10/12/2015 World News Today

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

The headlines: A father from Syria loses his wife and seven children

when they drown trying to reach Greece after fleeing the civil war.

I would say do not take this risk. Do not go by sea. You will lose your

children. Greece is preparing to deport

thousands of migrants it believes Argentina's new centre-right

President is sworn-in with a promise to tackle corruption,

but his predecessor refuses A film about a 1950s lesbian romance

leads the nominations for the annual It may be winter in Europe,

but thousands of migrants and refugees are still

trying to cross the sea. And as the flow of people continues,

so do the tragedies. This week a mother and her seven

children, the youngest just weeks old, drowned while trying

to cross the Aegean sea. Our Turkey correspondent Mark Lowen

has been speaking to him. Somewhere in the vastness

of the Aegean, he lost them. He scours the spot where he and his

family took the boat, His wife and his seven

children drowned. The smugglers told them

they would not need life jackets They fled Islamic State

and hoped for sanctuary, believing the worst

horrors were behind them. TRANSLATION: I had the most

affectionate wife. The smugglers are traitors. I say to

others, do not risk your life at sea. Stay in Syria, however

difficult it is. Shortly after Ali and his family set

off from here, the waves rose up Over 3500 have died this year tried

to make the trip to Europe. The EU is giving Turkey money

and resources to patrol But still, even in winter,

the desperate ones are making On a nearby speech, Afghans and

Iranians carry whoever they can, like pilgrims on an endless path.

TRANSLATION: I escaped the Taliban and Islamic State. There is always

risk, however you migrate from your country. I am ready. They find

shelter in a derelict village and wait for the smugglers to call. News

of spread of Syrians Hugh drowned but they are ready to go. I grew up

in the war. Had you heard about the children that died here in the last

few days? Yes. Does it change your desire to take the boat? It does

not. He tried the journey and his dreams of Europe are now just

wretched memories. But how many more will follow in his wake?

His was one of many families trying to reach northern Europe, but Greece

is preparing to deport thousands of migrants it thinks might not be

entitled to asylum. Migrants have been turned back from the northern

border of the Macedonia decided it would only accept refugees from

Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Greece said those that refuse to apply for

asylum in 30 days or be sent back to their own countries. Among temporary

reception centres where people are waiting the old Athens airport as

the Olympic Stadium, where a migrant from Iran has spoken to the BBC

about the conditions he is living in.

They gave me a couple of blankets. Two people, one blanket. Imagine two

blankets with cold weather two persons, it is crazy and so sad. For

the food, you had to go outside and stand in line. It is like a jungle.

We have two survive and we have two ask other people, push each other

and I see some people getting hurt when they stand in the line, when

the food comes. Because they are hungry right now and do not know

what to do. They keep pushing each other to get in. If you see the

inside, there is no hope at all. Everybody is just depressed and do

not know what will happen later. Because we do not have a choice. We

have to stay here. No matter how hard it is. However sick, or hungry

we are. We have to keep going. We have no choice. Because we have lost

money. We can only stay here because Greece do not have a good economy

for taking care of us. We cannot go back to the country, because we will

go to jail, or some of us will get stoned.

The Syrian civil war is of course driving much of this

Today Syrian opposition groups meeting in Saudi Arabia have united

around a set of demands ahead of expected peace talks

with President Bashar al-Assad's government.

They said President Assad and his aides must step down at

But one of the major groups has said it would pull out.

Nine people have been found guilty of terrorism offences after one

of the biggest terror trials ever to take place in the Netherlands.

The verdicts were handed down at the high security 'Bunker'

The BBC's Anna Holligan was in court.

According to the judges, the aim of this group was to support terrorist

activities in the middle east, by recruiting young people in the

Netherlands and financing trips to take part in the armed struggle, or

jihad, in Syria. Six defendants were found guilty of being members of

this organisation with links to the so-called Islamic State and

Al-Qaeda. Three others were found guilty of being supporters. The one

woman on trial today was found guilty of incitement, for sharing a

message on Twitter. A number of people on trial travelled to take

part in a terrorist training camp in Syria. Three defendants were not in

court today. One was in a prison cell. Two others have not been

apprehended. They are thought to still be in Syria.

Mauricio Macri has been sworn in as Argentina's new president,

The centre-right Mr Macri took the oath of office in Congress

but his inauguration was boycotted by his predecessor,

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in a row over where he should

stipulates that a president can't rule for more than two consecutive

terms, but Ms Fernandez is seemingly unhappy to be leaving her post

and used her farewell speech to blast the incoming

Mauricio Macri has promised to overhaul the country's struggling

economy, which is slumping toward recession, improve relations

I've been hearing more from the BBC's Ignacio de Los Reyes

in Buenos Aires about the new President Macri.

He is a former businessman. He is also the son of one of the richest

businessmen in Argentina. And also president of the most popular

football club in the country in the 1990s. That is why he became famous

in national politics. He then became the May Buena saris. And he formed a

new -- in Buena saris. And he formed companies and think tanks that

wanted to be part of a new wave of Argentina politics. All of a sudden

he has become the new leader, the man that ended 12 years of the

previous rule. He is now supposed to meet his new cabinet and members of

other parties and a member of the former resident's cabinet. It is a

way of showing national reconciliation and unity, one of his

big promises. Argentina's people are anxious to see if he can deliver on

his promises of ending poverty, fighting corruption and tackling

crime. He needs to pull together different interests if he is going

to tackle the economy. It is such a big challenge. Exactly. Especially

because currently in Argentina prices are on the rise and inflation

is up at 25% according to some estimates. There is a big crisis

with foreign reserves at the Central bank. Crumbling foreign investment.

At the same time he knows he must create jobs. He knows millions of

people rely on social aid, government assistance. He is

actually promising to keep some of his predecessor policies on social

issues and at the same time try and open up the economy. Thank you.

A final decision on whether or not to build a run at Heathrow airport

has been delayed for another six months after a debate among senior

British ministers in Downing Street tonight. A commission has

recommended a third runway at Heathrow this July and business

leaders had called for a decision by the end of the year.

Republican Presidential contender, Donald Trump, has cancelled

He announced his decision on Twitter, saying he'll meet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once he becomes

It comes soon after he caused worldwide controversy by saying

Muslims should be barred from entering the US.

The Polish Prime Minister has said she does not "see eye to eye"

with David Cameron over his plans to change benefits rules

for European Union migrants coming to work in the UK.

Mr Cameron, who's visiting the Polish capital Warsaw,

has made the idea one of his main demands as he tries to negotiate

a new relationship with the EU before the UK's

In Poland's capital city, signs the British lifestyle holds appeal.

Many here live and work in the UK, which is why Poland matters

when it comes to migration.

If I were to move to England, I would not expect to get any

I would just expect to find a decent job, to work as hard as I can

But David Cameron thinks stopping migrants claiming in work benefits

like tax credits will reduce immigration.

It is a key chain he wants to make to the EU before a Referendum.

But his Polish counterpart needs convincing.

TRANSLATION: Of course there are discussions and issues

where we do not see eye to eye today.

Poland is willing to work on solutions and does back

the Prime Minister's other proposed reforms,

but he needs agreement from 26 other EU leaders as well and there is no

Is it time for you to compromise on the proposed benefit ban?

There is real engagement with the agenda we have set out,

a lot of common ground, a lot of agreement

Everyone is committed to doing that further work and reaching agreement.

The reason it is such a sticking point is the Polish Government

and other EU leaders think of the citizens getting less in work

benefits than UK workers and that amounts to discrimination.

Others think it will not make much difference.

I can't imagine being paid less for doing the same job.

I do not think it will stop people coming there.

Maybe they will not stay for a longer time.

While in Warsaw the Prime Minister marked past joint battles.

He knows in Poland he has a political ally who wants the UK

Resolving this conflict on welfare changes looks likely

What Hollywood insiders call the "Awards Season" kicked off

today, with nominations for the 2016 Golden Globes.

The Globe nominees are decided by the Hollywood Foreign Press

They're sometimes seen as a sign of what we might expect

when the Oscar nominations are announced not long after.

We'll be hearing from the BBC's Peter Bowes in Los Angeles

in a moment but first let's take a quick look at the film that got

the most nominations: "Carol" starring Cate Blanchett

It is very original. Well. Your first name? To rouse. Not to reason?

Terez. It is lovely. And yours? Carol. Carol. It leads the pack.

Cate Blanchett is the start of the film and also nominated for best

actress. It is I think the film of the moment which the rest have two

beat. It is certainly getting a lot of critics of a love this movie,

1950s romance, between two women and it looks good as far as Cate

Blanchett is concerned. And she is involved in the Oscar nominations in

a few weeks. One that usually Arti on this award is there are different

best film categories. -- one unusual eventuality is there are different

film categories. Christian bale and Steve Correll both have nominations

for this film. It is about the financial crisis, and Brad Pitt is

also involved in this film and says it is a story which had to be told.

The interesting thing about the Golden Globes is they are split into

comedies and dramas. Unlike the Oscars with just one category for

Best picture. We get a much wider field. But it does give us a good

showing in terms of the range of films on offer this year. I think

the headline might at the end of the day, particularly strong roles for

women that we are seeing this year, and the diversity in terms of the

types of stories. This might just be personal because I really loved this

movie, but what about ridge of spies? We will show the view is a

taste of the trailer. Is it a big snub for such a big star, Tom Hanks

and Stephen Spielberg that it does not feature very much?

Overrun by the border guards. This man is my father's friend. Every

time they hit him he stood back up. They hit him harder. Still he got

back to his feet. I think because of this they let him live. Well, you

are right. What you say is what is reflected by a lot of critics in

Hollywood. Some are astonished that it has not featured more heavily

than it has today. It does have a best supporting actor nation but two

heavyweight with Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg. -- nomination.

Some say it is such a crowded field in terms of the best actor

nomination that Tom Hanks was just pushed out of the top five. Such a

big range of entries for the Golden Globes. Not everybody can go home

with that golden statue. Peter. A new road tax introduced

last month in Russia, had led to protests by long distance

lorry drivers all over the country. The levy requires large vehicles

to pay additional tax for every The government says it's needed

to repair the damage caused to roads But drivers say they pay enough tax

already and the extra toll will mean they won't make any profit and that

as a result the price of food Richard Galpin has been to one

of their protest camps Well, this is one of the locations

around Moscow where lorry drivers have based themselves as part

of a protest against the road tax. They have put wreths on this lorry

saying that the road tax will lead A lot of posters on the lorries

against the road tax But this one here is saying that it

will not just affect lorry drivers, but the whole country,

saying that essentially it will lead to increased prices for food,

inflation and also a lot Since the tax came

in, I have lost out. We're all here protesting

because we want the government to see us and pay attention to

entrepreneurs and small businesses. This new law is suffering

for the business. There are 1.5 million

like me, about that. The protest does not look

threatening but it is significant because none of the people

here are opposition activists. With a country in a profound

economic crisis, the worry for the government is that this

could spark much wider protest. Inside this truck you can see

the hot food and drink What they are saying is that quite

a lot of food here has been donated by local people

supporting the protest. Despite the very real anger

told by these drivers, plans that some of them had to try

and blockade one of the major routes around Moscow has so

far not materialised. But it does seem the protest

is having some effect and the government seems to be

looking at various different ways A township may be the last place

you'd expect to produce wine, but a small South African wine

company is doing just that and hoping its modest project

will help change perceptions This is known as the gangster's

paradise, home to drugs, She has been involved in the project

for more than one year and now spends her days caring for her vine,

hoping one day to week the reward. TRANSLATION: I have

always loved farming. But growing grapes in the township

is not common but I am hoping to teach my children and neighbours

what I have learned. If more people got involved,

it will help to create Some of the growers here now have

access to an industry that has for centuries been

reserved for the elite. Once her grapes leave the township,

they are mixed with produce from some of the best in the region

to produce a top wine. From the township to the factory,

here the grapes are paired according to type and the year

they were planted. Once the blend is just right,

the wine is bottled and labelled, There are challenges which include

ensuring a steady stream of growers, By going to the woman and saying

this is the idea we have, we will teach you how to actually

look after the vines and with the skill that you have

and once we have it in harvesting It is not going to be

an easy moneymaking scheme, you're not going to get

rich in two years. Within that you will get exposure,

we will bring people to this idea that we have, we would love to grow

it, and after five years then we will harvest whatever we can

harvest from those wines. The word is out and wine lovers come

to this bottled store, an exclusive supply in the city

centre, to get their hands The store owner said the wine

is changing stereotypes For us to have a wine made

by the people who started with nothing and to put something

that has this kind of quality, South Africa's wine industry

is slowly changing and soon the women here hope the wine

will have pride of place tasters, not just here,

but around the world. Madonna has staged an impromptu

performance in Paris to honour the victims of last

month's terror attacks. She was in the city as part

of her tour but after her official show she tweeted fans

that she was singing in Place de la She performed John Lennon's Imagine,

a song that became an unofficial anthem

in the aftermath of the attacks. She also sang some of her own songs

including Like A Prayer. # In the midnight hour,

I can feel your power # Just like a prayer,

you know I'll take you there # When you call my name,

it's like a little prayer # I'm down on my knees,

I wanna take you there # In the midnight hour,

I can feel your power... # in the midnight hour # I can feel

your power # when you call my name # in the midnight hour # I can feel

your power # just like a prayer # you know I will take you the...

If you like solving problems, see if you can give this a crack. A cryptic

twist on a Christmas card by one of the most secretive groups, and

intelligence gathering organisation, GCHQ. As you can see from this

picture, it is quite a code breaking challenge with a very difficult grid

of numbers up here for you to work on but you will probably need more

time than we are getting here. If you are interested, head to the

website and have a go. Some breaking news, a final decision on whether to

build a new runway at Heathrow Airport has been delayed for another

six months after a debate among senior British ministers in Downing

Street. Businesses urge the government to make a decision by the

end of the year. Thanks for being with us on World News Today.

The weather front has been slipping southwards in England and Wales and

will almost grinds to a halt across southern Britain as we head into

Friday. This