:00:00. > :00:09.This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.
:00:10. > :00:11.French police say a man carrying two guns,
:00:12. > :00:13.ammunition and a Koran has been arrested
:00:14. > :00:17.There are conflicting reports as to whether his companion -
:00:18. > :00:31.A search went under way at one of Europe's top tourist attractions.
:00:32. > :00:33.Up to four million cases of the Zika virus are predicted
:00:34. > :00:36.The World Health Organisation issues a warning
:00:37. > :00:48.Up to today, cases have been reported in 23 countries and
:00:49. > :00:50.territories in the region. The level of alarm is extremely high.
:00:51. > :00:52.Pomp and ceremony at the Elysee Palace -
:00:53. > :00:55.and massive profits to be made - as the leaders of France and Iran
:00:56. > :00:58.sign deals worth billions of dollars.
:00:59. > :01:01.And the return of the polecat. Extinct in Britain for 100 years
:01:02. > :01:22.and now numbers have recovered across the country.
:01:23. > :01:25.French police have confirmed that a man has been arrested by security
:01:26. > :01:29.teams at the entrance to a hotel in the Disneyland Paris theme park.
:01:30. > :01:33.security alarm as he passed through a metal detector.
:01:34. > :01:38.Police have confirmed that he was carrying two guns, a box of
:01:39. > :02:00.As anything more emerged about this man? We know that he is 28 years
:02:01. > :02:05.older, apparently not known to the police or intelligence services, no
:02:06. > :02:09.police or criminal record. Investigators say that he has told
:02:10. > :02:15.them he was carrying the guns to protect himself, for his own safety.
:02:16. > :02:19.They are apparently still hunting for a woman they believe was
:02:20. > :02:24.accompanying him. They have arrested a woman a couple of hours after the
:02:25. > :02:28.incident. She was released after they established that she was not,
:02:29. > :02:35.in fact, his companion. All the time being, this case remains with
:02:36. > :02:39.criminal rather than anti-terrorist prosecutors, which would indicate
:02:40. > :02:42.that the police are not quite sure what the man's motives may have
:02:43. > :02:48.been, although obviously the fear is that he make have been banning
:02:49. > :02:51.something similar to the November attacks in Paris in which 130 people
:02:52. > :03:01.were killed and hundreds more injured. Around Paris and across
:03:02. > :03:04.France, if there's any suspicion of an incident that could be
:03:05. > :03:11.terror-related, did police have to act fast, don't they? That's right.
:03:12. > :03:16.Today, the Interior Minister said that the threat level now is at
:03:17. > :03:21.least as high, if not higher, than it was in November. He said that
:03:22. > :03:27.lots are being uncovered and arrests made all the time. Ash Mac plots.
:03:28. > :03:34.This is something the security services and the public are very
:03:35. > :03:38.worried about. The president wants to extend the state of emergency for
:03:39. > :03:44.another three months, despite opposition from human rights groups.
:03:45. > :03:45.That move remains fairly popular with the public, according to
:03:46. > :03:50.opinion polls. The Zika virus - thought to be
:03:51. > :03:53.responsible for birth defects in babies - could infect
:03:54. > :03:55.up to four million people That's the warning from the World
:03:56. > :04:00.Health Organisation which will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to
:04:01. > :04:03.discuss whether the mosquito-borne virus should be formally treated as
:04:04. > :04:10.a global emergency, like Ebola. So far it's spread to 23 countries
:04:11. > :04:13.in the Americas and officials are warning that, in Brazil alone, 1.5
:04:14. > :04:16.million people could be infected. Our Science Editor David Shukman is
:04:17. > :04:19.in the city of Recife in north-east Brazil,
:04:20. > :04:23.where it's thought more than 100,000 people may have
:04:24. > :04:30.caught the virus. The slums of Brazil are the front
:04:31. > :04:33.line in what has become We watch as soldiers try to search
:04:34. > :04:40.every single home here. Because one of the very few ways
:04:41. > :04:43.to combat the Zika virus is to hunt While we are with the patrol,
:04:44. > :04:53.soldiers find exactly the conditions The challenge is that
:04:54. > :04:59.everywhere you look, And because in a favela
:05:00. > :05:04.like this, the supply is not But if there is just
:05:05. > :05:10.one gap in a tank like this, the mosquito can get in and you have
:05:11. > :05:13.got yet another problem. Imagine multiplying that
:05:14. > :05:22.thousands of times. In a tiny yard, a discovery,
:05:23. > :05:25.a larva which, left alone, would emerge as a mosquito
:05:26. > :05:27.within 48 hours. Health officials
:05:28. > :05:28.sterilise the water. A tiny victory in a war
:05:29. > :05:32.which is proving hard to win. Her brain is smaller than it should
:05:33. > :05:38.be. There is no definite
:05:39. > :05:40.proof that the Zika virus caused her microcephaly
:05:41. > :05:45.but the evidence is growing. Her mother says she was caught
:05:46. > :05:48.by surprise, but she will do In this one city, Recife,
:05:49. > :05:57.her baby's life better. officials say up
:05:58. > :06:00.to 100,000 people may be infected. On a map, pins mark the cases
:06:01. > :06:02.of microcephaly, There is a major public
:06:03. > :06:12.health challenge, probably amongst the most difficult
:06:13. > :06:14.challenges we have to face And it is already becoming
:06:15. > :06:18.a globalised issue. In a government lab,
:06:19. > :06:20.analysis of a sample But despite all the gleaming
:06:21. > :06:27.technology here, there are key questions about the virus that
:06:28. > :06:30.scientists simply can't answer. If a woman has Zika,
:06:31. > :06:36.is the risk of having That is very important for women's
:06:37. > :06:47.choice, for the importance We don't know if there is a viral
:06:48. > :06:51.treatment which will prevent This is the first major city
:06:52. > :06:56.to be hit by the virus. Because it was taken
:06:57. > :06:58.completely by surprise, That means it is almost
:06:59. > :07:03.inevitable that more babies There is a lesson in this,
:07:04. > :07:11.for the other cities around the tropics which are
:07:12. > :07:13.vulnerable Day after day and street
:07:14. > :07:17.by street, it will take real And for many babies
:07:18. > :07:26.and others yet to be born, The coastguard in Greece says at
:07:27. > :07:35.least 24 migrants drowned when the boat they were travelling in from
:07:36. > :07:38.Turkey sank in the Aegean Sea, A number of the victims were
:07:39. > :07:41.children. It is the second boat to sink in as
:07:42. > :07:44.many days. One European leader today said the
:07:45. > :07:47.Aegean Sea has become a mass grave. From Greece, James Reynolds
:07:48. > :07:53.reports. The last journey of those who died
:07:54. > :07:56.at sea ended this morning, Rescuers carefully brought
:07:57. > :08:04.the bodies to shore. We don't know the names
:08:05. > :08:08.of the children who died. We don't know who they
:08:09. > :08:12.were travelling with, nor what made them or their families
:08:13. > :08:15.get on boats that couldn't make it
:08:16. > :08:18.through the sea. Out in the Aegean, rescue boats
:08:19. > :08:26.continued to search for bodies. The shipwrecked migrants
:08:27. > :08:29.from Iraqi Kurdistan may have spent more than 24 hours in the water
:08:30. > :08:32.before they were found. This afternoon, outside
:08:33. > :08:35.a police station, a small group of survivors
:08:36. > :08:40.tried to keep warm. This man lost his wife
:08:41. > :08:46.and two of his children. For a day at sea, he
:08:47. > :08:49.held onto his youngest child's body, hoping in vain
:08:50. > :08:53.that the infant could be revived. This doctor is treating some
:08:54. > :09:06.of the other survivors It is very difficult
:09:07. > :09:12.to manage the death It is very difficult
:09:13. > :09:19.to deal with relatives, mothers and fathers
:09:20. > :09:23.crying, because they have We found the migrants'
:09:24. > :09:31.damaged boat on the beach. Well in Sweden, the country has
:09:32. > :09:42.signalled a new tough line on immigration, saying that it could
:09:43. > :09:45.ultimately deport up to 80,000 of the people who sought
:09:46. > :09:53.asylum there in the last year. The policy was outlined by the
:09:54. > :09:55.Interior Minister, Anders Ygeman, who said the
:09:56. > :09:57.authorities are already being asked to prepare for expulsions, which
:09:58. > :09:59.will have to be done using specially-chartered aircraft
:10:00. > :10:03.and staggered over several years. Meanwhile, in the UK, the British
:10:04. > :10:07.government has responded to growing calls to do more to help
:10:08. > :10:09.unaccompanied children from Syria There are promises of extra money
:10:10. > :10:16.and resources - but only in "exceptional circumstances" will
:10:17. > :10:18.children from the camps Some fleeing war and persecution
:10:19. > :10:32.with their families, but many millions end up on their
:10:33. > :10:39.own. At the Calais camp
:10:40. > :10:41.known as The Jungle, desperate young people
:10:42. > :10:43.are knocking on Britain's door, This 15-year-old from Syria says
:10:44. > :10:47.he has a brother-in-law in the UK and just wants
:10:48. > :10:50.to be a schoolboy again. The government is under intense
:10:51. > :10:53.pressure to do more to help the vast numbers of unaccompanied
:10:54. > :10:55.children who have fled Some charities say
:10:56. > :11:00.the UK should accept But instead, ministers
:11:01. > :11:06.have come up with a plan which they say will discourage
:11:07. > :11:08.vulnerable children from arriving
:11:09. > :11:13.on Britain's doorstep. The plan focuses
:11:14. > :11:15.first on the conflict Working with the United Nations,
:11:16. > :11:20.Britain will help assess the scale of the child
:11:21. > :11:22.welfare problem, but only will they bring any
:11:23. > :11:28.children to the UK. Ministers say it is much better that
:11:29. > :11:31.a vulnerable child I've said that we are prepared to
:11:32. > :11:38.take more orphans from the region but I think it is right,
:11:39. > :11:41.our approach, to take refugees from the region, not
:11:42. > :11:43.encouraging people to make the difficult, potentially
:11:44. > :11:46.lethal journey to Europe. Our approach is,
:11:47. > :11:50.I think, compassionate and generous and I
:11:51. > :11:52.think it is right. The refugee crisis continues
:11:53. > :11:56.to claim lives on the EU's border. Today the UK pledged an extra
:11:57. > :11:59.?10 million to support vulnerable children who make it to Europe,
:12:00. > :12:02.and extra resources for But beyond Britain's
:12:03. > :12:08.legal obligations, there
:12:09. > :12:11.is no commitment to take any child. I think we need to see a more
:12:12. > :12:16.engaged Prime Minister here, really looking at the issues and not
:12:17. > :12:19.just saying we will only help There is a crisis in Europe
:12:20. > :12:22.and are children Thousands of unaccompanied
:12:23. > :12:25.children Last week, a court ruled that under
:12:26. > :12:31.Britain's asylum obligations, three unaccompanied
:12:32. > :12:33.children and a young adult in the Calais camp should be
:12:34. > :12:38.allowed to join relatives in the UK. A full ruling will be issued
:12:39. > :12:43.tomorrow and charity workers are trying to find any child who
:12:44. > :12:49.might be affected. There is absolutely no sign
:12:50. > :12:59.here that the desperate conditions that children and young people
:13:00. > :13:01.are living in are preventing further children making the very
:13:02. > :13:03.dangerous journey. The number of refugee children
:13:04. > :13:05.who might come to the UK under today's scheme
:13:06. > :13:07.is likely to be small. A few with relatives
:13:08. > :13:09.here will be allowed in. Ministers argue that to avoid
:13:10. > :13:12.exacerbating the migrant crisis and to protect overstretched
:13:13. > :13:14.services, children without family and community ties
:13:15. > :13:26.must be turned away. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has
:13:27. > :13:28.met his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, in Paris as he
:13:29. > :13:31.tries to relaunch trade relations with Europe after the lifting of
:13:32. > :13:33.international sanctions. Iran has already signed a deal with
:13:34. > :13:48.the French company Peugeot. An order for 118 planes from Airbus
:13:49. > :13:51.is also due to be signed. French energy giant Total plans to
:13:52. > :13:55.sign a deal to buy Iranian oil. A short while ago, the two leaders
:13:56. > :13:58.spoke at a joint press conference of their hopes for their future
:13:59. > :14:09.relationship The many documents and memorandums
:14:10. > :14:26.were signed in the presence of the actually indicates that that also
:14:27. > :14:36.includes the private sector, that there is a serious willingness for
:14:37. > :14:51.and this cooperation is in the interest of both governments.
:14:52. > :14:53.TRANSLATION: It is a new chapter of our relations.
:14:54. > :15:00.And I would like this relationship to be useful.
:15:01. > :15:03.Useful for both our countries, useful for the region, which, sadly,
:15:04. > :15:06.has been marked by wars, crises and other tragedies, but I want it to
:15:07. > :15:18.The rainy and delegation was said to have left feeling satisfied with the
:15:19. > :15:23.deals. -- the Iranian delegation. They got what they were looking for,
:15:24. > :15:29.a multibillion-dollar contract, the contract secured by the aeroplane
:15:30. > :15:36.making company, Airbus, to sell a run 100 and two passenger planes.
:15:37. > :15:40.The contract is said to be worth $25 billion, that is much
:15:41. > :15:50.were expecting early in the day. And then we heard about other deals in
:15:51. > :15:54.the oil market. Total is going to buy 200 barrels of oil a day from
:15:55. > :16:04.the run, and there will be a joint-venture producing cars inside
:16:05. > :16:09.the run, and there will be a Iran with Peugeot. And there are
:16:10. > :16:12.other deals in agriculture and food and many other areas. They seem to
:16:13. > :16:18.be quite happy with what they have got. When you talk about buying and
:16:19. > :16:23.building new aeroplanes, that is the kind of thing the orderly Iranians
:16:24. > :16:27.might not get to see, but there will be deals here that could make a
:16:28. > :16:33.difference to everyday life. -- ordinarily Iranians. For the
:16:34. > :16:38.Iranians, let's not forget the average age of the Iranian air
:16:39. > :16:42.planes is something like 27 years, and that is not a good record. This
:16:43. > :16:48.is the first thing that is going to affect Iranians. At the same time,
:16:49. > :16:52.in the meeting between the presidents, we heard them talking
:16:53. > :16:59.about new arrangements for European banks to enter a run again, and so
:17:00. > :17:07.that trade can become facilitated. -- to enter Iran.
:17:08. > :17:13.The former president of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo has denied
:17:14. > :17:15.trial at the International Criminal Court.
:17:16. > :17:21.It's a landmark trial - the first time a former head of state
:17:22. > :17:26.Mr Gbagbo is accused of orchestrating a campaign of violence
:17:27. > :17:30.His trial comes nearly five years after Mr Gbagbo's arrest.
:17:31. > :17:47.The BBC's Anna Holligan is in The Hague.
:17:48. > :17:49.These are the pro Gbagbo protesters which have gathered outside.
:17:50. > :17:52.You can see that they are being controlled by the police.
:17:53. > :17:55.There have been sporadic scuffles between the police and the
:17:56. > :17:58.One protester was taken away in a headlock.
:17:59. > :18:04.This is as close as they can get to the court. The hearing is underway
:18:05. > :18:16.inside. One of their main concerns is that this is a case, they say of
:18:17. > :18:21.victors' justice. When Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat,
:18:22. > :18:27.3000 people were killed, there were murders, rapes and persecution on
:18:28. > :18:34.both sides, and yet none of the supporters of the president have
:18:35. > :18:39.been brought to justice by the ICC. This is a crucial case for this
:18:40. > :18:43.court. It was created to bring the most powerful leaders to justice and
:18:44. > :18:48.having a former head of state in the dock is evidence of the court was
:18:49. > :18:52.Laurent Gbagbo. And they will be relying predominantly on evidence
:18:53. > :18:55.that comes from a country and a government which has a vested
:18:56. > :19:03.interest in securing a guilty verdict. So, much is at stake for
:19:04. > :19:11.the ICC and the historic trial of Laurent Gbagbo and his co-accused,
:19:12. > :19:16.and the police will, if you can watch outside -- the police will be
:19:17. > :19:18.keeping watch outside the court for the rest of the day.
:19:19. > :19:21.A new American study suggests that bed bugs have developed resistance
:19:22. > :19:23.to the world's most widely used insecticide.
:19:24. > :19:26.The tiny blood-sucking insects have thrived on the spread of global
:19:27. > :19:29.travel, and evolved resistance to one chemical after another.
:19:30. > :19:32.The researchers are urging alternative methods of control.
:19:33. > :19:34.I've been talking to the BBC's Environment Correspondent Matt
:19:35. > :19:50.They love us very much. They feed on us. They survive one blood, human
:19:51. > :19:54.blood. They can survive for one year without a meal. They are extremely
:19:55. > :19:58.tough. They are evolutionary miracles in some respects and they
:19:59. > :20:04.can resist all of these treatments. Even the most widely used
:20:05. > :20:09.insecticide, they are now showing signs of resistance to these. This
:20:10. > :20:17.study has shown that you would have to up the dough is why a massive
:20:18. > :20:21.amount? They tested these bedbugs and they had not seen the
:20:22. > :20:26.insecticides for 30 years. About one third of a new -- one third of a
:20:27. > :20:30.nanogram would kill them before, but they have developed resistance to
:20:31. > :20:35.that. This sample was taken four years ago. In those four years they
:20:36. > :20:39.might have developed better resistance. We don't have the
:20:40. > :20:44.evidence yet, we have just two particular studies. And you get your
:20:45. > :20:47.point with the chemical dosage where that is a problem for humans as
:20:48. > :20:52.well. You cannot just blast them with huge amounts of chemicals. It
:20:53. > :20:56.is counter-productive. The more chemicals were used on them, the
:20:57. > :21:01.more that they get their evolutionary gear into play, and
:21:02. > :21:06.that is what they have done. The scientists are urging the pest
:21:07. > :21:11.control industry and individuals to use nonchemical methods if at all
:21:12. > :21:15.possible, to use heat, to use traps and they want better protection,
:21:16. > :21:20.they want people to be aware of the signs of bedbugs, apart from waking
:21:21. > :21:27.up covered in bytes, there are other sites as well. A number of studies
:21:28. > :21:34.have looked at ways of catching them and confining them. Something quite
:21:35. > :21:40.sticky and then something that will catch them as they come out to feed.
:21:41. > :21:47.Just one bed bug can infest the whole place. The fumigation has not
:21:48. > :21:53.really work. If you leave one or two of them alive, they managed to
:21:54. > :21:56.spread and grow again, and then they come out, and they feast.
:21:57. > :21:58.Here's another story of some remarkable survivors.
:21:59. > :22:00.The polecat, a native British animal,
:22:01. > :22:07.In 1915, the only polecats left were to be found in Wales and Scotland
:22:08. > :22:09.and it was feared they were heading for extinction.
:22:10. > :22:12.But now a major nationwide survey has found that
:22:13. > :22:19.Our science correspondent Rebecca Morelle has more.
:22:20. > :22:24.With its distinctive markings, the polecat is a secretive creature
:22:25. > :22:29.and it is a vital part of Britain's wildlife heritage.
:22:30. > :22:33.But these animals were once pushed to the brink of extinction by us.
:22:34. > :22:36.These little fellows scrambling out of their hideout to say how
:22:37. > :22:43.But in the wild, thanks to their appetite for chickens
:22:44. > :22:45.and game birds, they were considered a major pest and killed
:22:46. > :22:53.Polecats became really, really rare at the start of the 20th century,
:22:54. > :22:56.and were basically confined to a stronghold in mid-Wales.
:22:57. > :22:58.But a new survey shows they are returning to the countryside
:22:59. > :23:01.and Suffolk is just one area where they are making a comeback
:23:02. > :23:10.Scientists say legal protection has helped them flourish.
:23:11. > :23:13.This is something we really need to celebrate, the recovery
:23:14. > :23:16.of a native carnivore we once almost lost completely from Britain.
:23:17. > :23:21.We want to see them back here, as widespread as they can be.
:23:22. > :23:29.Here at the British Wildlife Centre, we are incredibly lucky
:23:30. > :23:32.to get a close-up look at what are normally very shy animals.
:23:33. > :23:34.Conservationists are thrilled at their success story,
:23:35. > :23:37.but now they fear that new threats could be looming on the horizon.
:23:38. > :23:39.In the wild, growing numbers are dying after eating poisoned
:23:40. > :23:42.rats, and more are being killed on the roads.
:23:43. > :23:44.Some are also crossbreeding with their domestic
:23:45. > :23:48.But many are optimistic that the animals
:23:49. > :23:54.I love the idea that polecats could be living out there.
:23:55. > :23:57.I don't necessarily need to see them, I just need
:23:58. > :24:01.Sometimes when you just see their poo or a footprint or some
:24:02. > :24:03.prey remains, it means they are there.
:24:04. > :24:05.That's good, and the fact that they are back in England
:24:06. > :24:08.in my lifetime has to be counted as a success.
:24:09. > :24:11.This comeback is a rare natural recovery.
:24:12. > :24:13.Now conservationists say they want to ensure that
:24:14. > :24:34.The British actor Joseph Fiennes has admitted he was shocked to be cast
:24:35. > :24:39.as Michael Jackson in a drama. He will play the character for a comedy
:24:40. > :24:44.about a road trip set to have been taken by Jackson with his friends
:24:45. > :24:47.Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor following the 911 attacks. He
:24:48. > :24:51.admitted that as a white, middle-class London, he is not the
:24:52. > :24:56.obvious choice, but he said that Michael Jackson had a pigmentation
:24:57. > :24:59.issue with his skin, so that should not be a factor.
:25:00. > :25:01.The toy firm, Mattel, has launched its Barbie doll in three new
:25:02. > :25:04.body-shapes in response to falling sales and longstanding criticism.
:25:05. > :25:08.It says the new versions - which it calls tall, petite and curvy - shows
:25:09. > :25:13.that there was not a narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like.
:25:14. > :25:16.Barbie dolls, with their tiny waists and large busts, have long been
:25:17. > :25:18.accused of sending the wrong message to young girls
:25:19. > :25:24.or creating unrealistic expectations.
:25:25. > :25:32.The dolls, as you can see here, are available in seven skin tones and
:25:33. > :25:39.multiple hairstyles. There was no word on any more realistic updates
:25:40. > :25:43.to Barbie's male companion, Ken. Just time to remind you of the main
:25:44. > :25:48.news. French police have confirmed that a man has been arrested by
:25:49. > :25:54.security teams at the entrance to a hotel in the Disneyland Paris theme
:25:55. > :25:58.park. It is reported that his bag set off a security alarm as it
:25:59. > :26:01.passed through a medical detector, and police confirmed that he was
:26:02. > :26:13.carrying two guns and a Koran. Lots of whether to talk about the
:26:14. > :26:15.next few days. We have some severe weather for Thursday night into
:26:16. > :26:16.Friday morning. The Met Office