12/06/2014 BBC World News

"Roll up your sleeves we have a score to settle".

Islamist militants in Iraq urge supporters to march

The final countdown begins for football fans around the world - the

The former Pakistan president who is on trial for treason is granted

permission to leave the country. Texting people have been reported to

have been killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan.

-- 16 people. Islamist militants who've overrun

large areas of Northern Iraq are now urging their supporters to march

on the capital Baghdad. On Tuesday they took control of

Mosul but there are now conflicting reports about who holds Tikrit,

the birthplace of Saddam Hussein. An audio recording has emerged

of ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani in which he

calls for the Sunni insurgents not to give up one inch of the land

they've liberated, as he puts it. He urges them to advance towards

the capital, describing the city He says they have a score to settle

for there is an old imbalance He's speaking on behalf of Abu Bakr

al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. The 42-year-old is believed to have

been born in Samarra, Nicknamed "the invisible sheikh"

because he wears a mask There are only two authenticated

photos of him, and unlike Al-Qaeda leaders such as Osama Bin Laden

and Ayman al-Zawahiri, he does not Reports suggest he was radicalised

during the four years he was held at Camp Bucca, a US facility in

southern Iraq but he has not sworn In 2011, the US officially

designated al-Baghdadi as a terrorist and offered a $10

million reward for information The Sunni militants have

swept through norhtern Iraq Burning vehicles marked

their advance on Tikrit just 80 They conquered Iraq's second city,

Mosul earlier this week, quickly This was an Army base nearby,

now overrun with insurgents, Iraq's Prime Minister

though is pledging to fight back. We are not going to allow this to

carry on regardless of the price. We are getting ready,

we are organising. The militants themselves are

an Al-Qaeda leader splinter group The creation of a single Islamic

state stretching down to Israel Britain and the US have ruled out

military intervention but Washington is promising more support for Iraqi

forces. You can expect we will provide

additional assistance to the Iraqi government to combat the threat

from ISIS but I'm not in Half a million people have fled to

Kurdish-controled Iraq and for many This man says he rescued these

children Iraq's post-war stability has always

been precarious, but now the country appears on the verge

of a grave and bloody new chapter. The BBC's Rami Ruhayem is in Irbil,

Kurdish-run northern Iraq and has been listening to

the full ISIS statement. The statement began

by offering thanks to God There was a rallying cry to

the fighters not to get too smug about their victories and not to be

too happy with the equipment they And the fighters were told, this is

a result of God being on your side. Remember to remain faithful

and remember not to get arrogant. That was the first bit

which was a rallying cry to the attack, which we are quite used

to from ISIS spokespeople Sectarian language against the Shia

in general and calls for an advance on Baghdad which could be a call

for fighters to advance but it also could be a manoeuvre which we have

seen them doing in the past. What we heard

from the refugees coming from Mosul, the militants in general, whether

ISIS or other militants who took People we spoke to said what they

were fleeing was fears of the response the Iraqi army could

do in response. William Hague has ruled out any

British military involvement in Iraq. The United States said

yesterday it was dividing further assistance to the Iraqi government.

William Hague has told the BBC Britain will support the United

States but try morally responsibility rests with the Iraqi

authorities. They are considering sending Yaman at Aryan aid.

The World Cup kicks off in just under ten hours,

as FIFA estimates as many as one billion people may tune in to watch

But not all Brazilians are experiencing football fever.

Airport workers in Brazil's second largest city,

Rio de Janiero, are staging a partial strike while protests

at the cost of the tournament are planned across the country.

But after the frantic rush to get the venues ready on time the

Hopes will be high among Brazil's Latin American neighbours, as

If Brazilian fans have been slow to get in the mood, their neighbours

haven't. Latin American supporters are here in big numbers. But all of

the negativity of the last year will be swept aside as the home nation

takes centre stage. Here at Sao Paulo, the stadium is barely ready.

Despite delays and criticism of the problems in recent months, the

Brazilian government is putting up a defence on how it has organised this

tournament. It has come down to the last minute, but the opening stadium

is ready and the World Cup, they say, it will be a huge success. It

is moving and changing so well. We are celebrating. Stadium worries

aside, the big concern is disruption from strikes and protests. These

activists camped out within sight of the opening venue, one of many

groups threatening to demonstrate against excessive spending on the

cob. FIFA and the Brazilian government hope those voices will be

drowned out as fans get behind one of the world's great sporting

events. Fans around the world and indeed

above the world are making their final preparations for the World

Cup. Thailand's military government has

ordered that all World Cup matches be shown for free as part of its

campaign to "return happiness to the Thai people". It will cost the

government thirteen million dollars in compensation to the private

company which had purchased the broadcast rights. Football is very

popular in Thailand although the nation has never been to the World

Cup finals. German fans are hoping to attract

12,000 fans to watch the game be seen -- between Brazil and Croatia

later. A group of football fans also keeping an eye on the World Cup of

the astronauts on board the International Space Station. They

have tried out their soccer skills. Keep ERP is not a problem. Look at

that save! Pretty awesome. Looks brilliant.

We will be keeping you up-to-date on that. Back to the top story because

in Iraq we have just heard the parliament has failed to hold its

emergency meeting to vote on a state of emergency due to a lack of

decorum. The speaker has suspended the meeting. This is according to a

rack of -- Iraqi television. The Prime Minister wanted to impose a

state of emergency and called civilians to arms after militants

said they would march on the capital, bag dad. But the government

has not been able to meet. We will up date you and verify the report as

soon as we can. We're going to Pakistan because a

court has approved a request by the former president to leave the

country. Subject to a possible appeal by the government. He is

currently on trial for treason. Let's go to our correspondent in

Karachi. Explain why the former president is dominating the news and

the politics? He has faced a whole host of troubles since he made an

attempt to return from exile to Pakistan to return to politics. He

was refused permission to take part in last year's election. He was then

arrested and faces many charges, the most serious being treason which put

him at risk of life imprisonment or even death if he is convicted. While

those court appearances have been going on over many months, these

applications have been made for him to leave the country. They have been

unsuccessful so far, but today in Karachi, in the High Court, he was

given permission to leave. But not immediately, the court ruled not for

15 days and it is subject to the government is appealing against it.

His lawyer said in the spirit of this ruling, the government might

let him leave earlier than 15 days. I asked a lawyer, if indeed he is

now leaving the country, will he be doing so reluctantly? Of course, he

would want to participate in political life, but he does not want

to remain a convict. He wants to clear his name and does not want any

other cases pending against him. That is the type of verse and he has

come across. He is set to come back and face any other criminal

proceedings. This has transpired because of the illness of his

mother, firstly. And secondly, his own illness. His backbone fracture

is not treatable in Pakistan. The government said they would pay the

expenses for his mother to travel to Pakistan is also not an option. She

is too old and she has been advised not to travel to Pakistan. It is

possible he could leave this country in terms of the order and then

return again to clear his name? That is what he has told me. If he wants

to go and see his mother, and he wants to go and see his mother, he

is going to come back. There is pressure on the government from two

directions in this case. Those opponents of the former president

who want to see him convicted, but also there has been disquiet from

the Army, expressed over the past few weeks about the notion of a

former chief of staff being dragged through the courts in this way. It

might seem extraordinary to hear him say that if he goes, he would come

back again to continue his battle in the courts. But he wrote a biography

called In The Line Of Fire and he is used to being in battle. The United

States has launched two drone strikes. The first since it

suspended operations in December. Reports say at least 16 people were

killed on the border with Afghanistan. The attack comes days

after the Pakistani Taliban attack Karachi airport which sought nearly

50 people killed including ten attackers.

Karachi airport which sought nearly 50 people Our correspondent told us

what the public Karachi airport which sought nearly

50 people Our correspondent reaction was in the latest round of drone

strikes. If you go by social media you will find mixed views. But some

people think it is unavoidable and some kind of military action is

needed in tribal areas. The president has tried peace talks and

for the past few months they have tried to engage the Taliban in

talks. This is why the United States is believed to have suspended drone

attacks. But that process did not get anywhere. In the end the Taliban

said this government is not serious so we will relaunch our campaign of

violence. The pressure is on the government to do something about

this. Drone strikes overnight, most people would say if they are killing

suspect had militants, then it is good.

Stay with us on BBC World News, still to come:

A high-powered commission calls for low-level drug offences to be

Jean-Claude Juncker's campaign to become the next president

of the European Commission has taken a hit, following the decision

by his campaign manager to accept a job with

Huge divisions are developing among the countries that make up the

EU over who should be offered one of the bloc's most important jobs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly backed Mr Juncker, the

Here's our Europe correspondent, Matthew Price, to explain.

This is the EU civil service. The European Commission. This place runs

the union under the direction of the 28 member states, and the European

Parliament. Up there, on the 13th floor is where the commission

president chairs his meetings. The current Portuguese politician in

charge leaves office soon, so enter a former Prime Minister of

Luxembourg as contender. Jean-Claude Juncker was the top candidate for

the group that ran the Parliament elections last month. Here at the

parliament, they say that makes him the automatic choice as the next

commission president. Not necessarily so, say the EU member

states who want to nominate their own favourite candidate. For now, he

is actually the choice of Angela Merkel. But David Cameron does not

want him holding the reins. Often, it takes weeks of compromise for a

majority of EU governments and the European Parliament to find a

candidate they can agree on. But this time, it is arguably even more

important. The next president will have to deal with especially Britons

who make in the coming years hold a referendum on whether to leave

altogether. "Roll up your sleeves,

we have a score to settle." Islamist militants

in Iraq urge supporters to march Fans gather

as the final countdown begins. The World Cup kicks off in Brazil

in a few hours time. Here in London,

international leaders are meeting to discuss how to tackle sexual

violence in conflict. One of the countries under

scrutiny is South Sudan. There's been a sharp rise

in the number of sexual assaults The UN says up to 24,000

women there are at risk. Karen Allen reports from

South Sudan. Conflict has made this woman in

refugee in her own land. Beneath the surface, we find another 60 threat,

sexual violence on a scale never seen before. Women here are being

sexually abused, singled out because of their tribe. Tens of thousands

are now packed into camps. Jane is breaking a taboo by speaking of

sexual assault. She cowered in the grass clutching her son as her

sister in law was attacked, then shot dead in front of her.

Four of them attacked her. To the extent she was screaming in a loud

voice, until she lost her voice and was not able to scream again.

31 women were allegedly attacked there that day. It happened in

31 women were allegedly attacked deserted town, packed with

pro-government soldiers claimed that this crime. All sides are accused of

sexual violence on an alarming scale.

When rebel forces seized this radio station in April, the manager was

forced to hand over the control. Protecting civilians is a top

priority in a new UN mandate, but attacks are taking place outside the

very camps that are meant to provide sanctuary.

This is an observation tower. On the periphery of the camp. In the

distance, there is a cluster of trees. A number of cases have been

reported where women claim they have been attacked by Government

soldiers, and in one case a woman claimed she was held, dried through

the undergrowth to a shipping container beyond that and repeatedly

attacked. This is not the international

community's problem to fix, the South Sudanese had to come together

and build their country and make sure the population is safe.

There are very real fears women could be denied justice for the sake

of peace. But the authorities have promised action. Securing the means

to survive is likely to take priority.

Let us look at the numbers that revealed the scale of this problem.

We have spoken to these women, I have looked in their eyes, and I

can't stand that they feel ashamed for what happened to them, I can't

stand it. Some of the really shocking numbers

that are driving that conference forward.

Should low level drug use be de-criminalised in West Africa?

That's the suggestion from a high powered commission, which has been

looking at the region's growing drugs problem. It says there's no

benefit in punishing people for using marijuana, it just fills up

prisons and encourages corruption. Thomas Fessy in Dakar told me about

This commission is presided over by the former Nigerian President, and

it was commissioned, convened by the former UN Secretary General Kofi

Adnan. A pretty high-level of independent experts put together in

that commission. They are saying that criminalising

that commission. They are saying that drug users has not worked,

especially in a region where the judicial system is pretty weak, the

prisons are crowded, and some of the drugs users being arrested are

waiting for trials or to seek a court for months if not a couple of

years sometimes. And so there is a problem, they say, and they

recognise that west Africa is being used as a transit road for cocaine

on the way to a rock. They say the consumption of drugs is increasing

in the region and it should be addressed as a public health issue

rather than a criminal issue. It says the drugs users should not be

punished, but they should be helped. So, the focus should be on

high-level targets, the traffickers and their accomplices, but the drugs

users themselves should be helped and treated for their addiction.

Do we have any idea of the numbers of users of cannabis in west Africa

compared with other parts of the world? How big is the problem?

When it comes to cannabis, the consumption is believed to be a

little bit above the average of the worldwide figure, the prevalence

rate is above 12% in the adult population in the region. But what

this commission is looking at is not only cannabis but all drugs

together. So, it is not calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis

use only, but of drugs use, that users should not be punished but

treated, and governments should be looking at opening treatment centres

to get them off drugs basically. Our top story, Islamists Britons

have urged their supporters to march on the capital, Baghdad. An audio

recording has emerged of one of the leaders of ISIS apparently telling

his supporters to run up their sleeves, there is a score to settle.

The barrister has asked parliament to grant emergency powers but

reports suggest their session has been suspended because not enough

MPs were able to turn up. The British Foreign Secretary has also

rolled out any British military involvement.

This is BBC World News. Goodbye.