people.
:02:03. > :02:11.-- the groups. We deliver food, help. A lot of things. That is for
:02:11. > :02:19.them and not for us. We expect all authorities respect independence
:02:19. > :02:24.and neutrality and keep safe passage. We are not going to
:02:24. > :02:28.suspend our work. We will continue to work with the Red Crescent. We
:02:28. > :02:30.suspend our work. We will continue will support the people and are
:02:30. > :02:35.suspend our work. We will continue committed to continue that. We will
:02:35. > :02:43.take necessary safety and security measures. To have these people
:02:43. > :02:47.released is fundamental. Jim Muir it is in Beirut for us. These aid
:02:47. > :02:53.agencies are very careful in the way they operate in such a
:02:53. > :02:58.difficult place, such as Syria. Nevertheless, it is worrying this
:02:58. > :03:03.has happened. Absolutely pulls a bid underlines the fragmentation
:03:03. > :03:11.and chaos on the ground. -- it absolutely. It underlines. They are
:03:11. > :03:16.often having to cross lines - confrontation lines. Sometimes
:03:16. > :03:21.going from Damascus and many checkpoints of different groups and
:03:21. > :03:26.so when negotiating all the way. It is trying business. One reason why
:03:26. > :03:28.the UN would like to get access across borders from places like
:03:28. > :03:35.the UN would like to get access Turkey, so they can deliver a
:03:35. > :03:39.directly to rebel-held areas, they want the Government to sign off on
:03:39. > :03:42.that. It underlines the huge problems and logistics involved.
:03:42. > :03:47.that. It underlines the huge They are getting paid to a lot of
:03:47. > :03:52.people. Quite a few are not getting the kind of humanitarian assistance
:03:52. > :03:58.they should be getting. The fragmentation of course affects the
:03:58. > :04:04.work of the chemicals weapons teams who Arnaud in the country. What is
:04:04. > :04:07.the latest? They have set off on another day to verify and destroyed
:04:07. > :04:17.the latest? They have set off on equipment and munitions used. They
:04:17. > :04:23.have until the end of the month to complete a task. There is a bigger
:04:23. > :04:24.background task which is to get all the chemicals out of the country or
:04:24. > :04:30.destroyed locally. That is a long- the chemicals out of the country or
:04:30. > :04:35.term job. The target of that is the middle of next year. From the
:04:35. > :04:39.destroying of equipment to mix and build the chemicals into the
:04:39. > :04:43.weapons, that is supposed to be finished this month. They have not
:04:43. > :04:48.run into problems on the ground but they're making it clear they top of
:04:48. > :04:53.the sea taking nothing for granted in what is a volatile and
:04:53. > :04:59.constantly changing situation. They have to cross lines as well and
:04:59. > :05:03.like to get local ceasefires going. Thank you very much. Italy is
:05:04. > :05:07.stepping up its patrols of Mediterranean waters following the
:05:07. > :05:12.death of hundreds of migrants on overloaded boats from North Africa.
:05:12. > :05:17.The number of naval ships will be tripled to help find and rescue
:05:17. > :05:26.African migrants. 100 coffins have the right from the shipwreck which
:05:26. > :05:33.saw more than 300 Eritreans dram. - - crown. After hours of waiting, a
:05:33. > :05:40.coffins of more than 300 Eritreans who drowned off the island of
:05:40. > :05:46.Lampedusa have arrived on Sicily. Government officials have turned up,
:05:46. > :05:51.including the mayor, who is here to receive the bodies. We do not yet
:05:51. > :05:54.know what will happen to the coffins. Some officials have told
:05:54. > :06:01.us they will be seeking permission from Eritrea and authorities on
:06:01. > :06:06.assistance in transporting them to their final resting place. If that
:06:06. > :06:10.does not happen, they will go to one of many cemeteries that are
:06:10. > :06:15.here. Many Eritreans have turned up to pay their final respects to
:06:15. > :06:20.colleagues who did not make it. Speaking to many of them, they say
:06:20. > :06:28.these are jennies that they would be willing to take despite the
:06:28. > :06:34.risks involved. It is difficult to see. In this town, at levels of
:06:34. > :06:37.unemployment are high. They use this island as a stepping stone to
:06:37. > :06:43.move elsewhere in Europe, where they might be able to change their
:06:43. > :06:46.lives. Migrants who survive when their boat capsized in the
:06:46. > :06:50.Mediterranean on Friday said they were shot at as they left Libya.
:06:50. > :06:55.The Syrians have either has told the BBC that people on the boat
:06:55. > :07:03.were shot and bullet-holes caused their boat to start sinking. He
:07:03. > :07:09.described what happened. TRANSLATION: The water was OK for a
:07:09. > :07:13.while. When we got out into international waters they came out
:07:13. > :07:18.and fired some shots in the air. We kept moving. When we got inside
:07:18. > :07:24.Italian waters they gave up trying to catch us and, instead, shot at
:07:24. > :07:30.us with live rounds was up a shot two skippers. Some of the women got
:07:30. > :07:33.shot. The last thing a shot was the engine room in the bottom of the
:07:33. > :07:39.boat and that is when water started to get in. When they make sure they
:07:39. > :07:43.had shot us and the engine stopped, they left and went back into Libyan
:07:44. > :07:55.waters. That is when the tragedy got worse. You have been following
:07:55. > :08:01.this story. What information do you have as to who might be behind the
:08:01. > :08:08.shooting? What is confirmed is that the boat was shot at. The UN says
:08:08. > :08:15.that some of the rescuers saved that some of them have injuries
:08:15. > :08:20.that tell they were fired at. What we do not yet know - what remains
:08:20. > :08:30.uncertain - is who might be behind the shooting. Some say it could be
:08:30. > :08:34.a a combination of trafficking gangs, others it is that
:08:34. > :08:39.authorities have ordered to shoot the boat. Some of the rescuers say
:08:39. > :08:43.they heard on the boat someone talking on the phone with someone
:08:43. > :08:49.on the Libyan side, asking for the boat to come back, so it could be a
:08:49. > :08:52.matter of trafficking gangs fighting with each other on whether
:08:52. > :08:58.this boat should have left the Libyan side or not. The other
:08:58. > :09:03.theory about authorities been behind it, we do not know. We will
:09:03. > :09:08.know more when we hear more from the authorities about Berens
:09:08. > :09:16.versions - the version of facts. Wind would the Libyan state shoot a
:09:16. > :09:23.boat -- wide what a Libyan state attempt to shoot a boat with its
:09:23. > :09:28.own citizens? In the coming hours, we will hear more from the Libyan
:09:28. > :09:33.authorities and the official side which will mean we can answer this
:09:33. > :09:38.question. Given the state of play in Libya and the unregulated way
:09:38. > :09:43.this trafficking happens on a massive and global scale, it is
:09:43. > :09:51.difficult to see how you can stop these events happening. Absolutely.
:09:51. > :10:01.What is important is that since the toppling of Gaddafi, many ministers
:10:01. > :10:09.are still ruling the country. Their ruling main areas. -- they are
:10:09. > :10:17.ruling main areas. In order to avoid such events, in order to
:10:17. > :10:20.avoid these events, you need a strong state to be able to
:10:20. > :10:25.collaborate with the EU and Italy in particular in this case in order
:10:25. > :10:30.to avoid these types of events. People are talking about and non-
:10:30. > :10:33.state situation in Libya. Thank you very much for explaining all of
:10:33. > :10:38.that. A relation Court has decided very much for explaining all of
:10:38. > :10:42.that the word Allah can only be used by Muslims. The court upheld
:10:42. > :10:46.the Government's decision saying it was not an integral part of
:10:46. > :10:55.Christianity and allowing it to be used by non-Muslims would cause
:10:55. > :11:00.confusion. TRANSLATION: Now the result is
:11:00. > :11:04.clear, whoever wants to bring a case to the federal court, I urge
:11:04. > :11:08.them to think twice so the issue ends here so we care and respect a
:11:08. > :11:16.harmonious relationship between the Muslims and others in this country.
:11:16. > :11:20.The Reverend is in Kuala Lumpur. He is the General Secretary of the
:11:20. > :11:24.Council of churches in Malaysia. What is your reaction to this
:11:25. > :11:30.ruling, saying you have to be Muslim to use the word, Allah? It
:11:30. > :11:36.has come as a surprise to the Christians in this country. They
:11:36. > :11:44.have been using the word in their translation of the Malay bible for
:11:44. > :11:48.centuries. This has not caused any problems for our co-existence with
:11:48. > :11:57.our Muslim brothers and sisters in this country. What is also alarming
:11:57. > :12:05.is that the churches and, for that matter, other religious communities
:12:05. > :12:15.in the country, should not only exist on the basis of the official
:12:15. > :12:19.statement of the Muslim establishment, they should be
:12:19. > :12:24.allowed to exercise the freedom that is enshrined in the federal
:12:24. > :12:27.constitution in Article 3 of this federal constitution. That
:12:27. > :12:33.guarantees the right of the freedom of religion for all people. Our
:12:33. > :12:39.correspondent said one of the reasons give faultless is that some
:12:39. > :12:43.Muslims say that some Christian groups are trying to convert some
:12:43. > :12:48.Muslims to Christianity. They are using the word, Allah, to mean God
:12:49. > :12:54.in publications Amazons to not one that to happen. Once again, it has
:12:54. > :13:00.to be said we have been using this word all along. The majority of
:13:00. > :13:07.Christians who live in east Malaysia have always been using the
:13:07. > :13:15.Bible as their native language and they can use the word, Bala. It is
:13:15. > :13:21.quite alarming to us. -- Allah. Christian's use that word to mean
:13:21. > :13:26.God. That is the respected usage of the word among Christians. Even the
:13:26. > :13:35.translation of the Bible in the Malay language, it is Allah.
:13:35. > :13:41.Have different will it be if he cannot have it in your
:13:41. > :13:46.communications? -- how different will it be if you cannot have it in
:13:46. > :13:52.your communications? This practice has gone on for a long time. It is
:13:52. > :14:00.integral to the lies of people who are Christians in Malay speaking
:14:00. > :14:13.communities. -- the lives. This is only in reference to the use of the
:14:13. > :14:21.word for Catholic newsletters. The Government has allowed for the a
:14:21. > :14:26.free import, publication and distribution of the MLA bible in
:14:26. > :14:48.East Malaysia. -- the melee Bible. Scientists say they could create a
:14:48. > :14:54.safe conversion of thalidomide. Now, more than 115 people are known to
:14:54. > :14:59.have been killed in India while celebrating a major Indian
:14:59. > :15:03.festival. Hundreds of thousands of people had
:15:03. > :15:06.gathered near the town of Datia for the festival in the state of Madhya
:15:06. > :15:09.Pradesh. Pilgrims were crossing a narrow bridge to a temple when panic
:15:09. > :15:17.broke out. Our correspondent Nitin Srivastava reports.
:15:17. > :15:24.Prayers turned to morning in this popular town. Hundreds of pilgrims
:15:24. > :15:27.had turned up to worship in the Indian festival season. Little did
:15:27. > :15:32.they know that many would be returning home with dead bodies of
:15:32. > :15:40.their loved ones, especially women and children. Many were crushed and
:15:40. > :15:48.several jumped off a narrow bridge into the river as a fatal rumour
:15:48. > :15:52.spread fast. TRANSLATION: Some people spread a rumour that the
:15:52. > :15:57.bridge was collapsing which triggered a mad rush and a stampede.
:15:57. > :16:02.The bridge was in a fine state, there is no question about it.
:16:02. > :16:12.Things will only become clear once the enquiry is over. This narrow
:16:12. > :16:21.bridge has witnessed tragedy before. Many died in a similar stampede in
:16:21. > :16:23.2007. Accidents during pilgrimages are not unheard of. Dozens have died
:16:23. > :16:30.2007. Accidents during pilgrimages in similar tragedies.
:16:30. > :16:32.Government talks after Germany's inconclusive elections are moving to
:16:33. > :16:37.a crucial stage with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats
:16:37. > :16:42.expected to choose their coalition partner this week. Mrs Merkel's
:16:42. > :16:47.party which fell short of an absolute majority will agree on
:16:48. > :16:50.Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are gathering near Mount
:16:50. > :16:53.Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of Arafat for the annual hatch
:16:53. > :16:58.pilgrimage. Officials say they expect 1.5
:16:58. > :17:05.million pilgrims to descend on the site to perform prayers for the day
:17:05. > :17:09.of Arafat. Numbers are down sharply because of fears of a virus and
:17:09. > :17:13.because there is massive construction work going on at the
:17:13. > :17:21.Grand Mosque in Mecca which will eventually increase the capacity
:17:21. > :17:31.there. This is BBC World News. Syria is due
:17:31. > :17:33.to officially join the Chemical Weapons Convention as disarmament
:17:33. > :17:37.teams continued to destroy stockpiles in the country.
:17:37. > :17:41.And a Malaysian court has decided the word Allah can only be used by
:17:41. > :17:46.Muslims but Christians say they will the word Allah can only be used by
:17:46. > :17:50.appeal the ruling. Four members of the Greenpeace crew arrested in
:17:50. > :17:53.Russia for staging an Arctic oil drilling protest are seeking bail at
:17:53. > :18:01.a court today. They of the ship. The crew of 30
:18:01. > :18:06.face piracy charges which carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
:18:06. > :18:11.Our correspondent Steve Rosenberg is following events from Moscow. Can
:18:11. > :18:15.you bring us up to date? Yes, bail hearings began last week for the 30
:18:15. > :18:21.people who were arrested on board the ship. Four of those 30 are in
:18:21. > :18:27.courts today in Murmansk, including the captain and a Greenpeace
:18:27. > :18:34.activist from Argentina. She has already had her application for bail
:18:34. > :18:39.turned down by a judge. Just remind us what happened during the original
:18:39. > :18:46.incident. Yes, this was last month. A Greenpeace protest in the Arctic
:18:46. > :18:48.at a Russian oil drilling platform, when a number of activists scaled
:18:49. > :18:57.at a Russian oil drilling platform, the platform. Then the Russian Coast
:18:57. > :19:03.Guard came along and all the people on board the Arctic Sunrise,
:19:03. > :19:06.including activists, crew members and freelance journalists were
:19:06. > :19:12.arrested. The Greenpeace boat was impounded. Now, or 30 people are
:19:12. > :19:18.facing piracy charges. That carries a maximum possible sentence of 15
:19:18. > :19:24.years in jail. Hundreds of thousands of people who
:19:24. > :19:28.were evacuated before Cyclone Phailin hit India have started to
:19:28. > :19:34.return to their homes but many more will remain in temporary shelters. A
:19:34. > :19:37.huge relief operation is underway with officials providing food to
:19:37. > :19:42.hundreds of thousands of people who spent nights in shelters in Andhra
:19:42. > :19:48.Pradesh and Orissa states. Here is Sanjoy Majumder. This is a power
:19:48. > :19:51.line which has almost entirely fallen over.
:19:51. > :19:56.Almost everywhere you look in Orissa you can see signs of destruction
:19:56. > :19:59.left behind by Cyclone Phailin. You can see how the trees that have
:19:59. > :20:05.fallen over have now been pushed to one side. Slowly, bit by bit, life
:20:05. > :20:10.is returning to normal across Orissa. Power is gradually being
:20:10. > :20:14.is returning to normal across restored, communication links are
:20:14. > :20:17.being rebuilt. The priority for the administration is now to assess the
:20:17. > :20:21.hundreds of thousands of people who are living in temporary shelters.
:20:21. > :20:25.Many are from poor communities living along the coast, most of whom
:20:25. > :20:33.had lost their homes, some, even their livelihoods. The focus now is
:20:33. > :20:37.to start rebuilding their lives. Now, Afghanistan is one of the
:20:37. > :20:41.world's riskiest places to have a baby, with a high proportion of
:20:41. > :20:47.women dying during pregnancy and childbirth. It is out of nine, our
:20:47. > :20:51.correspondent Lyse Doucet travelled to Badakhshan which was the worst
:20:51. > :20:55.place on earth to give birth with a woman dying every 27 minutes. Now
:20:55. > :21:06.place on earth to give birth with a Lyse has gone to a hospital in Kabul
:21:06. > :21:10.to see if conditions are better. This is Afghanistan's oldest and
:21:10. > :21:15.biggest hospital. Women come from Afghanistan to give birth here. It
:21:15. > :21:21.is a good place to find out how much progress the country is making. The
:21:21. > :21:26.Health Minister is visiting today. This is good news in Afghanistan
:21:26. > :21:30.when a mother survives childbirth. It remains still one of the most
:21:30. > :21:38.dangerous things for women here? Exactly. She has come from a
:21:38. > :21:45.province near Kabul and she has six other children. This is her seventh
:21:45. > :21:54.child. She gave birth six hours ago in this hospital. Congratulations!
:21:54. > :21:58.This is one example of millions of women in Afghanistan who have
:21:58. > :22:00.travelled long distances to arrive at a facility where they receive
:22:00. > :22:06.travelled long distances to arrive care and where they have access to
:22:06. > :22:09.medical care. Afghanistan is described as having many dangers but
:22:09. > :22:14.it is described as one of the most dangerous places on earth to give
:22:14. > :22:21.birth. Are you making progress? We are making progress. We have seen a
:22:21. > :22:25.reduction in mortality. We used to have every 27 minutes a woman dying
:22:25. > :22:30.from pregnancy and childbirth in Afghanistan. Now every two hours a
:22:31. > :22:34.woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth. We have seen a reduction
:22:35. > :22:40.in maternal mortality. We have seen a reduction in lifetime risk among
:22:40. > :22:48.within who experience pregnancy and childbirth. Mothers surviving is a
:22:48. > :22:52.real measure of the development of this country because everything
:22:52. > :22:59.impacts on their ability to survive. Absolutely. It is an
:22:59. > :23:03.indication of development, human development and community
:23:03. > :23:06.development. It is not solely to prevent health and access to health
:23:06. > :23:12.care but where women are in the prevent health and access to health
:23:12. > :23:16.country and society. More women are educated and empowered, the more
:23:16. > :23:21.that mothers and babies will survive. Experiences show that when
:23:21. > :23:26.the rate of Higher Education Act women goes up, when the rate of
:23:26. > :23:30.employment among winning goes up, then the age of marriage delays. And
:23:30. > :23:39.the number of children they want to have gets reduced, their chance of
:23:39. > :23:45.surviving childbirth increases. We will let you get back to seeing some
:23:45. > :23:50.of the other mothers. Afghanistan faces battles on many fronts and one
:23:50. > :23:54.of them is the most basic and most less and rituals of life and that is
:23:54. > :23:57.giving birth. They say they are making progress but like everything
:23:57. > :24:06.else here, there is a long way to go.
:24:06. > :24:16.Now, the lid I'd is a drug with a diverse and chequered past. --
:24:16. > :24:20.thalidomide. It was prescribed to prevent morning sickness but it
:24:21. > :24:27.caused birth defects. Now scientists are trying to create a safer version
:24:27. > :24:31.of the drug. It is a drug so toxic to the unborn child, no women are
:24:31. > :24:34.allowed to work on the production line.
:24:34. > :24:38.Millions of thalidomide pills come out of this factory in Brazil each
:24:38. > :24:44.Millions of thalidomide pills come year, they are used to treat the
:24:44. > :24:49.painful complications of leprosy. In the late 1950s it was given to
:24:49. > :24:52.expectant mothers to help cure morning sickness. It caused
:24:53. > :24:57.thousands of birth defects before being banned. It was only allowed to
:24:57. > :25:01.be used again under tight supervision. But as BBC News
:25:01. > :25:06.revealed earlier this year, these safeguards do not always work. Alan
:25:06. > :25:11.is eight. His mother took the drug by mistake when she was pregnant.
:25:11. > :25:16.She did not know the damage it could cause. Thousands of miles away in
:25:16. > :25:22.Scotland, one scientist horrified by what is happening in Brazil, is
:25:22. > :25:26.working on a solution. His research on chick and fish embryos indicates
:25:26. > :25:34.it may be possible to make a safer version of the drug. You can clearly
:25:34. > :25:39.see in almost every case some kind of limb problems. The versions of
:25:39. > :25:44.the drug we hope in to be safer, the limbs would break, you could not
:25:44. > :25:50.tell there was a problem. We need to test to make sure there are no
:25:50. > :25:55.species differences but it is exciting at the moment. What is
:25:55. > :26:00.happening inside these eggs may change the way the world views
:26:00. > :26:02.thalidomide. It raises the possibility for a successor to
:26:02. > :26:15.thalidomide which does not pose a risk to the unborn child. This
:26:15. > :26:20.scientist who is the foremost expert on thalidomide birth defect that
:26:20. > :26:27.says the research in Scotland is vital. The researchers did find a
:26:27. > :26:32.safe molecule. That would be like heaven to find a molecule that it is
:26:32. > :26:38.effective to treat serious diseases and at the same time to be safe for
:26:38. > :26:41.the unborn baby. Too late for Alan and his mother but offering hope
:26:41. > :26:51.that no other family will have to suffer like they have.
:26:51. > :26:53.That is a look at our top international stories. I am back
:26:53. > :26:57.tomorrow. See you then.