:00:14. > :00:22.This is BBC World News Today with me Tim Willcox.
:00:23. > :00:24.Changing Britain's relationship with the European Union - Prime Minister
:00:25. > :00:26.David Cameron, sets out his key demands for reform ahead
:00:27. > :00:38.But it is not a commitment that should apply any longer to Britain.
:00:39. > :00:40.We have a different vision for Europe.
:00:41. > :00:43.The International Olympic Committee calls for disciplinary action
:00:44. > :00:47.against Russian athletes accused of doping.
:00:48. > :00:52.Syrian government forces take a key position in Aleppo and break
:00:53. > :00:54.a two-year siege by Islamic State militants.
:00:55. > :00:57.Aung San Suu Kyi tells the BBC she believes her party has won a
:00:58. > :00:58.parliamentary majority in Myanmar's elections.
:00:59. > :01:02.And from the Dowager in Downton Abbey to a bag lady in her latest
:01:03. > :01:05.film - Dame Maggie Smith tells us about the roles that have
:01:06. > :01:23.The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has set out the reforms
:01:24. > :01:26.he'll be looking for in negotiations over Britain's membership of the EU,
:01:27. > :01:30.After writing a letter to Europe's leaders, he said
:01:31. > :01:33."It is mission possible" though he admitted that it would take
:01:34. > :01:38.The Commission in Brussels has been quick to describe
:01:39. > :01:41.one of Mr Cameron's demands, curbs on benefits for EU migrants, as
:01:42. > :01:44."highly problematic" but the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said he was
:01:45. > :01:48.bringing "no surprises" to the table and she said she was reasonably
:01:49. > :01:56.Here in the UK, some of David Cameron's own politicians
:01:57. > :02:01.accuse him of demanding too little, as James Landale now reports.
:02:02. > :02:06.Today, a note with a Westminster postmark was sent to Brussels,
:02:07. > :02:12.the relationship between Britain and the European Union.
:02:13. > :02:19.In his letter, he set out for the first time, in some detail,
:02:20. > :02:21.how he wants to reform the EU before a referendum.
:02:22. > :02:25.Today I'm writing to the president of the European Council,
:02:26. > :02:28.setting out how I want to address the concerns of the British people.
:02:29. > :02:31.This is perhaps the most important decision that
:02:32. > :02:36.the British people will have to take at the ballot box in our lifetimes.
:02:37. > :02:39.And this is what he wants - binding principles to protect
:02:40. > :02:43.countries outside the euro from decisions made within the euro,
:02:44. > :02:47.greater competitiveness, including a new target to cut red tape,
:02:48. > :02:50.and a legally binding exemption from the EU's commitment
:02:51. > :02:54.to ever closer union, and greater powers for national parliaments.
:02:55. > :02:58.And, crucially, he is also demanding benefit curbs for EU migrants,
:02:59. > :03:04.claiming 40% of those coming are on welfare - a figure some question.
:03:05. > :03:07.So we have proposed that people coming to Britain from the EU
:03:08. > :03:10.must live here and contribute for four years
:03:11. > :03:14.before they qualify for in-work benefits or social housing,
:03:15. > :03:19.and that we should end the practice of sending benefit overseas.
:03:20. > :03:22.Now, I understand how difficult some of these welfare issues are
:03:23. > :03:27.and I'm open to different ways of dealing with this issue.
:03:28. > :03:32.Note that last phrase, which gives the Prime Minister some flexibility.
:03:33. > :03:34.You say this is not mission impossible,
:03:35. > :03:38.but isn't that the point - it's actually mission quite possible,
:03:39. > :03:42.and that it's not the fundamental reform that you once promised?
:03:43. > :03:43.This is challenging, this is substantial,
:03:44. > :03:45.it is going to be difficult to achieve,
:03:46. > :03:48.and if we do achieve it, it'll make a real difference.
:03:49. > :03:51.If there's a deal, he promised to campaign
:03:52. > :03:59.But if not, he wouldn't rule out campaigning to leave -
:04:00. > :04:01.a decision, he said, that would be final.
:04:02. > :04:03.If we vote to leave, then we will leave.
:04:04. > :04:04.There will not be another renegotiation
:04:05. > :04:09.And so the real negotiations with the EU leaders start now
:04:10. > :04:14.The referendum campaign, of course, has already begun.
:04:15. > :04:16.I think it's a really ambitious reform programme,
:04:17. > :04:20.but I think there are lots of things that other EU countries will agree
:04:21. > :04:23.with, so I think the Prime Minister is right to push for these four
:04:24. > :04:28.What we know is that David Cameron isn't taking back control,
:04:29. > :04:30.he's not dealing with the cost of Brussels,
:04:31. > :04:33.and he's not backing any of this up with treaty change,
:04:34. > :04:37.And as for the Prime Minister's backbenchers,
:04:38. > :04:43.Is that it?! Is that the sum total
:04:44. > :04:49.of the Government's position in this renegotiation?
:04:50. > :04:53.The renegotiation amounts to no more than tinkering around the edges.
:04:54. > :04:56.This is pretty thin gruel, much less than people had come to expect.
:04:57. > :05:00.How is he going to be able to sell this pig in a poke?
:05:01. > :05:02.Today was all about the Prime Minister clearing his throat
:05:03. > :05:04.and clearing the decks ahead of a tough negotiation.
:05:05. > :05:06.Officials admit he probably won't get everything,
:05:07. > :05:09.but he will get something, and the question is whether that
:05:10. > :05:17.something will be enough to convince people to vote to stay in the EU.
:05:18. > :05:20.What matters is what comes back in the post.
:05:21. > :05:24.James Landale, BBC News, Westminster.
:05:25. > :05:27.I spoke to our Brussels correspondent, Katya Adler, a short
:05:28. > :05:31.while ago and put it to her that Mr Cameron's most controversial demand
:05:32. > :05:38.was for restrictions to migrants' access to in-work benefits.
:05:39. > :05:40.First of all, the word "controversial" is
:05:41. > :05:46.like. You heard from the opinion maker that matters most to Downing
:05:47. > :05:50.Street and that is the Chancellor of Germany, Europe's powerhouse, Angela
:05:51. > :05:57.Merkel, and she said she was happy to do whatever it took to help keep
:05:58. > :06:01.Britain inside the EU, help David Cameron get his reforms - as long,
:06:02. > :06:08.as they were compatible with EU rules and that means it will
:06:09. > :06:13.be no problem to keep the UK outside the idea of ever-closer union, to
:06:14. > :06:18.protect those countries that don't use the euro currency or to make the
:06:19. > :06:23.EU more competitive, but when it comes to curbing EU migration, which
:06:24. > :06:33.David Cameron wants to do, that is more problematic.
:06:34. > :06:35.There are areas of broad agreement inside the
:06:36. > :06:39.yes, let's crack down on benefit tourism, there can be curbs on child
:06:40. > :06:43.benefits, but David Cameron also wants to restrict in-work benefits
:06:44. > :06:48.for non-British EU workers inside the UK for four years and that,
:06:49. > :06:53.according to many EU countries, goes against the core principle of the
:06:54. > :07:01.freedom to live and work across the bloc and this will be a problem for
:07:02. > :07:04.David Cameron. Standing back from that, Tim,
:07:05. > :07:10.wherever you travel in the EU, they may be irritated by the UK's demands
:07:11. > :07:15.but want to keep the UK in for purely selfish reasons. Without
:07:16. > :07:29.militarily, so this is just the start of negotiations and horse
:07:30. > :07:40.now, so take your seats. these proposals are wishy-washy.
:07:41. > :07:43.And on the BBC website you can find in-depth analysis of those four key
:07:44. > :07:49.Russian athletes accused of doping may be stripped
:07:50. > :07:54.The International Olympic Committee has called for disciplinary action,
:07:55. > :07:57.following allegations by the World Anti-Doping Agency of widespread
:07:58. > :08:04.It's also suspended the former IAAF president, Lamine Diack.
:08:05. > :08:06.A Kremlin spokesman said the accusations were unfounded
:08:07. > :08:16.Our Sports Editor Dan Roan reports on the crisis in world athletics.
:08:17. > :08:18.Sport had never heard anything quite like it.
:08:19. > :08:22.Yesterday's damning report into state-run cheating
:08:23. > :08:28.laid bare the worst doping scandal in history.
:08:29. > :08:30.Russia faces an unprecedented ban from next year's Rio Olympics
:08:31. > :08:34.and the head of athletics in the UK says it is time to get tough.
:08:35. > :08:37.I don't really care what Russia does if it is suspended,
:08:38. > :08:41.So point number one, should it be suspended?
:08:42. > :08:46.Yes, until it can prove it is compliant.
:08:47. > :08:50.If it refuses to do that, and some of the signs overnight were not
:08:51. > :08:54.encouraging, well, whatever the consequences are, let's take them.
:08:55. > :08:59.Political tensions are rising - Vladimir Putin is meeting with the
:09:00. > :09:03.country's sports chiefs tomorrow, but his spokesman has dismissed
:09:04. > :09:08.This sporting superpower will discover its punishment
:09:09. > :09:12.at the end of the week, but the lab at the heart of the scandal had
:09:13. > :09:19.TRANSLATION: I believe that problems obviously exist,
:09:20. > :09:22.but Russia is on the path to clear its name and change.
:09:23. > :09:24.Why is it that sports seems so vulnerable to corruption?
:09:25. > :09:28.How is it that journalists are left to uncover scandals such as this,
:09:29. > :09:37.And how on earth can athletics recover its battered reputation?
:09:38. > :09:40.For these British athletes at Lea Valley today, it was training
:09:41. > :09:44.as usual, but at a time when sport is under scrutiny like never
:09:45. > :09:56.Hopefully it is fully investigated, but for those athletes who are
:09:57. > :09:59.competing cleanly, and there is a lot of athletes competing cleanly,
:10:00. > :10:02.I would not want the public to think that everyone is cheating or
:10:03. > :10:05.everyone who wins must be cheating, that is definitely not the case.
:10:06. > :10:08.For eight years he was deputy to the man he replaced this year, Lamine
:10:09. > :10:11.Diack, now under investigation that he took bribes to cover up doping,
:10:12. > :10:18.tonight suspended by the International Olympic Committee.
:10:19. > :10:21.That has led to questions over exactly what Coe knew
:10:22. > :10:28.and if he is the man to steer the sport through its current crisis.
:10:29. > :10:34.I think he has to look for some special measures here, not to have
:10:35. > :10:38.to go through committees and commissions.
:10:39. > :10:41.He has to grasp the nettle and say, you have to do something
:10:42. > :10:51.The fear now is that the cheating may extend well
:10:52. > :10:56.Beyond Russia, the worst may be yet to come.
:10:57. > :10:58.Only a small number of seats have been officially
:10:59. > :11:01.declared so far in the Myanmar elections, but at this point
:11:02. > :11:04.Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition NLD party has won nearly all of them.
:11:05. > :11:07.Speaking to the BBC's Fergal Keane in her first interview since
:11:08. > :11:10.the vote, Ms Suu Kyi said she now believes her party will have enough
:11:11. > :11:14.seats to form a government, and she said she is confident the results of
:11:15. > :11:15.the election cannot be sabotaged by the country's
:11:16. > :11:23.Aung San Suu Kyi had the smile of the victor,
:11:24. > :11:25.convinced her party had enough votes
:11:26. > :11:26.to form the country's first democratic government.
:11:27. > :11:31.What is your sense of how well the NLD has done?
:11:32. > :11:40.Well, around 75% in the union legislature.
:11:41. > :11:42.And that will be enough, more than enough,
:11:43. > :11:46.The minimum requirement is about 67%
:11:47. > :11:49.if we are to be able to form a government on our own.
:11:50. > :11:53.Do you believe that the generals, the people who have controlled here
:11:54. > :11:57.for so long, will allow you to do that?
:11:58. > :11:59.Well, they've been saying repeatedly
:12:00. > :12:01.that they will respect the will of the people
:12:02. > :12:04.and that they will implement the results of the election.
:12:05. > :12:13.sabotage your nascent democracy in this country.
:12:14. > :12:16.I think they should think of it not as sabotaging our efforts,
:12:17. > :12:18.should they try to do something like that.
:12:19. > :12:21.What they would be sabotaging is the will of the people.
:12:22. > :12:24.Her supporters want Aung San Suu Kyi to be president,
:12:25. > :12:27.but she is barred from that job thanks to a specific clause
:12:28. > :12:31.in the constitution imposed by the military.
:12:32. > :12:37.You spoke the other day about being above the President,
:12:38. > :12:41.Well, I'll make all the decisions, it's as simple as all that.
:12:42. > :12:45.If I'm required to field a president to meet the requirements
:12:46. > :12:50.of Section 59F of the constitution, all right, we'll find one.
:12:51. > :12:52.But that won't stop me from making all the decisions
:12:53. > :13:03.It's a name only - a rose by any other name!
:13:04. > :13:05.One of the most significant promises in the interview
:13:06. > :13:12.like these Rohingya being targeted by Buddhist extremists.
:13:13. > :13:15.It's not going to be easy, that they must understand, because prejudice
:13:16. > :13:20.is not removed easily, and hatred is not going to be removed easily.
:13:21. > :13:23.But we can work at it together, and I'm confident that
:13:24. > :13:27.the great majority of the people of this country want peace.
:13:28. > :13:31.This is just the beginning of the road,
:13:32. > :13:37.There's a lot more to be done before, I think,
:13:38. > :13:41.our people will feel secure enough to celebrate.
:13:42. > :13:50.That is a caution born of experience.
:13:51. > :13:53.Syrian government forces have broken a siege by Islamic State militants
:13:54. > :13:55.at a military airbase in the northern province of Aleppo.
:13:56. > :13:58.IS fighters had been surrounding troops who were holding out
:13:59. > :14:03.But reports say they have now been freed
:14:04. > :14:14.With me is Edgard Jallad of BBC Arabic.
:14:15. > :14:19.I suppose this is the most significant breakthrough by Syrian
:14:20. > :14:25.forces since the Russian bombing campaign started. Indeed, this is
:14:26. > :14:30.their only achievement so far but some critics say it couldn't be the
:14:31. > :14:37.only achievement, taking into consideration this massive war
:14:38. > :14:41.machine supporting the Syrian forces, yet this battle was very
:14:42. > :14:48.important, taking into consideration its background. Two and a half years
:14:49. > :14:53.ago, this ace was under siege and this specific battle started last
:14:54. > :15:00.May when the so-called Islamic State tried to take it, but the government
:15:01. > :15:05.forces decided to bite. We don't know how they managed to survive.
:15:06. > :15:12.Had they enough ammunition and food? If this was a complete siege
:15:13. > :15:18.of the area. Maybe we will know in the future but according to some
:15:19. > :15:25.news we have read online, they have beaten us ammunition, because this
:15:26. > :15:30.is one of the major military bases in Aleppo but food and supplies may
:15:31. > :15:37.have been smuggled to them from neighbouring villages, but these
:15:38. > :15:45.areas were under the control of Islamic groups, they threatened not
:15:46. > :15:50.to do that. Taking all this into the picture, it could be a key thing to
:15:51. > :15:55.which he for the moment because it forces are trying to take all of the
:15:56. > :16:02.Aleppo province, to stretch things have and areas, the coastal area
:16:03. > :16:08.that is predominantly a la white. They want to stretch it to the
:16:09. > :16:14.Turkish borders and this could be the first achievement in that order.
:16:15. > :16:21.What is the balance of power on the ground since the start of the
:16:22. > :16:27.Russian bombing campaign? It is a very confused picture but against
:16:28. > :16:31.Islamic states and other rebel groups, do we know how much
:16:32. > :16:39.territory has been retaken by Syrian forces? It is not a massive space
:16:40. > :16:46.that was occupied or retaken by German forces, which is why we say
:16:47. > :16:51.this is a first big achievement for the government forces for the
:16:52. > :16:56.moment, but at the same time the Russians were criticised for not
:16:57. > :17:01.targeting Islamic State and this time the Islamic State is in focus
:17:02. > :17:03.and this could be a big defeat for them in that area. Thank you very
:17:04. > :17:10.much. A mass vaccination programme against
:17:11. > :17:13.meningitis A in Africa has been More than 220 million people were
:17:14. > :17:17.immunised across 16 countries In 2013 there were just four cases
:17:18. > :17:21.across the entire region, which once A theme park in California is
:17:22. > :17:26.planning to phase out its Sea World has seen a drop
:17:27. > :17:33.in visitor numbers at The company's shares have halved
:17:34. > :17:38.in value since a documentary two years ago highlighted the damage to
:17:39. > :17:41.the whales, also known as orcas. It's faced intense criticism
:17:42. > :17:43.from for keeping killer whales in captivity,
:17:44. > :17:49.with activists saying it's cruel. Slovenia is to introduce new
:17:50. > :17:50.restrictions on its border with Croatia to
:17:51. > :17:53.control the flow of migrants. More than 170,000 migrants have
:17:54. > :17:55.crossed into Slovenia since mid-October when Hungary closed
:17:56. > :17:59.its southern border with Croatia. "temporary technical hurdles" would
:18:00. > :18:04.be imposed, but stressed that the Police in Northern Ireland say
:18:05. > :18:17.a former British soldier has been arrested on suspicion of murdering
:18:18. > :18:19.three civil rights demonstrators 13 people were killed when British
:18:20. > :18:23.paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march through
:18:24. > :18:25.Londonderry in 1972. It's the first arrest made
:18:26. > :18:27.since a fresh investigation into the killings was announced
:18:28. > :18:32.three years ago. Our Ireland Correspondent,
:18:33. > :18:42.Chris Buckler, is in Londonderry. I began by asking him how
:18:43. > :18:48.significant this was as the first phase of a new police investigation.
:18:49. > :18:55.That suggestion of a new phase means more arrests are likely in the
:18:56. > :19:01.months ahead. We understand this 66-year-old man gave evidence to the
:19:02. > :19:04.Bloody Sunday inquiry and that inquiry found members of the British
:19:05. > :19:11.Parachute Regiment wired into a crowd of civil rights protesters in
:19:12. > :19:15.1972 without warning, and some of those who were shot out were fleeing
:19:16. > :19:21.from the chaos, others were trying to help the dead and injured, and
:19:22. > :19:27.what happened in Bloody Sunday is burned into memories here in Derry.
:19:28. > :19:32.You can see the pain may a mural on the walls, some of the images of
:19:33. > :19:37.those days, and they still have the power to shock. The families have
:19:38. > :19:41.welcomed this arrest because they have always put for a criminal
:19:42. > :19:47.investigation, but Unionist politicians are concerned because
:19:48. > :19:50.paramilitaries here were let out of prison early as part of the Good
:19:51. > :19:56.Friday Agreement and paramilitaries convert it now of events as a result
:19:57. > :20:01.of the Good Friday Agreement are released early from prison. A
:20:02. > :20:07.soldier would not get the same reduction in sentence and that has
:20:08. > :20:08.upset Unionist politicians. The government has said there is no
:20:09. > :20:14.desire to change that at this stage. The Former West German Chancellor
:20:15. > :20:17.Helmut Schmidt has died aged 96. He led his country between 1974
:20:18. > :20:20.and 1982 and is regarded as one Schmidt, a lifelong smoker,
:20:21. > :20:23.was the architect of the European Monetary System,
:20:24. > :20:26.which linked EU currencies and was William Horsley looks back
:20:27. > :20:32.at his life. Helmut Schmidt was a far-sighted
:20:33. > :20:35.strategist who lived to see his By 1972 he was a minister
:20:36. > :20:40.in the government of Willy Brandt, a brilliant manager
:20:41. > :20:45.of the economic miracle. Two years later he himself was
:20:46. > :20:48.Chancellor. The Berlin Wall dividing West
:20:49. > :20:51.and East Germany was the front line With skilled diplomacy he pursued
:20:52. > :20:58.detente with Communist leaders on the other side but
:20:59. > :21:01.when the Soviet Union stepped up Braving fierce protests at home,
:21:02. > :21:09.he let America deploy medium range nuclear missiles on West German soil
:21:10. > :21:14.to keep the military balance. Barely ten years later,
:21:15. > :21:18.Communism would collapse. A friend of Britain, Schmidt
:21:19. > :21:22.showed forcefulness and wit. In challenging those who wanted
:21:23. > :21:25.Britain to leave the European community, he told a Labour Party
:21:26. > :21:29.conference to think again. But comrades,
:21:30. > :21:31.in regard of your vote of yesterday I cannot avoid putting myself in the
:21:32. > :21:36.position of a man who in front of ladies and gentlemen belonging to
:21:37. > :21:40.the Salvation Army tries to convince With French leaders he launched
:21:41. > :21:49.a European monetary system which paved the way much later
:21:50. > :21:54.for the single currency, the euro. After eight years, Schmidt's shaky
:21:55. > :21:58.coalition was undermined by It fell to
:21:59. > :22:08.Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats. He was multi-talented,
:22:09. > :22:10.some say arrogant, but few world statesman have enjoyed such high
:22:11. > :22:16.respect as Helmut Schmidt. William Horsley reporting
:22:17. > :22:19.on the life of the former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt,
:22:20. > :22:27.who has died at the age of 96. She's been a star of stage and
:22:28. > :22:30.screen for more than 50 years, with roles from The Prime of Miss
:22:31. > :22:33.Jean Brodie to Professor McGonnagall Dame Maggie Smith's now starring
:22:34. > :22:37.in her latest film, The Lady in the Van, but despite all
:22:38. > :22:41.of this success she thinks she's been typecast, as she tells
:22:42. > :22:46.our arts editor Will Gompertz. Park the van in your drive?
:22:47. > :22:50.That never occurred to me. Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd,
:22:51. > :22:54.the eccentric old lady who parked her van on
:22:55. > :22:57.Alan Bennett's drive in Camden You're not doing me a favour, you
:22:58. > :23:03.know, I have got other fish to fry. I'm about the only person I know
:23:04. > :23:07.who has never seen her. I know she's dead,
:23:08. > :23:12.of course she's dead, she's been dead a long time, but nearly
:23:13. > :23:17.everybody I meet had come across What with all this to-do I think
:23:18. > :23:28.I'm about to be taken short. It was all because Alan, to this day
:23:29. > :23:38.he keeps coming up with different things about her and he said,
:23:39. > :23:42.which I don't believe for a moment, I wouldn't have been
:23:43. > :23:56.able to cope with it. There are no boa constrictors
:23:57. > :24:03.in Camden Town. I know a boa constrictor
:24:04. > :24:08.when I see one. Have you seen roles come
:24:09. > :24:12.and go you wish you had done? Now I'm stuck with being an old cow,
:24:13. > :24:21.I'm stuck with that. Mrs Crawley tells me you paid her
:24:22. > :24:33.a visit when you first came, Are you pleased to see the back
:24:34. > :24:52.of it? I have to say, my body is
:24:53. > :24:57.pleased to, as well as... Would you ever say you have given,
:24:58. > :25:03.in your own eyes and ears, Ever say you have given
:25:04. > :25:09.a great performance? I'm not sure many would
:25:10. > :25:16.agree with that. Maggie Smith is quite clearly
:25:17. > :25:36.a master of her art. A quick reminder of our main news to
:25:37. > :25:41.the British Prime Minister has demanded a more flexible European
:25:42. > :25:45.Union at the launch of his bid to renegotiate the UK's membership.
:25:46. > :25:51.David Cameron wants more power given to national parliaments. You can get
:25:52. > :25:55.in touch with me and some of the team here on Twitter and there is
:25:56. > :26:00.plenty more on the website. That's it from the programme. Coming up is
:26:01. > :26:15.the weather. From me and the team, goodbye. So far this week it has
:26:16. > :26:17.been mouthed by day and by night but that is set to change