02/06/2014 BBC World News

A televised address by Spain's King Juan Carlos is expected

shortly after his decision to abdicate the throne was announced

Of TRANSLATION: I want to tell you that I found the King completely

sure that this is the best moment for the change in government and the

handing over of the Crown to the Prince.

A US-Taliban prisoner swap deal is condemned by the Afghan government

and senior Republicans after the handover of five militants

Pro-Russian separatists launch a sustained attack on border guards

And how this Cuban made it to the US across shark-infested waters...on

Spain's King Juan Carlos is abdicating.

The announcement was made by the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano

Rajoy, although we are expecting to hear from the king himself shortly.

It could be in about ten minutes. If you do start speaking, we will bring

you that statement when it happens. Mr Rajoy said Crown Prince Felipe

will take over the throne, but a constitutional amendment will

need to be proposed to allow 76-year-old King Juan Carlos has

ruled the country since 1975, overseeing Spain's transition

from General Franco's dicatatorship Mr Rajoy described King Juan Carlos,

who's been suffering from ill health recently

as "a symbol of Spanish freedom". The King's legacy is as a staunch

defender of Spanish democracy. This was an attempted coup in 1981.

Paramilitary police seized control of the country's parliament. But

instead of unravelling back to military control, the young King

stood firm with this television appeal to the nation. The coup was

defeated and the King's popularity soared. The Royal Family had fled

Spain during the civil war. Later, General Franco allowed one call us

to return and then nominated him as his successor, expecting him to

continue his military dictatorship. But on Franco's death in 1975, King

Juan Carlos chose to begin Spain's transition to a modern Parliamentary

democracy. In recent years, there has been a growing gap between

ordinary Spaniards and the monarchy. The King's deputation and health

have deteriorated. At a time of austerity, many were dismayed at his

expensive elephant hunting trip to Botswana, and there has been

frustration over a long-running corruption investigation into the

King's daughter and her husband. Despite this, there was surprise

when the abdication announcement came. TRANSLATION: His maddest demon

macro has just informed me of his desire to renounce the throne -- his

Majesty, King Bicking assured me that this is the

best time for change. That is the to the throne, Crown Prince Felipe, a

former Olympic yachtsman. He married a television presenter and has two

daughters. He is popular and is expected to do much to improve the

royal image. The Afghan Government has condemned

a prisoner swap that freed an American soldier in exchange

for five senior Taliban militants The prisoners have been released

into Qatar's custody, The American soldier,

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, is recovering at a military hospital

in Germany after spending nearly Senior Republicans are also

concerned The Republican senator John McCain,

who spent just over five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam,

says the released Taliban figures I understand the joy and happiness

of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's family and friends, and we are all grateful

that he is returned. I think there are legitimate questions about these

individuals who are being released and the conditions under which they

will be released. These are the hardest of the hard-core. These are

the highest risk people. Others that we have released have gone back into

the fight. That has been documented. It is disturbing to me that the

Taliban are the ones that named the people to be released.

Well, let's take a closer look at the five released Taliban men.

The first, Mohammed Fazl, was the Taliban's deputy defence

minister and is accused over the murder of thousands of

Khirullah Khairkhwa, who was the organisation's interior

minister, was alleged to have been close to Osama Bin Laden and he is

considered to be one of the founding members of the movement.

Abdul Haq Wasiq was the Taliban's Deputy Intelligence

Minister and formed alliances with other Islamist groups.

Mullah Norullah Noori was a senior Taliban military commander

in Mazar-e-Sharif and is accused of a role in mass murders of

Mohammad Nabi Omari was Chief of Security in the southern town

of Qalat and was allegedly involved in the killing of foreign troops.

And we can now go to Kabul to hear from our correspondent

They are extremely angry about this. They say it violates international

law. Presumably, they are worried about these men returning to active

Taliban service? First of all, the Afghan government was not involved

at all about the swap. It only came to know after everything had taken

place. So that is grievance number one. The Afghan government says that

if these men had moved to Qatar to stay with their own families, they

welcomed that. But if they were handed over to a third country as

prisoners, that is not acceptable because Afghanistan is obliged to

look after its citizens. That is not a view shared by Afghan intelligence

officials, who see these five men as dangerous Taliban leaders and

commanders. This was very much will Omar's cabinet. These were Taliban

leaders and commanders who had the trust and confidence of the Taliban

leader. The deputy intelligence leader, who was one of those

released, was a liaison with Al-Qaeda. He was the one dividing

protection for Osama Bin Laden in 1998, even arranging hunting trips.

So this is a bit of a security nightmare for the Afghan

intelligence and security officials. They fear that if these men make it

to Afghanistan or Pakistan or even if they manage to stay in contact,

they could prove very dangerous, especially if they can get funding.

The Taliban propaganda machine is already using this as a victory. We

have already seen videos showing the five business arriving in Qatar.

They have been praised as heroes. Reports from eastern Ukraine say

hundreds of insurgents have attacked a border guard camp in Lugansk.

Ukraine's border guard service says at least seven guards have been

injured. These are the latest pictures of the base being attacked.

They have not been independently verified, but it does seem to be

that order post. There was danger gunfire for several hours by

militants armed with automatic weapons. Our correspondent in Kiev

gave me the latest. The Ukrainian border guard service has said that

five of the separatists were killed and eight wounded. They also said

seven of their own border guards were wounded. This cannot be

independently verified, but these are the first figures from this

attack, which they say is ongoing. They also provide the number of 500

separatists attacking the base. Again, we can't say if this is true

or not, but if this is the case, it is a very major attack indeed. The

head of the Ukrainian border guard service has given an interview to

local television. He said the militants are crossing in from

Russia. And they are crossing and engaging the border guards on a

daily basis, he said. So if this is going on to this extent, it is a

major battle happening in Lugansk. This is the eastern region, which

the separatists partially control. And some reports suggest that the

fighters themselves have come across from Russia in a special brigade.

Tell us more about that? It is difficult to say exactly where they

came from, but there are reports from Ukrainian officials. The border

guard service had himself said they do come regularly. This has been an

issue for the Ukrainians for some time. We spoke to the Foreign

Minister last week, he was saying that militants are coming over the

border. There are Russian militants fighting here. The separatists

themselves have said they have had deaths and they have wee Patriot in

Russian citizens back to Russia. -- they have repatriated Russian

citizens. Israeli warplanes have attacked

targets in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired rockets

into Israel. The Israeli raid took place hours before a new Palestinian

unity government takes office in Ramada on Monday. It is dominated by

the Fatah party, but also includes Hamas, after a reconciliation deal.

The BBC's Quentin Somerville joins us now. Israel are furious about

this. We know the make-up of this government and the split between

Fatah and Hamas? President Mahmoud Abbas has created a government which

he says is a government of technocrats, so it does not have

allegiances to Fatah or Hamas. That is a bit of nifty footwork, and the

Israelis say it is a trick in the world should not fall for it,

because Hamas is viewed as a terror organisation. Israel says the world

should not recognise this government. In a ceremony that

finished in the last half-hour, 17 government ministers including the

prime minister was sworn in. There is a new unity government here,

which will be welcomed by Palestinians. There are challenges

for that government. It might seal a seven-year split between Hamas and

Fatah, but it does not solve many of their problems. The ceremony today

almost did not go ahead because there was a dispute over prisoners.

The deal happened because Gaza is broke, so Hamas need to do deal.

Gaza is blockaded by Egypt and Israel, so Mahmoud Abbas did this

deal with Hamas because he needs a builders will win after the failure

of those peace negotiations with Israel last month. But the

consequences of this for Israel mean that it is not even prepared to try

and restart those peace talks? That is right, it would be unconscionable

for Israel to have anything to do with Hamas, an organisation intent

on Israel's destruction and one which will not renounce violence.

Renouncing violence and accepting the state of Israel are the

conditions for any peace negotiations, of course. Though that

will be a real challenge. Israel is already considering sanctions.

Today, three of the ministers who were coming to the ceremony were not

allowed to attend. They were not allowed to leave Gaza. There may be

greater sanctions against Mahmoud Abbas as the Palestinian president.

Mahmoud Abbas will leave here in the next few days to go to Jordan, where

he will meet US Secretary of State John Kerry. John Kerry will be

looking for reassurances that this government will not be dominated by

Hamas and that it will not embrace terrorism.

This is BBC World News. Still to come: Pushing the boundaries of

green energy. A solar powered plane completes its first test flight

ahead of a land so can not a novice globe. Looking at the speed, it will

take quite a while. A bomb has exploded in north-eastern

Nigeria, killing at least 14 people. It is in an area where there have

been repeated attacks by Boko Haram, the Islamist group that abducted

more than 200 schoolgirls. The violence has led to the closure of

many schools in an area where 11 million children get no access to

mainstream education. There is no mistaking the hunger for education.

You find children who are not enrolled who will put spec it to the

door and get ahead and get a bit of an education. Some 11 million

children are believed not to be getting any basic education. Many

are getting getting any basic education. Many

but not the kind of classes you get in a primary or secondary school.

There are a mixture of lessons going on here. Here they are learning

English, the present continuous tense. Let's hear some of the

present continuous tense. jumping. Over here is a maths class

going on. They are going through all the drills of the numbers. Another

maths class here. Many of them are very young and girls as well,

maths class here. Many of them are to get an education. Now a lesson in

the local language. There are efforts going on to try and really

boost the education in northern Nigeria and the hope is, by

improving education, it will bring more stability. A lack of education

that then leads to poverty is seen as a root cause of the conflict in

the North. Spain's King Juan Carlos is to

abdicate after almost 40 years He'll be succeeded by his son,

Prince Felipe. Minister was making. He is calling

for more coordination. They believe there is a network

for more coordination. They believe is one of the biggest

for more coordination. They believe the moment. These people were

arrested quite early this morning in dawn raids. No direct link.

Certainly in response to the arrest dawn raids. No direct link.

yesterday in Marseille, we do not know because the minister was not

particularly forthcoming why they were arrested. Whether you're in

particularly forthcoming why they same circle? Did they have

connections or do they fit same circle? Did they have

profile? I suspect we will see more arrests like this over the coming

days as they widen the investigation.

Organisers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will meet FIFA

investigator Michael Garcia later, amid growing calls for the

Gulf State to be stripped of the right to hold the tournament.

Qatar denies any wrongdoing but there is increasing pressure

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper claimed that a former FIFA

executive, Mohamed bin Hammam, who's from Qatar,

paid several million dollars to football officials to back the bid.

A former British Sports Minister, Richard Caborn,

who supported England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, says FIFA needs

the same sort of reform as the International Olympic Committee.

It was merely two years ago when Michael Garcia, an eminent lawyer,

was asked to investigate the process both for Russia and Qatar on the

awarding of the 2018, 2022 world cups. That is what you is doing. I'm

hoping the Sunday Times will pass all the new evidence over to Garcia

who will then be able to factor that into his report which, I say, is due

just after the World Cup in Brazil. That will reveal whether the process

was sound or not. It also begs a bigger question. That is the whole

governance of football by FIFA. There has been an ethics committee

report on the procedures and they are asking for fundamental reforms

of FIFA. I hope that is what he will be saying as well. What do we think

about the governance of FIFA? There have been so many allegations, not

just about this but other allegations of corrupt practices. Do

you think there needs to be a root and branch reform of senior

management within FIFA? That is what the ethics committee is looking at.

Out of that report came the need to investigate the process of awarding

the two world cups to Russia and Qatar. That is now under

investigation, or in the process. That is what Garcia is doing. He

reports in a few weeks time. Then the FIFA executive will decide what

they will do. There is a parallel to this. When you look at what happened

with the International Olympic Committee after salt lake, though a

very serious allegations made. Jack rock came into the IOC and clearly

has removed the tarnished image of the five rings by fundamentally

changing the culture as well as the organisation of the IOC for the

better. To some extent, FIFA is at that crossroads now, with the ethics

committee report which they have partly implemented and also now

awaiting the last see a report on the bidding process and whether

there has been any wrongdoing in that process. -- the Garcia. If they

do not do this, not only will football be questioning the

integrity of FIFA but also the big sponsors and television companies

will be asking whether they want to be associated with a tarnished sport

and the time it organisation. FIFA has to take but ever has come out

and will come out very seriously indeed.

President Obama is due to unveil new environmental rules aimed

at dramatically cutting emissions that contribute to global warming.

Individual states will be given targets and will have

It's the first ever US limits on carbon dioxide emissions

and could involve the closure of coal-fired power plants.

Aleem Maqbool now reports from coal country in West Virginia.

America produces more greenhouse gashes than any other country in the

world but in fact produces more than double per person than China does.

Around 40% of the greenhouse emissions comes from energy

production. This power plant alone in West Virginia earns an incredible

15,000 tonnes of coal each day when it is working at full capacity,

providing electricity to around 2 million homes. President Obama is

about to announce rules which are the most significant in American

history in terms of trying to limit climate change forced he will talk

about trying to cap the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by

power plants like this. That is something that has greatly pleased

environmentalist but has upset many in coal industry. In West Virginia,

it is not just about power production. This beautiful state,

and a lot of it looks just like this, sits on huge coal reserves.

The worry here is with the amount of coal that is burnt in America, if it

is decreased because that is the real way to bring down carbon

dioxide emissions, and thousands will lose their jobs. It is very

clear that President Obama wants it as part of his legacy that he did

something about climate change. His point is this will create more

opportunities in other sectors like renewable energies. Having spoken to

people here in West Virginia over the last couple of days, it seems

they are not going to give up on what is becoming an increasingly

bitter fight. For years, Cubans have been risking

their lives to flee to the United States, often journeying

across shark-infested waters. Jorge Armando Martinez decided to

make the treacherous journey He's told the BBC how he survived

on a sip of water a day I am 28 years old and I came to the

US on a surfboard from Cuba. My life in Cuba was very different. I had to

find a better life for my daughter. So I started to train as the

windsurfer, to get ready to come to the US. I had to sell almost all my

belongings. I only kept my bed and the windsurfer Kit. There was a

group of us with the same idea. All we had to do was train hard and get

ready for the unknown. We did not really know what to expect on the

Florida Straits. I was only carrying a bottle of water and around ten

streets. The trip was supposed to take about six hours. I knew I could

reach speeds of up to 50, 60 kilometres an hour with the board. I

did not expect to have so many problems. After four days at sea, I

began to get used to it. I rationed my water and had a sip every day.

One night I started to hallucinate. I thought I was in a forest. I was

quite confident about my route thanks to a compass I had on my

wrist which kept me on the right path. There was a beach and that is

where someone found me. Some fishermen were passing by very close

to me. They saw me and they asked me if I was a rafter. I said, no, I am

just very thirsty. They got me some water and called the Coast Guard.

They took me by boat to an ambulance which was waiting in Key West and

then I went straight to hospital. I was in very bad shape, dehydrated. I

think everything will go well for me here because I enjoy working. I like

the challenge of being in a developed country which gives you

the opportunity to work honestly and to live like a person.

A solar-powered plane, that will try to fly around the world next year,

has successfully completed its first test flight in Switzerland.

Solar Impulse 2 is an upgraded version of the aircraft

The plane set a number of world records, including

the longest manned solar-powered flight at 26 six hours.

The pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg,

say they want to push the boundaries for alternative energy.

The carbon-fibre aircraft has a wider wingspan than a Boeing 747,

but is only a fraction of the weight.

Juan Carlos is to abdicate after almost 40 years on the throne. He

will be succeeded by his son. We're expecting a statement in a few

minutes. Stay with us