03/02/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today. The headlines...

Britain's Prime Minister urges parliament to back the deal

for a new relationship with the European Union -

but will it stop some of his colleagues from campaigning

If we stay, Britain will be in there keeping a lid

on the budget, protecting our rebate, stripping away unnecessary

regulation and seeing through the commitment

Trump cries fraud - the Republican presidential hopeful

Donald Trump accuses rival Ted Cruz of winning the Iowa caucuses

As the UN calls a temporary halt to Syria talks in Geneva,

The fighting goes on with modern advances in the north of the

country. The view from inside the Somali

airliner which apparently suffered was the first question faced

by David Cameron at Westminster, as he tried to sell his EU reform

deal to those who believe Britain should vote to leave

the European Union. Time is short - there's a key summit

in Brussels in two weeks' time, and Mr Cameron would like to put

the "stay or leave" question In his pitch to Parliament,

he told MPs that the proposals are an "important milestone

in the process of reform". But many of his own Conservative MPs

aren't convinced that the draft agreement gives Britain enough

control over its laws and borders. In a moment we'll go

to Westminster and Strasbourg, but first, here's Iain

Watson with the details. Government ministers

face a stark choice. If you don't have anything nice

to see about the proposed EU deal, If Cabinet Ministers

are thinking of leaving the EU, they've been told to remain

tight-lipped until closer to the referendum,

or lose their jobs. But this morning, some big beasts

were being uncharacteristically coy. I think the Pime Minister is making

the best of a bad job. I think it's probably more or less

what I said yesterday, which is that, um, most people

looking at this will think Today, the Pime Minister set out

to convince more of his MPs of the benefits of

a new deal with Brussels. So, if we stay, Britain will be

in there, keeping a lid on the budget, protecting our

rebate, stripping away unnecessary regulation, and seeing

through the commitment we've secured in this re-negotiation,

ensuring that Britain truly can But Labour said the referendum

was being called simply to deal with the problem the Pime Minister

had with his own Eurosceptic MPs. The proposed deal from Brussels

probably would have little As his own backbenchers keep

telling us, the proposals from the European Council are simply

tinkering around the edges. They have little impact

on what the EU delivers for workers Even if most Conservative MPs get

behind David Cameron here at Westminster,

he'll still have to have any deal signed off by all the other

EU leaders at a big summit And today, another Parliament,

the European Parliament in Strasbourg, was having its say,

and it wasn't all good news This former Belgian Pime Minister

said he wanted Britain to stay in the EU, but some aspects

of the deal, exempting the UK from further integration,

would have to be redrafted. I think that is better than to do

the opposite, and to destroy the idea of a closer union,

because Britain has to stay. The next crucial date

in the Prime Minister's diary Our Europe Correspondent,

Damian Grammaticas, gave us Well, I think, if you took

the temperature here, you would probably find MEPs,

diplomats, saying that we believe that this is, as Jean-Claude Juncker

said, a fair deal to all sides, so, for some of Europeans here,

they feel that fairly big concessions may have been made,

particularly over this issue of limiting the access that European

citizens who migrated to the UK and work there would

then get to benefits. As the leader of the very biggest

group in Parliament here said today, he's a German MEP from

the same political party as the German Chancellor

Angela Merkel. He said that the idea that European

citizens could work in the UK, could pay taxes in the UK,

like UK citizens, but not get benefits like them,

was very difficult. And that's something that Europeans,

committed Europeans, many of them here, find quite

a hard idea to swallow, that there could be what

they might view as discrimination, because they view that as contrary

to the founding principles But the overriding view

here was that, if this is a deal that can keep the UK in the EU,

it's a deal worth doing. Here is Rob Watson with more on what

this could mean for David Cameron. What David Cameron is having

to work with is a sort I mean, the first problem

is the kind of deal that you could get with the

rest of the European Union, and let's remember,

this is not a European Union sailing calmly along in a great

phase of its existence. It has all sorts of other crises,

over the migrants, over the euro The other problem is his own

governing Conservative Party, which, as is well-known,

has a deep strain of Euro-scepticism, people that

want to leave the European Union. And then, thirdly, and most

importantly, it's you and me and the 45 million eligible voters

in Britain, who he is very much hoping to persuade,

sooner rather than later, I mean, if you like,

so far he's been tackling two of them, Parliament

today, the European Union, the rest of

the European Union over The next hurdle is

the British people. We turn our attention to American

politics now. The Republican Presidential race

is getting even nastier. Donald Trump is accusing

his rival Ted Cruz - the winner of Monday's

Iowa Caucus - of fraud. Writing on Twitter, he said

the Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, According to Donald Trump,

this was because Ted Cruz said that Ben Carson, another Republican

candidate, was quitting the race. Earlier, I asked our correspondent

Jane O'Brien in Washington whether we should take

heed of what he said. How seriously is he

actually being taken? I mean, that's the whole

problem with Mr Trump. You never know how much is bluster,

how much he really means, It is fairly typical behaviour,

but I think the more interesting question is why is he starting

to Tweet this now, when everybody That's the race that

people want to focus on, not Iowa, which is

now two days away. And Mr Trump is ahead in the polls

in New Hampshire as well, he's got everything

to look forward to there, He is very unlikely

to score very well. He's not even coming

close to second place. So it's a bit of a mystery as

to why Mr Trump would suddenly this sort of inflammatory language

at this particular point. And I noticed that he did send out

a Tweet saying that the Cruz camp He quickly took that

Tweet off social media. Is there any substance

in that comment? Well, this all centres around

allegations that Mr Cruz's campaign were telling voters that Ben Carson,

another candidate, who had been doing quite well but has now

really faded in the polls, Well, he hasn't dropped out

of the race, but the inference is that his supporters perhaps

thinking that would've then transferred their allegiance

to Mr Cruz and that's why he won. Fraud?

Possibly not. Bending the truth?

A little bit. Jane O'Brien speaking to me earlier.

Events on the battlefield and Celia have overtaken tentative talks about

finding peace. The United Nations envoy has

announced a "temporary Staffan de Mistura has been

shuttling between the government and opposition

delegations in Geneva. He remains upbeat and says

the break is temporary. From the first day, I've indicated

that I'm not prepared at all for talks for

the sake of talks. And the Secretary-General

is saying the same. The UN cannot allow simply

procedural matters to actually become more important than actually

the result for the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people,

who have been waiting for us to deliver, this time not

a conference, but something I've therefore taken this decision

to bring a temporary pause. This is not the end and it is not

the failure of the talks. Why?

They came and they stayed. Not only, but both sides insisted

on the fact that they are interested in having the political

process started. Three, I have already fixed

a date for the next talks, And it's the Syrian Army offensive

around Aleppo that has generated Their advance would cut

the main supply route Syrian state TV says the army -

backed by militias - has ended the long running rebel

siege of two Shiite villages With the diplomacy stuttering

and the fighting gearing up, there is no end in sight

to the plight of the Syrian people. World leaders hope to raise

$9 billion at a donor But as Rami Ruhayem reports

from the Syria capital Damascus, It's a run-down and dirty place

to play, just a stones throw from the war-battered neighbourhood

on the eastern edge of Damascus. These children take us

into the unfinished building We're told there are about

25 families living here, most of them have been

displaced several times, and they actually have

to pay rent to live here, even though conditions,

as you can see, are really very bad. Electricity is a luxury,

three hours a day perhaps I follow one of the

residents into her flat. She's just lighting a candle,

because they have no electricity. Apparently, the place is infested

with mice and rats. She lives with her husband

and five children. TRANSLATION: We used to live

in dignity in our own houses. Now we are running

out of charities. You know why?

Because we lost everything. We escaped only with the clothes

we were wearing. Not all the displaced

live like this. We went to the western

side of the city, Before the war, this

was going to be a school, As soon as the displacement crisis

began, the government decided There are currently about 90

families here, but the number keeps changing, because people come

here as a first step and they leave as soon as they find

somewhere else to stay. It's clean and aid is

close at hand. But the government

and charity hand-outs don't make up Before the war, this man

was prosperous with a large family. TRANSLATION: My 19-year-old son

was killed first. Back at this flat, this child gets

a lesson from her big sister. Despite their displacement, the

girls still get an education and more importantly their family is

intact, but they still live on edge. TRANSLATION: We are always under

threat of eviction, the owner can kick us out when he wants. For most

of these children's lies, Syria has been at war and even away from the

raging battles they are still not at peace.

It's reported that a rare case of the zika virus in Texas was most

likely to have been passed on by sex.

There's concerns about how much more quickly the virus could spread.

Several governments in Latin America have already asked women to not get

But in El Salvador, as in much of Central America, where abortion

is illegal and contraception not widely available,

that sort of advice may not be easily followed.

Katy Watson reports from El Salvador.

For these women, this is a rare chance to understand what options

they have when it comes to contraception.

But they don't like to use that word.

In this deeply religious country, these volunteers prefer

Some women aren't free to choose how they protect themselves,

They hide it, so when they do visits, they focus on counselling

With growing concerns about Zika, contraception and sexual health

In theory, the government makes contraceptives

But it's a very different reality in these poor parts of El Salvador.

TRANSLATION: You go to the health centre, and they say that there's

nothing left, or if there is, it's now past its use-by date.

TRANSLATION: Most of the time, young people won't go

The problem isn't just about resources.

El Salvador is the most murderous country in the world.

These soldiers are doing the job of the police,

guarding gang-disputed territory hotspots.

Women struggle to get their contraception if the health

clinic is on the turf of an opposing gang.

Down the road is a state-run health clinic, but ever since the man

in charge was murdered last year, it has not been open regularly.

It is not just about violence and accessibility.

Nearly one in three babies here in El Salvador is born

to a mother aged between 10 and 19. These are just young girls.

Combine that with a conservative society, and open access to

Which, for pro-choice campaigners, makes the government's

recommendation that women shouldn't get pregnant

Where is the responsibility of men to take an active role in this?

Rape and incest are extremely prevalent, and to say those things

to a woman, you should control this, when it is completely

beyond your control, or to a young person who goes

to a clinic trying to be responsible, and is told you are too

young for this, you shouldn't be here asking for this,

and humiliating them and denying services,

But with so much unknown about the Zika virus,

governments are trying to stop it spreading in any way they can.

It's not easy for any country, but the challenges here

A bomb is suspected to have caused the explosion aboard

a commercial airliner flying from the Somali capital Mogadishu.

One passenger died when he was sucked out through the hole

A diplomat on board told us the explosion happened just

I just saw white smoke and, you know, there was a few seconds

I didn't realise where I was and then, when things calmed

down, you know, of course we saw whole in the plane and,

the first thing you worry about is, you know, can we really make it?

But of course, after things calmed down, it was a lot easier

At least take out the phone and take a few clips and things like that.

You know, there was not that much turbulence.

And of course we give credit to the pilot.

A stricken freighter has been successfully towed into a Spanish

port after its crew abandoned ship in heavy weather last week.

The Modern Express, carrying timber and diggers from West Africa

to France, has been towed into Bilbao after a lengthy salvage

operation stopped it from crashing into the French coast.

The ship's crew sent a distress signal when it started listing

The BBC has gathered evidence that Israel is sending unwanted African

migrants to other countries under secretive deals,

which may be in breach of international law.

The Israeli government refuses to name the third countries involved

in the deals, but the BBC has spoken to people who say they were sent

There are around 45 thousand Eritrean and Sudanese

They've arrived in the country over the last ten years,

crossing through Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.

This detention centre is in the middle of the desert. The people

here say they came to Israel to seek refuge from conflict or persecution

but the Israeli government has granted asylum to fewer than 1%. It

says the migrants are become a threat to security and identity of

the Jewish state. The government calls this an open staying centre

but it is run by the prison service and conditions are strict. That is a

curfew at night time and people have to report back by ten p.m., they are

also not like to work and in such an isolated area there are a few things

to do. If someone is leaving here, it means you have no freedom thieves

stop -- you have no future. The residents can be held here for 12

months. After that, the choice is stark, return home or agreed to live

in a third country in Africa and, if they refuse either option, they

could be sent to prison indefinitely. The BBC has spoken to

people who said they were sent to Rwanda and Uganda and that the

Israeli promise they would receive basic protections they are not

fulfilled. One man is now in Kenya and was sent to Rwanda. Two days

after he arrived he told us he was forced to pay a man called John to

smuggle him into Rwanda. We crossed the border and I understand it was

illegal. Cathy joins me in the studio.

Fantastic investigative journalism there. Israel forced to admit this

is going on, but by do they see migrants as a threat? As you have

there, there are around 45,000 Eritrean and Sudanese that at the

moment. But they have been coming in over the last ten years and between

2007 and 2012 about 1000 came in every month. At this point, Israel

believed this was a problem. And so what is good in 2012 was, first of

all, it built the border with age at, a stronger border, which had at

Matic effect in the numbers coming in -- Egypt. Secondly, it built the

detention centre in the desert. Thirdly, the third country policy,

offering migrants the chance to live in a different country in Africa, or

they can stay in Israel and go to prison indefinitely. It is said it

may be in breach of international law, what Israel are doing, because

migrants do not have much say, but lawyers do seem to be in

disagreement over that? It is not clear-cut, because when they arrive

in Israel, Israel does not support them to their home countries, where

persecution is feared, because that cannot be done and the international

law. -- cannot be done under international law. But only 1% of

asylum applications are granted. They are in legal limbo. They can

stay under permits but have to renew those every two months. And they

know they can be rounded up and taken to the detention centre and

can stay there by 12 months by law, which is when they are given this

choice. So lawyers are arguing that these layers of pressure put on the

migrants add in some ways getting around that UN refugee Convention.

And one of the other things is that the deals are secretive, so Israel

has said there are two countries in Africa, they have been open about

has said there are two countries in that, but never said or those

countries are. As you saw that the board, we have evidence it is Rwanda

and Uganda. And also board, we have evidence it is Rwanda

testimony given to human rights organisations. The problem is,

because the deals are so secretive, it is not open whether Israel is

properly monitoring migrants in this country. And as you saw in the

report, it doesn't appear to be the case that they are. Many thanks.

Now a look at some of the day's other news.

South African President Jacob Zuma has offered to pay back

some of the taxpayers' money he spent on improvements

The decision comes a week before a hearing at South Africa's

Mr Zuma used public money on items including a swimming pool

The condition of an Italian actor left in a coma after a hanging scene

went wrong during a play is said to be worsening.

27-year-old Raphael Schumacher was appearing in a production

in Pisa when an audience member realised he was in pain.

after sealing the theatre at the weekend.

Initial inquiries found the actor hadn't been wearing a body harness.

Luxembourg, one of the world's smallest states, is promoting

ambitious plans to mine asteroids for minerals in outer space.

It says it hopes to work with European entrepreneurs

to open access to a wealth of rare resources in space.

The government says it will invest in research projects.

A Chinese street artist is bringing abandoned corners

Robbbb's work aims to highlight social issues in the capital.

The BBC met up with him on the city streets to discuss his latest

TRANSLATION: Street art is a temporary artform. I put my artworks

all over the city and eventually they are destroyed, but this process

is all part of my art. I am Robbbb, and urban artist. Street art comes

from the West. But my art is a reflection of the China I live in.

Old dilapidated buildings are a feature of every developing city.

The ruins reflect the rapid growth of Chinese cities. The connection

between my art and these abandoned buildings is that they don't know

when either will be destroyed. These old buildings will not be here for

ever. My art is also temporary. The creative process starts with me

taking pictures of local residents. Then I print them out and make them

more artistic and lifelike. This series is called Walking

Chinese. It features people you meet every day on the streets. I am

dedicated to portraying Chinese phenomena and social issues in my

art. I want to express my views through

these figures. And that is it. Thanks for watching.

Many of us got to see sunshine during today,

but our weather is in a very changeable mood at the moment

and tomorrow looks like a very different day.

Yes, it'll be mild, but there will be a lot of cloud

and damp weather, some outbreaks of rain.

It's all because we've got this warm front working its way