:00:00. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas. The BBC
:00:11. > :00:14.witnesses relief efforts under way in a long besieged city in Syria.
:00:15. > :00:18.More food and medicines are brought in to the old City of Homs - more
:00:19. > :00:26.people are getting out. The BBC's Lyse Doucet is there. The buses are
:00:27. > :00:31.poised here, ready to go in, to take people who are desperate to leave
:00:32. > :00:34.what has been 18 months of siege. Britain on its highest alert as
:00:35. > :00:38.winds and torrential rain cause more flooding - with fears that some
:00:39. > :00:49.flood water could be contaminated. Also coming up: We talk to a doctor
:00:50. > :00:55.who favours Belgium's planned move to legalise euthanasia for
:00:56. > :00:59.children. It is wrong, the idea of the child, who decides his own
:01:00. > :01:02.death. The South African puppeteers who brought Warhorse to life on the
:01:03. > :01:19.London stage are now adding their magic to a Midsummer Night's Dream.
:01:20. > :01:29.Hello and welcome. The old city of Homs has become one of the symbols
:01:30. > :01:33.of the brutal civil war in Syria. The last 18 months, many residents
:01:34. > :01:43.have been trapped there without any assistance. Today, something
:01:44. > :01:48.happened - a small aid convoy, in armoured vehicles, made its way into
:01:49. > :01:53.rebel held areas. Meanwhile, in western Syria the government is
:01:54. > :02:02.paired to try and drive the rebels out of their strongholds. What could
:02:03. > :02:08.be the next strategic battle in Syria. At the lists posted a video
:02:09. > :02:12.they say shows government jets carrying out an intensive series of
:02:13. > :02:17.air strikes in and around a rebel held town. Revels today blocked
:02:18. > :02:23.attempts by regime forces and their Lebanese allies Hezbollah to advance
:02:24. > :02:26.on the town. Capturing this town is important for the government to
:02:27. > :02:33.secure the main road from Damascus to the North and the coast and to
:02:34. > :02:37.cut rebel supply lines from Lebanon. As the fighting went on, so too did
:02:38. > :02:42.the relief operation to evacuate foldable civilians from the old city
:02:43. > :02:48.of Homs where they have been trapped in terrible conditions -- vulnerable
:02:49. > :02:52.civilians. Another large group has been allowed out but it is believed
:02:53. > :03:00.there are more to come. Although the extended truce expires on Wednesday
:03:01. > :03:03.night, the governor of Homs said it can go on until everybody who wants
:03:04. > :03:06.to leave can do so. They have joined the millions who have already fled
:03:07. > :03:13.their homes. More than 2 million have crossed borders, like these at
:03:14. > :03:16.a refugee camp in Jordan. People here are watching the peace talks in
:03:17. > :03:24.Geneva closely but don't see much hope. TRANSLATION: Geneva, Geneva.
:03:25. > :03:27.We have been waiting for that conference to solve our problems but
:03:28. > :03:32.it hasn't had any benefits for us. They didn't even do anything about
:03:33. > :03:38.Homs. They can't send any food supplies in to help them. This was
:03:39. > :03:41.the third day of the second round of talks in Geneva and so far all agree
:03:42. > :03:51.they have produced very little, but they haven't yet reached a dead end.
:03:52. > :03:56.How delegation was surprised to find them giving the floor to the other
:03:57. > :04:02.side, this was not really on the agenda. They were not able to reach
:04:03. > :04:05.the joint agenda. Left their own devices, it's hard to imagine them
:04:06. > :04:11.reaching an agreement. The mediator has decided to bring the Russians
:04:12. > :04:14.and Americans in a day earlier than planned, to try and get them to step
:04:15. > :04:24.up pressure on their respective allies. But nobody is holding their
:04:25. > :04:28.breath. There has been some movement in the old city of Homs where more
:04:29. > :04:33.than 1100 people have been able to leave. But between one and 2,000 are
:04:34. > :04:36.still believed to be trapped in very difficult conditions. Our Chief
:04:37. > :04:40.International Correspondent Lyse Doucet has been in the Old City
:04:41. > :04:46.today - she sent us this report about residents waiting for the aid
:04:47. > :04:50.to get into them. A rare humanitarian truce is
:04:51. > :04:56.underway again here. Food, trucks with armoured vehicles bearing UN
:04:57. > :05:02.logos have gone into the area. And when the food arrives, we understand
:05:03. > :05:07.that people will start coming out. Buses are poised here, ready to go
:05:08. > :05:12.in, to take people who are desperate to leave what has been 18 months of
:05:13. > :05:18.siege, with supplies becoming increasingly scarce. Workers from
:05:19. > :05:25.the Red Crescent are here in their distinct red jackets. As one as the
:05:26. > :05:30.United Nations. They are outside what is a reception centre, an
:05:31. > :05:36.abandoned room which has been used for besieged people, to give them
:05:37. > :05:40.water, food, medical assistance, even polio vaccinations to people
:05:41. > :05:44.who have had so little help over the last nearly two years. We
:05:45. > :05:48.understand, though, that the longer the mission goes on, the more
:05:49. > :05:53.sensitive and dangerous it becomes. There are opponents who say this is
:05:54. > :05:57.a means for the opposition fighters to escape. There are those among the
:05:58. > :06:02.opposition who say that their fighters, when they come out, are
:06:03. > :06:08.being taken in for questioning. These humanitarian missions, as
:06:09. > :06:13.noble as they are, cannot escape this. But it is a rare glimmer of
:06:14. > :06:19.light in an otherwise dark and destructive war. We have one other
:06:20. > :06:22.development to bring you. Police in the UK are investigating claims that
:06:23. > :06:26.a British man carried out a suicide bombing in Aleppo. It's thought
:06:27. > :06:29.Abdul Waheed Majeed, who's 41, drove a truck full of explosives into the
:06:30. > :06:33.walls of Aleppo prison, which is under the control of the Syrian
:06:34. > :06:36.regime. If true, it would be the first documented attack carried out
:06:37. > :06:42.by a British National for rebel forces.
:06:43. > :06:44.US forces in Afghanistan have strongly criticised President
:06:45. > :06:48.Karzai's government for planning to release what they call 65 "dangerous
:06:49. > :06:52.insurgents" from a prison on the Bagram air base - perhaps as early
:06:53. > :06:55.as this week. The US says that it has evidence that the men were
:06:56. > :06:59.responsible for carrying out attacks on international troops. It says
:07:00. > :07:02.their release is a major step backward for the rule of law in
:07:03. > :07:10.Afghanistan. Here's David Loyn in Kabul.
:07:11. > :07:17.It is difficult to describe how a grey -- angry the US are about the
:07:18. > :07:21.potential release of the 65 men, they describe them as dangerous
:07:22. > :07:25.insurgents in what is one of the most strongly worded attacks on the
:07:26. > :07:28.Afghan administration I have seen coming out of the American military.
:07:29. > :07:31.They are really worried that these men, who they have taken off the
:07:32. > :07:37.battlefield, and returned to the fray. They say other men released
:07:38. > :07:40.from Bagram in the past have gone back to fighting and the evidence
:07:41. > :07:47.they have given the Afghan authorities on these 65 include
:07:48. > :07:52.weapons that were taken off them, sawn off shotgun, a Kalashnikov,
:07:53. > :07:57.grenade launchers, bomb-making equipment taken off them. One of the
:07:58. > :08:03.men, who is potentially about to be released, was captured in an attack
:08:04. > :08:06.on Afghan forces. The fear is that these individuals, about half of
:08:07. > :08:08.whom were taken in Helmand, could return straight back to the
:08:09. > :08:11.battlefield. With me is Xenia Dormandy from the
:08:12. > :08:14.British foreign policy think tank The Royal Institute of International
:08:15. > :08:18.Affairs based at Chatham House. She's worked at both the US National
:08:19. > :08:24.Security Council and the US State Department. What do you think is the
:08:25. > :08:30.message that President cars I is sending here? What is going on is he
:08:31. > :08:38.is about to step down, there is an election in a few months, and he is
:08:39. > :08:43.protecting his back. This is about Karzai, you can see that because
:08:44. > :08:45.most of the opposition, most of the principal candidates running for
:08:46. > :08:50.president have said they would support a stronger role for the US,
:08:51. > :08:54.they would sign the bilateral security agreement. This is Karzai
:08:55. > :09:00.trying to show his independence from the US. But is this a popular move,
:09:01. > :09:06.disabling will let fighters out of prison? It is a good question. It is
:09:07. > :09:11.what he leaves the Afghan people want. They clearly want to be
:09:12. > :09:14.independent, like most nations, they want to show their sovereignty and
:09:15. > :09:19.independence from the US. What he has done is he has taken it much
:09:20. > :09:23.further than most Afghans would take it, and you can say this in many of
:09:24. > :09:30.the votes that have been called in recent elections, the principal
:09:31. > :09:35.elite, the members of the people who are running to be the new
:09:36. > :09:39.presidents, they have all said they would sign the bilateral agreement,
:09:40. > :09:43.continue to work closely with the US. So this is really about Karzai
:09:44. > :09:51.trying to step away from the perception that he is a pawn of the
:09:52. > :09:54.US. When you talk about the elite behind in being concerned, do you
:09:55. > :09:57.think they are worried about loss of aid as well? We have heard from
:09:58. > :10:03.Republican senators, saying this is a real hammer blow to their
:10:04. > :10:09.relationship. Absolutely, this is where there is a lot of concern in
:10:10. > :10:13.the US, this is all about Karzai, not the country. Because the
:10:14. > :10:16.consequences of not engaging in a productive way with the US, whether
:10:17. > :10:23.it said this issue, insurgents who are going to be released, or whether
:10:24. > :10:28.it is signing the bilateral security agreement, the consequences of that
:10:29. > :10:34.are significant for Afghan security, development and their economy in
:10:35. > :10:36.terms of international investment. Whoever follows hammered Karzai, do
:10:37. > :10:44.you think the Taliban are going to somehow get back into power?
:10:45. > :10:49.Afghanistan has three major challenges. It is to conclude some
:10:50. > :10:54.kind of political agreement that includes the Taliban, they are a
:10:55. > :10:57.part of Afghanistan. It has two up with some solution on security, and
:10:58. > :11:03.it needs to drive forward its economy. Those things are intimately
:11:04. > :11:07.connected, but what is clear is the Taliban are a part of Afghan society
:11:08. > :11:12.and therefore need to be brought into the process.
:11:13. > :11:15.Hurricane force winds are hitting Britain - with forecasters warning
:11:16. > :11:19.that a month's worth of rain could fall in the next few days - on land
:11:20. > :11:23.that is already water logged after some of the worst flooding in
:11:24. > :11:27.decades. The south and west are getting the brunt of the bad weather
:11:28. > :11:30.- but it's been treated by the government as a matter of national
:11:31. > :11:39.urgency - and a potential health risk. Here's our Environment
:11:40. > :11:43.Correspondent Claire Marshall. The new landscape of southern
:11:44. > :11:49.England. Ground water levels are at record highs row, it could be like
:11:50. > :11:56.this for months. Look closely, what is in this floodwater? We brought a
:11:57. > :12:02.microbiologist to once re-home. The Thames is running through this
:12:03. > :12:11.house. It is a small absorbent pad, that is being soaked in membrane
:12:12. > :12:19.sulphate... This testing kit has been used in disaster areas all over
:12:20. > :12:22.the world. It shows a high level of bacteria, ultimately, if you can
:12:23. > :12:28.avoid it, don't go near it and make sure you take sensible precautions.
:12:29. > :12:31.It is not just the physical dangers of the floods, it's the mental
:12:32. > :12:35.pressures. Darren has just heard things might get worse. His street
:12:36. > :12:42.may be flooded to save another larger area of Chertsey. The last
:12:43. > :12:45.news we had was that the army were considering putting a complete
:12:46. > :12:51.sandbag wall down the centre of the road, and flooding these houses even
:12:52. > :12:57.more, talking one metre, to save others. I can understand that, but
:12:58. > :13:03.it's not nice to hear when you are fighting day and night. Difficult
:13:04. > :13:08.decisions are being taken in other parts of the country. In Winchester,
:13:09. > :13:11.the sandbags will block the river. It will save 100 homes but send
:13:12. > :13:19.millions of gallons of floodwater elsewhere. In Bewdley, ?10 million
:13:20. > :13:27.has been spent on defences. They have in built up and are holding for
:13:28. > :13:30.the moment. Now a look at some of the day's other news. The first
:13:31. > :13:34.plane carrying supplies to the Central African Republic has arrived
:13:35. > :13:38.in Bangui. An initial load of 82 tonnes of rice has been brought by
:13:39. > :13:42.the World Food Programme from neighbouring Cameroon. The fighting
:13:43. > :13:46.in the country has made it difficult to bring supplies in by road.
:13:47. > :13:49.A court in Pakistan has ordered the government to reveal the whereabouts
:13:50. > :13:52.of a campaigner against drone attacks. Kareem Khan disappeared
:13:53. > :13:53.just days before he was due to testify before European
:13:54. > :13:57.parliamentarians about drone aircraft strikes on Pakistan.
:13:58. > :14:02.Activists say he was last seen leaving his house with men wearing
:14:03. > :14:05.police uniform. The Penguin publishing company has
:14:06. > :14:09.decided to recall and destroy all remaining copies of a book on
:14:10. > :14:12.Hinduism. Wendy Doniger's book "The Hindus: An Alternative History" had
:14:13. > :14:17.been the subject of a legal challenge claiming the text was
:14:18. > :14:22.offensive to Hindus. The move has heightened concerns over freedom of
:14:23. > :14:27.speech in India. The far right party of France seems
:14:28. > :14:31.to be gaining popularity. A study of a thousand French voters has found
:14:32. > :14:35.that a third say they agree with the ideas of Front Nationale. That total
:14:36. > :14:44.is up 12% since 2011 - the year Marine Le Pen became the party's
:14:45. > :14:48.leader. Belgium may soon decide to extend
:14:49. > :14:51.the right to euthanasia for the very ill -- to children. The Belgian
:14:52. > :14:55.House of Representatives is due to vote on the issue of mercy killing
:14:56. > :14:58.on Thursday. The upper house the Senate has already agreed that death
:14:59. > :15:01.should be an option for children in the advanced stages of terminal
:15:02. > :15:07.illness, suffering unbearable pain, if they understand what that means
:15:08. > :15:09.and if they have parental consent. They have been emotional
:15:10. > :15:13.demonstrations outside Parliament, urging a no vote, with campaigners
:15:14. > :15:19.arguing that such a law would open the door that no one would be able
:15:20. > :15:28.to close. If the bill is passed, it will go to the King to sign into
:15:29. > :15:33.law. That is wrong for any child to
:15:34. > :15:36.decide upon its own debt. A six-year-old child does not have the
:15:37. > :15:39.knowledge to do that. It is wrong because of that.
:15:40. > :15:42.Joining me from Brussels is Jutte van der Werff Ten Bosch, professor
:15:43. > :15:51.of paediatric oncology at Brussels University Hospital.
:15:52. > :15:54.Welcome to World News Today. I understand you support this bill,
:15:55. > :16:00.why is that? And of course, as a paediatric oncologist I am facing
:16:01. > :16:03.children who are dying irregularly. Fortunately they can sure most of
:16:04. > :16:10.the children we treat but unfortunately we cannot and
:16:11. > :16:14.sometimes these children go through extreme phases of pain and suffering
:16:15. > :16:20.before they die. We cannot always treat that as we would like to. From
:16:21. > :16:25.that point of view, I can imagine the point of view of the child that
:16:26. > :16:33.says I do not want to do this, this is too much for me. I choose to die
:16:34. > :16:38.in a more comfortable way, which has been made possible by euthanasia.
:16:39. > :16:41.How sure can you be that very young children understand what it means?
:16:42. > :16:47.Of course, the older the child, the more certain it will be and the
:16:48. > :16:53.easier it is to be certain of that. Even in younger children, we have a
:16:54. > :16:58.team with experts in it and among them they are psychiatrists and
:16:59. > :17:03.psychologists who have been trained to talk to these children to
:17:04. > :17:08.communicate and, well, I think the community can be certain that we
:17:09. > :17:11.know that when we draw the conclusion that this children they
:17:12. > :17:17.once this, then that is what the child really wants. Of course, I can
:17:18. > :17:22.understand this is difficult to understand for people who have not
:17:23. > :17:26.worked with this group of children, with children who have cancer,
:17:27. > :17:32.children who are dying. It is a very specific type of job but we can do
:17:33. > :17:35.that, we can talk to them. I understand you are looking for the
:17:36. > :17:42.best possible situation for the children, but some critics argue
:17:43. > :17:44.that it is very expensive to look after children who have advanced
:17:45. > :17:50.terminal illnesses and that the pressure of resources on the might
:17:51. > :17:55.push the wrong decision to be made. I am not making the decision, it is
:17:56. > :17:59.the patients who are asking for the Tunisia and we are listening to
:18:00. > :18:04.them. We are therefore the patients and it is not the other way around.
:18:05. > :18:08.The discussion about resources is much more broad than euthanasia and
:18:09. > :18:12.children and it is important as well, but it would not concern me in
:18:13. > :18:16.making my decision. I am listening to the patient and what they want. I
:18:17. > :18:20.understand that Belgium would not be the first to pass this law, there is
:18:21. > :18:25.a similar blog in the Netherlands? That is true. What is your
:18:26. > :18:30.experience or what have you learned from that fact?
:18:31. > :18:33.We have learned that the law in the Netherlands is not the best law that
:18:34. > :18:41.there is because there is in a summit of 12 years. That means that
:18:42. > :18:45.children under the age of 12, they are still not allowed to ask
:18:46. > :18:49.forgiveness -- euthanasia which I believe is a weakness. We know by
:18:50. > :18:54.experience that they are not many children asking for euthanasia. It
:18:55. > :19:01.is uncommon but it has happened in about five cases. Even if it is a
:19:02. > :19:10.small amount of patients who benefit from this law, for them it is
:19:11. > :19:13.important that we have this law. Jutte van der Werff Ten Bosch, thank
:19:14. > :19:15.you for joining us from Brussels. Thank you.
:19:16. > :19:19.The castaway who says he spent 13 months adrift in a boat is back in
:19:20. > :19:23.his home country, El Salvador. Jose Alvarenga was found two weeks ago in
:19:24. > :19:26.the Marshall Islands. He said he got lost in a storm while fishing off
:19:27. > :19:36.the coast of Mexico in December 2012. Miranda Hurst has the story.
:19:37. > :19:42.Fail and exhausted, Jose Alvarenga arrived in El Salvador late on
:19:43. > :19:48.Tuesday. All he could mother was, "I do not know what to say." Jose
:19:49. > :19:53.Alvarenga was found this on Encke weak two weeks ago and the Marshall
:19:54. > :19:56.Islands. He claims to have left Mexico for one day of shark fishing
:19:57. > :20:02.on December 2012. He said he drifted for more than one year and travelled
:20:03. > :20:07.8000 kilometres. A friend who was with him died on board. He said he
:20:08. > :20:13.survived by catching fish and birds with his bare hands and drinking the
:20:14. > :20:17.blood of turtles. The 37-year-old was met in San Salvador by family
:20:18. > :20:25.members and officials after flying from America. He has clearly been
:20:26. > :20:34.through a lot. Given the fact that I have worked in migration for many
:20:35. > :20:37.years, I can sure -- I can be sure that the -- he will go through a lot
:20:38. > :20:42.more because readjusting will not be easy. The family of his companion CD
:20:43. > :20:48.won't speak to him to find out how their son died and what happened to
:20:49. > :20:52.his body. Jose Alvarenga will undergo further checks before being
:20:53. > :21:03.reunited with his family on a nearby coastal fishing village.
:21:04. > :21:06.Day five of the Winter Olympics in Sochi got off to an extraordinary
:21:07. > :21:09.start earlier with the first gold medal of the morning being shared
:21:10. > :21:13.between two competitors in the Women's Downhill Skiing - the first
:21:14. > :21:16.time a gold's been shared in the history of the Winter Games.
:21:17. > :21:18.Let's get more from Ore Oduba from the BBC's Sports Centre in Salford
:21:19. > :21:23.near Manchester. Good evening, good evening from
:21:24. > :21:28.Salford and Manchester. A very exciting day five of the Winter
:21:29. > :21:33.Olympics. It was the first in alpine skiing, a joint gold and it came in
:21:34. > :21:37.the Women's Downhill Skiing. Amongst the first medals awarded to the
:21:38. > :21:45.however let us talk about that first. Tina Maze was the 21st rider
:21:46. > :21:49.to come and posted the same time. She see her moment with her
:21:50. > :22:02.Slovenian competitor. Also double celebrations for Germany, the
:22:03. > :22:10.finished ahead of the Austrian competitors to claim victory. That
:22:11. > :22:16.was in the luge doubles. Elsewhere a gold-medal was one for another
:22:17. > :22:19.German. He had held a six second advantage before the ski jump before
:22:20. > :22:26.that ten kilometre cross-country race. I could not go without
:22:27. > :22:33.mentioning home success for the whole nation. Russia have won a gold
:22:34. > :22:36.medal in the figure skating. That is their second of the games so far and
:22:37. > :22:43.comes after their success in the team event. There was a Russian
:22:44. > :22:48.first and second placed finish. There compatriots taking a silver
:22:49. > :22:57.medal also. Thank you for that update.
:22:58. > :22:59.A visual treat for you now, the latest production from the team
:23:00. > :23:02.behind the international stage hit War Horse.
:23:03. > :23:05.Now one of Britain's top directors - Tom Morris - has teamed up again
:23:06. > :23:08.with South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company for Shakespeare's A
:23:09. > :23:09.Midsummer Night's Dream, which will start its international tour here in
:23:10. > :23:27.London. Lebo Diseko reports. Finally Cartama asks and jewelled
:23:28. > :23:37.eyes reflect the Mr Li life of the woodland spirits in Shakespeare's
:23:38. > :23:42.most popular comedy. The delicate puppets contrast with the giant
:23:43. > :23:49.flames of Handspring's warhorses also have a magic of their own.
:23:50. > :23:54.Something that happens when you work with puppets is that you know it is
:23:55. > :23:59.not alive. The audience know it is not alive but they are going to get
:24:00. > :24:03.anything out of the story they have to imagine that it is. There is a
:24:04. > :24:08.big that the audience has to get over if they are watching a puppet
:24:09. > :24:14.show and I believe that is a profound creation and that in that
:24:15. > :24:21.moment the odd is give the gift of life to the stage.
:24:22. > :24:25.It was after the success of War Horse that Tom Morris and his
:24:26. > :24:30.Bristol company decided to team up with Handspring. This production is
:24:31. > :24:35.going on an international tour after its run at the Barbican Centre. It
:24:36. > :24:39.is all a far cry from the workshops in Cape Town where we found the
:24:40. > :24:47.early days of the creation of these puppets more than one year ago. It
:24:48. > :24:51.is here that a team of locally recruited craftworkers designed the
:24:52. > :24:56.puppets for the international stage. As the Shakespeare puppets emerged,
:24:57. > :25:01.War Horse designs await shipment across the globe. It has brought
:25:02. > :25:07.them to the small South African company. It is actually quite
:25:08. > :25:10.incredible and we are humbled by the amount of interest that has been
:25:11. > :25:17.generated from foreigners. They are now wanting to come to our country.
:25:18. > :25:24.We get e-mails every single day. At least two or three people telling us
:25:25. > :25:28.that they saw our show and found out that the puppets were made in South
:25:29. > :25:35.Africa and can be please come and see your workshop! Back at the
:25:36. > :25:39.Barbican Centre, they get ready for the opening night. Puppeteers show
:25:40. > :25:44.off their wonderful designs and magical spirit of the two
:25:45. > :25:49.Shakespearean thieves, the clownish mustard seed. And the vamp -ish
:25:50. > :26:08.cobweb. A reminder of our main news: aid
:26:09. > :26:10.workers and Syria have evacuated more trapped residents from Homs as
:26:11. > :26:14.well as delivering essential supplies.
:26:15. > :26:21.The Governor of Homs says 200 people have got out of the city and nearly
:26:22. > :26:26.200 parcels containing vegetable oil, flour and rice has gone and
:26:27. > :26:29.took the Syrian people. At that peace talks in Geneva at the
:26:30. > :26:32.opposition delegation without a transition plan but the government
:26:33. > :26:38.representatives refused to discuss it.
:26:39. > :26:39.You can Well, that's all from the programme.
:26:40. > :26:40.Keep up-to-date on Twitter and Facebook. Next, the weather.
:26:41. > :27:02.Goodnight. Winds of over 100 mph at the West
:27:03. > :27:08.coast of Wales Today. We still have hearing warning for wind, meaning
:27:09. > :27:09.dangerous conditions are likely across the North West