11/06/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, with me, Philippa Thomas.

The Islamist march through Iraq gathers pace - a day after its

second biggest city fell, violence edges closer to the capital Baghdad.

And raised the stakes in Mosul by seizing the Turkish consulate there.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are fleeling their homes -

the Iraqi Prime Minister has urged civilians to fight back.

We have declared a state of high alert.

Lessons of history - will the Georgian enclave of South Ossetia be

next to go the way of Crimea and join the Russian Federation?

We'll speak to Georgia's Prime Minister - Irakli

With the World Cup almost upon us, we'll go to the city that stages

Brazil take on Croatia in just over 24 hours time. The Brazilian

president says the country is ready. And taxi drivers across some

of Europe's biggest cities strike in protest at the smartphone app

they say steals their fares. In only 24 hours,

Iraq has undergone violent change. One key city was taken over

by Islamists on Tuesday. Today, armed radicals have swept

through one town after another. With

the Islamists' black flag flying across swathes of the country,

it looks as if the Baghdad-based Let's just take you through

this fast developing story. Latest pictures

from the road towards Tikrit suggest more heavy fighting as the Islamic

militants of ISIS overwhelm Iraqi Reports suggest the Sunni fighters

have taken Tikrit, Now they apparently control another

city soon after seizing Mosul. Iraq's second city Mosul

is still emptying out. These are some

of the half a million people who have fled across the Tigris River to

escape fighting on the other side. Thousands of families are fleeing

and seeking refuge elsewhere. They have two options, really,

either to find family members who live in the countryside or to try

and survive in the wilderness. Mosul has fallen,

a disaster for Iraq's government, but also for the wider world, too,

as Islamist extremists take more It is humiliating for Iraq's Prime

Minister vowing to fight back. We're not going to allow this to

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

organising, we are restructuring the armed units that we cleanse Ninevah

province from these terrorists. They are Sunni Muslim jihadist

group, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, formed a year ago and pledged to

create an Islamic state across Iraq, They're are now in control of

significant parts of Syria, where Westerners, including some British

Muslims, are fighting with them. It is all helping to increase ISIS's

power in Iraq, too. Now they have Mosul

and appear to have taken the city This is their leader -

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - seen as a brilliant commander and tactician,

battle-hardened since joining the Some blame the American-led

invasion for all this. Others say it as Iraq's failed

political system which cannot stop the daily bloodshed,

but increasingly it is Islamist In the last half hour, Turkey has

called for an emergency NATO meeting It comes

as ISIS militants have taken dozens of Turkish nationals hostage,

including the Consul-General and some children, in their takeover

of Turkey's embassy in Mosul. James Reynolds is in Istanbul

and joins me now. What more do we know about who has

been taken? 49 people in its diplomatic compound were seized,

abducted. Those 49 includes diplomats and family members, that

may be women and children as well. The consul general was amongst those

seized. I think we losing the sound they from James. We will have to try

and get back on that. Sorry about that.

During talks brokered by the European Union today,

Russia and Ukraine failed to reach agreement over the price of gas.

The Russian gas giant Gazprom has threatened to cut off supplies if

Kiev fails to pay what's demanded. It's just one example

of the continuing tension between the two, but while global attention

is focussed on Ukraine, Russia also has a tense relationship with other

former Soviet Republics - notably Georgia, with whom it fought a brief

war in 2008 over the disputed territory of South Ossetia.

Since then, Russia has been supporting that breakaway

region with money and arms. And last week the de-facto president

hinted South Ossetia might ask to join the Russian Federation.

Could it go the way of Ukraine's Crimea?

Rayhan Demytrie reports. This is the administrative boundary

line between Georgia and its The sign over their reads,

the republic of South Ossetia. This is the demarcation of what

the South Ossetians and their allies, Russia, that are patrolling

this area, call the state border. But is of course,

not recognised by Georgia, because Georgia and the international

committee believe that this And on the Georgian side it is

the EU monitoring mission that has been patrolling

since the 2008 ceasefire agreement. With me here is one of the EU

monitors here, Marek. Marek, what sort

of problems do people face here? People go to areas close to

the borderline to proceed with their work,

but more and more they are being Russia's annexation of Crimea has

fuelled speculation about whether post-Soviet breakaway regions such

as South Ossetia might follow suit. In fact, south Ossetians held

parliamentary elections last Sunday and it looks like the party that won

the majority of seats was saying in its pre-election campaign that

it wants to hold a referendum This is the village of Terra Vanni

that was built by the Georgian There are rows and rows

of identical cottages that house some of the thousands of people who

were displaced by this conflict. She is here with her mother

and children. Her house is now

in the territory which is under You were not able to take part

in the Sunday elections in The elections were held without our

participation and we do not expect With no solution to the conflict

in sight, and with politicians back in South Ossetia raising the

prospect of joining Russia, there is very little hope for people here of

ever returning back to their homes. The Prime Minister of Georgia,

Irakli Garibashvili is with me now. Welcome to World News Today. South

the Sethi, is it your fear that it could go the way of Crimea and be

absorbed? -- South Ossetia. When we describe the situation in South

Ossetia with crime union -- with Crimea, I think it is a mistake.

Russia has recognised these de facto states. Since then there has been

these problems. These two territorial his -- territories have

been part of Georgia. According to my knowledge, Russia is not

interested in annex and these two de facto territories. Let's look at

Russia's interests. There has been a warning from the foreign minister

that if you sign the European Association, which you intend to do

later this month, it has serious consequences. When we came into

power after the elections in 2012, we changed our attitude to Russia.

We made a number of constructive steps. We appointed a special envoy,

a representative for Russian nations. We made a lot of progress I

would say in terms of trade, communication. Just recently they

opened a market for agricultural products. I think we have proved

that we would like to have a normalised relationship with them. A

month ago, the official person, we had a statement that Russia does not

intend to interfere with Georgia's European agreement. Do you think you

can succeed where Ukraine failed in signing a European succession

agreement? Georgia is unique. We are moving towards the European Union,

we made this clear in November that this process became irreversible. At

the same time we are trying to normalise the relationship with

Russia. I think we are creating an interesting precedent in the

region. On the one hand we would like to become of the European Union

and we will sign the agreement in this June, on the 27th of June. At

the same time we are normalising our relationship with Russia. We have

found the perfect balance, I think. You might be suggesting -- setting

is precedent for other states. We are confident. What about Georgia

and NATO? That was one of the problems that led to the war a few

years ago. Would that be a step too far? We made it clear that Georgia

is keen to become a member of the European union and NATO, this is an

irreversible process. We understand it takes time. But Georgia made a

tremendous effort. They have made progress. We had fear and proper

Parliamentary representations. Last year we had unprecedented free and

fair presidential elections. As far as I know, Georgia remains the

largest nonmember NATO states in Afghanistan. We are committed to

stay there after 2014. At a point where the US has made it clear to

states such as Poland and the Baltic republics that it has its interests

at heart. It does not want to see any further Russian expansionism. Do

you feel you are close to Washington? Georgia and the US

administration? I had a successful trip in Washington several months

ago. I had a meeting with the president and the vice president. We

have excellent relationships with the United States. United States are

our main partner, our strategic partner to keep strong ties with the

United States. Our aspiration to be a part of the European Union does

not conflict with them. Peaceful and street -- a peaceful and stable

Georgia means a peaceful and stable Georgia because Georgia is unique

and has a strategic location. Everybody should be entrusted and

having accessibility in that region. Prime Minister, thank you for coming

in and speaking with us. Now a look at some

of the day?s other news. The European Commission has opened

investigations into decisions by three countries, on how much tax is

paid by the multinational companies The Commission says it's important

that large multinationals pay their fair share at a time

of tight public budgets. It's part of

a wider push to stop multinationals The US Secretary of Defense,

Chuck Hagel, has told lawmakers that last month's prisoner swap with

the Taliban may have been the last and best chance to secure the

release of sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Mr Hagel became the first official

to testify publicly Republicans

and some Democrats have criticized the administration for not informing

Congress in advance of the swap. Police in the northern Indian state

of Uttar Pradesh say a woman's body was found hanging from a tree in a

village in the district of Bahraich. An autopsy has failed to establish

whether she had been raped - authorities are going to conduct

more tests. Rescue workers in Germany say

an injured explorer trapped in the country's deepest cave is able

to walk, and could be brought to The 52-year-old man is stuck nearly

four miles from the entrance. He was hit by falling rocks

on Sunday. It's just one day to go

before the start of the World Cup's By hosting such

a popular international event, the country wanted the tournament

to show off its potential. But so far it's tended to be poor

planning and protest marches which Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff

has insisted her country is ready. She's said the pessimists

and critics Let's hear from our man

at the scene - Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian

president, was insistent the World Cup will leave a good legacy behind

for Brazil and the people of Brazil and its economy.

But it has been marked. All types of protest have been going on. Some

have taken to the streets and ugly clashes with police, others have

done it through the internet and others still have picked up cans of

spray paint. It sometimes feels that every square

centimetre of every wall in Some of it, it has to be said,

better than others. What I want to show you know is this

picture, an image created by Paolo, It has gone viral, it has gone

around the world, and it is being seen as one of the most important

comments on the World Cup. What did you want this

picture to convey? I was trying to show some other

points of view of the Brazilian The football is presumably

representing food and you can't It is about what is a priority and

what people must be concerned about. Do you think Brazil would be better

off not having the World Cup? I guess the advantage we have

in the World Cup is that all the world is looking at us

and it is also an opportunity to show a little more about

our reality and forget this also. If you have been watching you will

know that Paolo has been doing part two. It looks fantastic and I can

see which you have done. He has got angry and he has put his knife and

fork through the football. Yes, he is revolted with the situation. That

is the finished work, part two. Thank you for doing it. It has been

great having you with us, really good fun. I want to talk to an

entrepreneur in Sao Paulo. Thank you for being with us. How do you see

the World Cup? Do you think it is great for Brazil or do you

understand the concerns of the protesters? It is a great

opportunity for Brazil to show what they are capable of doing. They have

big ambitions and they are doing a lot of upgrades to the structure.

Not all the upgrades are complete but overall it has potential for

Brazilian business and foreign business, to Brazil in years to

come. I know you do a lot of foreign businesses coming to Brazil. Have

they been impressed by what they have seen or have they been alarmed?

They are concerned with things being at last minute but there are its

focus on infrastructure and there has been an increase in skills and

knowledge from the workforce, which is relevant for the years to come.

In general they are interested in Brazil and see the opportunities.

After the World Cup we should not be counting the time away, then it is

the Olympic Games. Do you think Brazil will be a different place on

the world map as a result of hosting these events? It is going to be a

different place. As to global ambition, I am not sure. There is a

lot to be done in Brazil and a lot of infrastructure that needs to be

created that is necessary for the next 5100 years. Businesses doing

work in Brazil there is a a huge difference. If you bring foreign

investors to the contrary, what would you show them? What would you

say, this is proof that Brazil is a different country from it was? You

would show them the new railway systems, the new electricity grid,

the new airports. The general upgrade has been enormous. There

have been more than 100 projects across the country on

infrastructure. Are those infrastructure projects working and

making the difference? A lot of them have just finished or will be

finished in the next couple of years, so there is still a lot to

see. The airports are definitely working and you can see the increase

in these security and the stable electricity supply. Have you managed

to get tickets for the World Cup? I have not, unfortunately. I was

hoping you would say yes and you would sell me some! I have a

colleague with a ticket for Nigeria against Bosnia and that is the

closest I can get. Lovely to meet you. Thank you for being with us. We

will be live throughout the day tomorrow when the noise will be

intense as Brazil get ready to take on Croatia in the opening match of

the 2014 World Cup. The day is finally going to arrive.

Traffic in several major European cities was disrupted today as taxi

drivers protested against the use of mobile apps to book rides.

They say apps like Uber are affecting their

Here in London, black cab drivers gridlocked part of the city by

Berlin, Rome and Milan were among cities affected.

These are French taxi drivers protesting in Paris,

including Orly airport, and several motorways.

The action has coincided with a major train strike

against proposed reforms for the French rail industry,

making the disruption particularly severe.

Simon Calder is a presenter on the Travel Show on BBC World News.

If we start in London, the black cab is an iconic site in London and they

have been protesting today. It's history passing them by? Quite

possibly. I was meeting the drivers today. The whole of the city centre

was gridlocked for a couple of hours and you had a very annoyed driver of

the other London icon, the double-decker bus, fed up that you

could not get anywhere from Buckingham Palace to the City

because of the traffic. The problem is that the black lab in London, the

yellow cab in New York, is an icon but also an extremely useful form of

transport - OnDemand transport - and in the 20th century that was great

but now many of us have a smartphone and an app to summon a car to where

we need at a price lower than what you would pay. That is the issue,

especially here. Yellow cards in New York, not as expensive as a black

habit in London, which you could say is for the wealthy. -- a black cab.

Or a distress purchase for people. Black taxi drivers say, you should

see the training we have to go through. They have the knowledge.

Within a six mile, ten kilometre radius of the centre of London they

have to know the fastest point to get from every single street to

another in the area. Drivers of other vehicles will say, well, wake

up, we are in the 21st-century and you can have satellite navigation to

wherever you need to go. It is not just the London Black cabbies. In

Madrid the taxi drivers were out in force. We also saw it in Berlin and

other cities. There have been protests in the US as well. They

say, we are safer, if you summon someone by smartphone who knows what

you will get. There is definitely a place for people who want to ensure

maximum security when they are travelling. There is nothing like

just stepping out of your studio and flagging down a black cab. Of course

I will be getting onto my bicycle because it is a lot cheaper and more

environmentally friendly! There will always be a place for that service

but I fear there will not be a need for so many drivers and that is

where they were protesting. A lot of people will say this is the best

publicity that these various apps have. They said today that since

Uber launched in Britain it is the day when it has been downloaded most

times. I expressed to taxi drivers this was the best publicity the app

could have and it would annoy motorists from Madrid to London

because they simply can't get around. We shall see how it

develops. We have talked about the unstoppable march of technology

before and I fear we will again. Thank you for joining us and talking

about the black cabs and the future of the industry.

Reports from Iraq say that jihadists have seized their second city

A convoy of ISIS fighters is reported to have

taken control of the city of Tikrit, the administrative capital

of Salaheddine province and the birthplace of Saddam Hussein.

ISIS, a breakaway faction of Al-Qaeda,

which is also fighting in Syria, is reported to have freed hundreds

of prisoners after it took control of the northern city of Mosul,

It feels like summer is getting into its stride.

Plenty of warm sunshine to come tomorrow. Not so good if you are a

hay fever sufferer because pollen levels are high across many areas.

High pressure has got it settled at the moment. No pressure trying to

push in. These low France will just brush across the far north-west so

maybe