:00:00. > :00:14.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories: Nigeria considers
:00:15. > :00:21.international offers of help to locate and rescue 200 schoolgirls
:00:22. > :00:25.kidnapped by Islamist militants. A government minister insists the
:00:26. > :00:29.president is taking action. We have invited the whole world, anyone who
:00:30. > :00:32.has technology, the type of things that can help us. Our biggest
:00:33. > :00:37.priority now is to get the girls back.
:00:38. > :00:40.Six people are injured in a knife attack in China - the latest in a
:00:41. > :00:42.series raising new questions about terrorism.
:00:43. > :00:45.Coca-Cola is to remove a controversial ingredient linked to
:00:46. > :00:51.flame retardants from its drinks, following an online petition.
:00:52. > :00:53.Also coming up - we report from the Sahara on the perils facing
:00:54. > :00:55.thousands of West African migrants, desperate for a better life in
:00:56. > :01:19.Europe. "Bring back our girls" is the slogan
:01:20. > :01:22.of a huge online campaign to find more than two hundred teenagers who
:01:23. > :01:29.were kidnapped from their remote boarding school in Nigeria. Now it
:01:30. > :01:34.seems it may be getting results, including offers of help from
:01:35. > :01:38.Britain and the US. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has
:01:39. > :01:44.admitted abducting the girls. Boko Haram means "Western Education is
:01:45. > :01:47.forbidden" in the Hausa language. The group, founded in 2002, aims to
:01:48. > :01:52.overthrow Nigeria's government and create an Islamic state. Since 2009,
:01:53. > :01:58.they have waged a campaign of gun attacks, bombings and abductions.
:01:59. > :02:01.Many of Boko Haram's attacks have been carried out against schools in
:02:02. > :02:12.remote areas, killing or kidnapping students. Alpa Patel reports.
:02:13. > :02:17.A provocative video, designed to cause anger and disgust. The leader
:02:18. > :02:23.of Boko Haram, admitting for the first time that his fighters
:02:24. > :02:29.kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls. I will sell the women in the market,
:02:30. > :02:33.he says. He also says, they should not have been in school in the first
:02:34. > :02:37.place. Boko Haram means Western education is forbidden. The video
:02:38. > :02:43.prompted this reaction from the White House. We view what has
:02:44. > :02:48.happened there is an outrage and the terrible tragedy. The president has
:02:49. > :02:51.been briefed several times and his national security team continues to
:02:52. > :02:55.monitor the situation there closely. The State Department has
:02:56. > :02:57.been in regular touch with the Nigerian government about what we
:02:58. > :03:02.might do to help support its efforts to find and free these young women.
:03:03. > :03:07.But for three weeks there has been no word. Three weeks of agony for
:03:08. > :03:11.the families, who have protested and wept for their loss. Their heartache
:03:12. > :03:16.has resonated with tens of thousands around the world. Some have taken to
:03:17. > :03:21.social media in solidarity with the families. Including Hillary Clinton,
:03:22. > :03:36.who tweeted: the grief and anger seen in Nigeria
:03:37. > :03:41.has dominated the headlines for days. The country is now just a day
:03:42. > :03:45.away from hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa, but it is likely
:03:46. > :03:56.international attention will continue to focus on the missing
:03:57. > :04:01.schoolgirls of Chibok. A little while ago, the Nigerian finance
:04:02. > :04:08.minister defended the government's actions. The past three weeks the
:04:09. > :04:12.government has been following up every lead, using aerial surveys,
:04:13. > :04:16.all the things at its disposal. I think the problem was we never
:04:17. > :04:21.communicated it well. Therefore there was this vacuum, where people
:04:22. > :04:25.got nothing was happening. He explained all of that last night,
:04:26. > :04:29.and now we are on the move, he has invited the whole world, anyone who
:04:30. > :04:32.has technology, the type of things that can help us. Our biggest
:04:33. > :04:37.priority now is to get the girls back.
:04:38. > :04:40.Ukraine claims more than 30 pro-Russian fighters have been
:04:41. > :04:47.killed during an assault on the city of Slovyansk in the east of the
:04:48. > :04:53.country. For government treatment is also died stop meanwhile the airport
:04:54. > :04:57.in Donetsk has been reopened for domestic flights. Our correspondent
:04:58. > :05:03.in Donetsk is Sarah Rainsford. I asked her what was going on where
:05:04. > :05:08.she is. We have been hearing from the interior Minister, some comments
:05:09. > :05:10.he has posted today, talking about the fighting around Slovyansk. He
:05:11. > :05:19.said that in that fight, Ukrainian troops lost four people, and he said
:05:20. > :05:25.that 20 people were injured in the fighting. Some heavy clashes around
:05:26. > :05:28.Slovyansk. That is a pro-Russian rebel stronghold city. He is
:05:29. > :05:33.claiming up to 30 people were killed on the other side, that has not been
:05:34. > :05:39.confirmed by the fighters, although they did talk of losses yesterday as
:05:40. > :05:43.well. Heavy fighting around there, the interior minister claiming that
:05:44. > :05:47.these are not just local people, he was saying that they are meeting
:05:48. > :05:51.Russians, people from the Crimea, and he also said there were Chechens
:05:52. > :05:55.involved in the fighting. We haven't had able to confirm that ourselves
:05:56. > :05:59.but it is what the Interior Ministry and the government in Kiev has been
:06:00. > :06:03.saying all along, that it wasn't a local rebellion but something that
:06:04. > :06:09.is now involving fighters from outside Ukraine and this region of
:06:10. > :06:13.eastern Ukraine. In terms of the airport, we understand that internal
:06:14. > :06:19.flights in Ukraine, coming to Donetsk and leaving Donetsk appear
:06:20. > :06:21.to be operating again, but international flights, we
:06:22. > :06:28.understand, are still cancelled for now. Certainly there is a lot of
:06:29. > :06:33.concern here in the run-up both to victory Day celebrations on the 9th
:06:34. > :06:39.of May and also made the 11th, which is when a referendum was due to be
:06:40. > :06:42.held here in this region, referendums on independence for the
:06:43. > :06:46.local regions. Both of those dates are potential flash point and the
:06:47. > :06:50.authorities are very concerned to try and stabilise the situation as
:06:51. > :06:52.far as possible. Meanwhile in Vienna, Foreign
:06:53. > :07:03.Ministers from the European Union are meeting to discuss the crisis.
:07:04. > :07:06.Before they started their meeting the British Foreign Secretary,
:07:07. > :07:11.William Hague, said he hoped the talks would achieve some progress.
:07:12. > :07:16.If we can find a diplomatic way forward that reduces tensions, then
:07:17. > :07:20.we should always try and do so. But that would require stronger Russian
:07:21. > :07:24.commitment. Last time, three weeks ago, they came to Geneva and then
:07:25. > :07:34.did nothing to implement the agreement that have been made. If
:07:35. > :07:37.there is a further diplomatic effort at de-escalation, everybody should
:07:38. > :07:43.be committed to doing what they said they would do. The Russian Foreign
:07:44. > :07:47.Minister is also at that meeting. This is the scene in Vienna, we are
:07:48. > :07:52.expecting that news conference to begin in the next few minutes.
:07:53. > :07:56.Reports from southern China say there has been another attack on
:07:57. > :07:59.travellers at a mainline station. Local media and an official security
:08:00. > :08:02.website in the city of Guangzhou are reporting that at least six people
:08:03. > :08:13.have been injured by attackers wielding knives. Our reporter is in
:08:14. > :08:17.Beijing with the latest. This was the second attack at a railway
:08:18. > :08:21.station within a week, and according to one account, two men were sitting
:08:22. > :08:28.down on the ground for two hours, and at some stage at around 11am
:08:29. > :08:33.local time, they stood up said something out loud and then they
:08:34. > :08:37.started slashing passengers. According to authorities, one of
:08:38. > :08:42.those men fled although reports say he has now been detained. Another
:08:43. > :08:46.attacker was shot at the scene. He has been detained as well. There are
:08:47. > :08:49.conflicting reports saying that perhaps they were as many as four
:08:50. > :08:56.attackers but we haven't got clarity on that. Has anyone come forward to
:08:57. > :09:06.accept blame for this? China is blaming separatists. China hasn't
:09:07. > :09:10.revealed anything, it has blamed Uighur separatists, or terrorists,
:09:11. > :09:16.as Beijing puts it, there was previously an attack in which one
:09:17. > :09:19.person died and dozens were injured, stabbed by attackers, and seriously
:09:20. > :09:24.for China, there was a horrendous attack back in March in which almost
:09:25. > :09:33.30 people were killed and many saw that as a real incident that has led
:09:34. > :09:41.to sea change in China, that violence from the West is spreading
:09:42. > :09:47.across the country. That concern will again be ignited today. Reuters
:09:48. > :09:54.are reporting that police in China do believe that a single person was
:09:55. > :09:59.responsible that might attack, and he was shot and wounded by police.
:10:00. > :10:07.-- that might attack. Much more to come. Oscar Pistorius introduced his
:10:08. > :10:18.girlfriend as is fiance a week before he shot her, according to a
:10:19. > :10:20.neighbour testifying in his defence. The former Egyptian army chief,
:10:21. > :10:23.Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who is a presidential candidate in this
:10:24. > :10:26.month's election has said the Muslim Brotherhood will no longer exist if
:10:27. > :10:30.he becomes president. Mr Sisi said he chose to run for the Presidency
:10:31. > :10:39.because of threats from both inside and outside Egypt. From Cairo, Orla
:10:40. > :10:44.Guerin reports. He may not be president of Egypt
:10:45. > :10:48.yet, but the former army chief says he is already a target. In his first
:10:49. > :10:54.television interview, he said there had been two attempts on his life. I
:10:55. > :11:00.am not afraid he said, I believe in fate. He provided no further details
:11:01. > :11:02.the plots. The former defence minister ruled out reconciliation
:11:03. > :11:10.with the now banned Muslim Brotherhood. He said the Egyptian
:11:11. > :11:13.people have made that decision stop TRANSLATION: It's not me that
:11:14. > :11:18.finished it. The Egyptians have. They have said no twice. They have
:11:19. > :11:23.said no on June 30 and they are saying no to them now. He has
:11:24. > :11:28.already presided over an unprecedented crackdown on the
:11:29. > :11:33.Islamist organisation. Thousands of its supporters and senior leaders
:11:34. > :11:37.are now in jail. He denied having political ambitions when he ousted
:11:38. > :11:41.the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July. He said he was running
:11:42. > :11:47.for office because of internal and external threats to Egypt. The
:11:48. > :11:50.career military officer said the army would not have our role in
:11:51. > :11:55.ruling Egypt if he wins the election. Giving the military's
:11:56. > :12:01.dominant role here for over half a century, many will have their
:12:02. > :12:04.doubts. The lengthy broadcast was punctuated by power cuts in parts of
:12:05. > :12:11.the capital. Keeping the lights on would be one of the first
:12:12. > :12:13.challenges, if as widely forecast, al-Sisi is elected president later
:12:14. > :12:23.this month. .
:12:24. > :12:32.This is BBC world News. Nigeria is considering offers of help from the
:12:33. > :12:37.US and Britain to locate and rescue more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped
:12:38. > :12:40.by Islamist militants. Police in China say a single man was
:12:41. > :12:43.responsible for a knife attack in wine shoe in which six people were
:12:44. > :12:53.injured. He said to have been shot and injured. -- he is said. Back to
:12:54. > :12:58.our top story, the ongoing search for 200 girls, have
:12:59. > :13:01.our top story, the ongoing search north of Nigeria. If I could quickly
:13:02. > :13:06.start on the north of Nigeria. If I could quickly
:13:07. > :13:09.the last hour by the finance minister. She is
:13:10. > :13:12.the last hour by the finance available technology will now be
:13:13. > :13:21.used, but this international focus is three weeks on from the
:13:22. > :13:26.abduction. Indeed. It is coming three weeks after the abduction and
:13:27. > :13:30.the president of Nigeria, just before the comment by the Finance
:13:31. > :13:36.Minister, also said that they have used helicopters and aircraft,
:13:37. > :13:39.searching the vast land of the north-east of Nigeria. They were not
:13:40. > :13:48.able to locate the whereabouts of where these 200 missing schoolgirls
:13:49. > :13:53.were. I think at the moment, it's good news coming to Nigeria that the
:13:54. > :13:57.US and UK are saying that they are going to help Nigeria in trying to
:13:58. > :14:03.locate the whereabouts and secure the release of these girls. The
:14:04. > :14:06.World Economic Forum is due to be held there tomorrow, I don't know
:14:07. > :14:13.this is the reason for this sudden focus on Nigeria, where bad news of
:14:14. > :14:16.another incident today? There is news of another incident, just
:14:17. > :14:20.before that, I think what has happened is there has been outrage
:14:21. > :14:23.by Nigerians and parents of the girls, think this is why we are
:14:24. > :14:27.seeing the results we are seeing now. The recent incident we have
:14:28. > :14:34.just heard this morning is that a school in a suburb of Abuja, close
:14:35. > :14:40.to the capital, was attacked by gunmen in, bursting into the school
:14:41. > :14:45.at 8am and taking away the bus. The principal of the school who looked
:14:46. > :14:51.very agitated, said there wasn't any child abducted from the school. The
:14:52. > :14:55.bus was taking, it was empty, the police were there, we have at the
:14:56. > :14:58.school is now swarmed with security officials and parents have been
:14:59. > :15:03.called to take their children away from school.
:15:04. > :15:08.Neighbours of the athlete Oscar Pistorius are giving evidence on the
:15:09. > :15:10.27th day of his trial in Pretoria. The athlete's defence team is
:15:11. > :15:13.continuing to call witnesses to challenge the state's claim that he
:15:14. > :15:16.deliberately killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp - he says he
:15:17. > :15:22.believed he was shooting an intruder.
:15:23. > :15:31.Milton Nkosi is following the case for us in Pretoria.
:15:32. > :15:40.Yes, this morning we heard from two neighbours of Oscar Pistorius. Mr
:15:41. > :15:45.and Mrs Nhlengethwa. Mr Nhlengethwa was the first to take the stand. He
:15:46. > :15:50.described waking up in the middle of the night after a gunshot, which was
:15:51. > :15:56.heard by his wife. He did not hear the gunshot. He said that while he
:15:57. > :16:01.was up, he heard a man crying. This is how he described it. What I said
:16:02. > :16:05.to Barry Roux was basically there is a difference between one that is
:16:06. > :16:14.crying because he is just sad and normal crying, but also there is
:16:15. > :16:22.this crying when you are in danger and when you physically need help.
:16:23. > :16:27.The cry that we heard in the morning was a person desperate for help. We
:16:28. > :16:37.probably thought they were in danger. Was it loud? Very loud, my
:16:38. > :16:45.lady. You said it was a man's voice. Was it a high Tone or low? A
:16:46. > :16:52.very high pitched voice. Did you know who it was? When I spoke to my
:16:53. > :17:00.wife, I said it could be one of my neighbours. I was not sure where it
:17:01. > :17:05.was coming from. That is how Mr Nhlengethwa described how they woke
:17:06. > :17:12.up that morning to the sounds of a man crying in a high pitched voice.
:17:13. > :17:17.Then he called the security and then he went to Oscar Pistorius's house.
:17:18. > :17:26.This is how he described the scene when he arrived. I saw our school
:17:27. > :17:30.was kneeling next to the lady. -- Oscar was kneeling. She was just
:17:31. > :17:40.lying down and there was blood all over. He was just crying at that
:17:41. > :17:46.point in time. The gentleman that I saw... I mean, there was one
:17:47. > :17:53.gentleman inside the house. Oscar was also asking him to help him. We
:17:54. > :18:01.know now that is the doctor who came from that house. Yes. I was just
:18:02. > :18:05.pleading with him to help him. I could see that obviously the
:18:06. > :18:12.situation was quite bad. And even for me, I could not even walk closer
:18:13. > :18:15.inside the house because I could not take watching what I saw at that
:18:16. > :18:25.point in time. It was quite difficult to see it. When I stood at
:18:26. > :18:30.a distance from the entrance door, I could see that he was talking to the
:18:31. > :18:37.gentleman, saying, please help. Help me. It was quite a difficult moment.
:18:38. > :18:43.And that is how Mr Nhlengethwa described the scene that day. And
:18:44. > :18:47.then his wife took to the stand. She also said that she never left her
:18:48. > :18:54.bedroom. Then another witness came. She spent a very brief period, also
:18:55. > :18:59.a neighbour. She heard a man crying. The court has been adjourned until
:19:00. > :19:03.Thursday because tomorrow is a bank holiday. South Africa goes to the
:19:04. > :19:07.polls for a general election. 20 years after the end of apartheid,
:19:08. > :19:11.said there will not be any sitting tomorrow.
:19:12. > :19:17.Milton Nkosi in Pretoria, thank you for now.
:19:18. > :19:20.The world's largest drinks producer, Coca-Cola, has promised to remove a
:19:21. > :19:25.controversial ingredient from some of its products by the end of this
:19:26. > :19:29.year. BVO, or brominated vegetable oil, is used as a flavouring
:19:30. > :19:31.stabiliser in some drinks including varieties of Fanta, Fresca and
:19:32. > :19:35.Powerade. A teenager in the US started an online petition, after
:19:36. > :19:38.noticing that it can also be used as a flame retardant. Coca-Cola says
:19:39. > :19:40.all its ingredients meet regulatory requirements. Our health editor
:19:41. > :19:48.Michelle Roberts has been finding out more. First of all, how much of
:19:49. > :19:55.any of these strings, not Coca-Cola we should stress, but drinks like
:19:56. > :20:01.Fanta, but you have to drink to be worried? -- these drinks. Firstly,
:20:02. > :20:08.it is not clear that there is any cause of health issues. This is very
:20:09. > :20:13.much a commercial issue. There was one case of someone drinking four
:20:14. > :20:17.litres per day over weeks. Two big bottles every day for several
:20:18. > :20:22.months? Yes, and he ran into trouble. He started having
:20:23. > :20:28.neurological symptoms. No problems, eyelid droop, weak muscles. -- nerve
:20:29. > :20:35.problems. Doctors looked at his blood and he seems to have too much
:20:36. > :20:39.of this element, bromide. OK, so it has been removed? There is a problem
:20:40. > :20:44.with it in the European Union anyway, isn't there? What is
:20:45. > :20:49.Coca-Cola doing? In the EU they tell people not to put this product into
:20:50. > :20:54.the drinks. In the USA, regulators say they can put some in that they
:20:55. > :20:59.set a limit how much. It is really not clear whether there is a health
:21:00. > :21:07.risk. People say this is a safe product. But has research being done
:21:08. > :21:11.into smaller amounts of use? Yes. It has been in the strings for years
:21:12. > :21:21.and lots of us drink these strings and is very little evidence. Pepsi
:21:22. > :21:26.have agreed to move it as well. Yes, it is more of a commercial thing
:21:27. > :21:31.because it is damaging commercially. Why has it taken Coca-Cola so long
:21:32. > :21:36.to act? You would have to ask them! They insist it is a safe thing to be
:21:37. > :21:40.in there. They are now listening to their consumers. If anyone is
:21:41. > :21:45.worried, what symptoms would they have to look out for? If you are
:21:46. > :21:48.drinking four litres of any fizzy drink, particularly for sugar, I
:21:49. > :21:59.would be more concerned about the sugar!
:22:00. > :22:01.Yes, thank you. Thailand's Constitutional Court will
:22:02. > :22:04.rule on Wednesday whether to dismiss the country's caretaker Prime
:22:05. > :22:08.Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, for abuse of power. The court's been
:22:09. > :22:12.hearing a case brought by a group of senators who say her party benefited
:22:13. > :22:14.from the replacement of the head of national security. The hearing is
:22:15. > :22:17.part of a wider political battle between the Thai Prime Minister and
:22:18. > :22:23.her opponents who are said to want to force her from office.
:22:24. > :22:27.A small plane has to force her from office.
:22:28. > :22:30.house in Northglenn in the US state of Colorado setting the plane and
:22:31. > :22:32.house on fire. Despite the severity of the crash, the pilot walked away
:22:33. > :22:37.unharmed. Authorities say of the crash, the pilot walked away
:22:38. > :22:40.home at the time. The plane is almost upside down and most of it
:22:41. > :22:53.can be seen through the second-story roof of the home. Extraordinary.
:22:54. > :22:56.Every year tens of thousands of West African migrants, hoping for a
:22:57. > :22:59.better life in Europe, attempt the perilous journey across the Sahara
:23:00. > :23:02.to the North coast of Africa. Many migrants begin their journeys
:23:03. > :23:05.northwards in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world on
:23:06. > :23:08.the edge of the desert. One difficult and dangerous route takes
:23:09. > :23:15.them through Algeria, on the way to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe
:23:16. > :23:18.beyond. But some die of thirst along the way. Another route goes through
:23:19. > :23:21.Libya but there are stories of migrants being kidnapped by militia.
:23:22. > :23:23.Our West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy travelled to Niger to
:23:24. > :23:26.Our West Africa correspondent Thomas some of those preparing to undertake
:23:27. > :23:29.the journey towards Europe. This is where the promise of
:23:30. > :23:33.the journey towards Europe. This is starts. Agadez.
:23:34. > :23:38.the journey towards Europe. This is secretive. The gateway to the Sahara
:23:39. > :23:40.and home to smugglers of all kinds. Behind these closed doors lies a
:23:41. > :23:46.brutal reality. This is nothing like Behind these closed doors lies a
:23:47. > :23:50.Vivian inspected. She left Nigeria with big dreams. Instead she is
:23:51. > :23:57.Vivian inspected. She left Nigeria selling herself to men, desperate to
:23:58. > :24:03.reach Europe. We see men and that is how we make our money. I am not
:24:04. > :24:09.happy. There is nowhere to go, no job. You thought this was the only
:24:10. > :24:15.solution for you to make money? Yes. What would you like to do? I would
:24:16. > :24:17.like to be a nurse. Money is what they hope to find in Europe but it
:24:18. > :24:21.is what they need now. They are they hope to find in Europe but it
:24:22. > :24:27.queueing at the bank to cash in whatever they have left and the
:24:28. > :24:32.little help their family may have sent. In the migration business,
:24:33. > :24:42.people are just another commodity. This man is snuggling up to 300
:24:43. > :24:47.people every month. -- smuggling. We charge $500 for the ride to Libya
:24:48. > :24:51.but you must count another 300 so we can bribe the police at the
:24:52. > :24:57.checkpoints. We can give them credit but that means they will end up
:24:58. > :25:02.paying double on arrival. So this visit. The long road through the
:25:03. > :25:06.Sahara begins here. This track will soon disappear under the heavy sand
:25:07. > :25:11.dunes. This is probably the most extreme journey that African
:25:12. > :25:17.migrants will ever undertake. You either it or you don't but there is
:25:18. > :25:23.no going back. -- make it. The punishing sun is deadly and Libya
:25:24. > :25:28.will offer no respite. West African migrants have told us about being
:25:29. > :25:34.kidnapped by militia men, sold to the police and thrown in jail for up
:25:35. > :25:43.to six months. They were beaten and starved, deported but left with
:25:44. > :25:47.nothing. They are now going home. They are crying that they will never
:25:48. > :25:55.see their parents again. One was in the front line beside me telling me
:25:56. > :25:59.about his brother. He said he would never see his mother again. I said
:26:00. > :26:04.don't cry. God is so kind and we will make it. The risks involved in
:26:05. > :26:10.this grim journey North are no deterrent. Thousands of African
:26:11. > :26:14.migrants will continue to transit here every year, without jobs,
:26:15. > :26:25.without prospects. Nothing will stop this perilous exodus.
:26:26. > :26:31.Just time before we go, to bring you some weather news with a slightly
:26:32. > :26:35.surreal flavour. Residents of a village on the West
:26:36. > :26:38.coast of Sri Lanka, woke to find it had been raining fish. They fell
:26:39. > :26:42.from the sky in their hundreds after strong winds and heavy rain actually
:26:43. > :26:45.lifted the fish from a nearby river and carried them to the village.
:26:46. > :26:49.They managed to collect about 50 kilos from the roadside. Chilaw's
:26:50. > :26:55.main industry is - you've guessed it - fishing.
:26:56. > :26:59.Our top story today: The search goes on for the missing 200 schoolgirls
:27:00. > :27:11.in Nigeria. Goodbyes for today. Ted, I... I'm not interested in
:27:12. > :27:14.coming to see Lady Gaga, sir.