28/02/2016 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, broadcasting in the UK

I'm Alpa Patel, here are the headlines.

As a truce in Syria largely holds, we give you a glimpse of the battle

against so-called Islamic State - a BBC team reaches an area freed

by Kurdish fighters - but still littered by bombs

Look at the crater left by this one. The Kurds got lucky, they found it,

stopped it and detonated it. It sent saybury for hundreds of meeters

across this field. And Islamic State claims

responsibility for a bombing at a crowded market in Iraq -

leaving dozens dead. The Vatican's Finance Minister,

Cardinal George Pell gives evidence from the Vatican to an Australian

inquiry into child abuse. Also coming up: Manchester United

derails Arsenal's Premier League challenge at Old Trafford. And, is

this the year when Leonardo DiCaprio finally sees off the competition to

win the Oscar for Best Actor? The first nationwide truce

in Syria's five year civil war is into its second day and appears

to be largely holding. This is Aleppo, Syria's largest

city. In a strategic location and so has

experienced intense fighting Today, though, there

appears to be calm. Civilians are on the streets,

in this first pause But both the opposition and Russia

are reporting breaches Air strikes have been

reported in the north - though it's unclear who carried them

out and who was being Well Islamic State is excluded

from the agreement. Our correspondent Quentin Somerville

is in Northern Syria. While we have been here,

there have still been air strikes, shootings and car bombs

but there has been a big change. They have mainly been in battles

with the Islamic State Syrians we have been speaking

to are using a different language. In fact they are using a word

we don't often here in these parts The truce is on in Syria, but so,

too, still, is the fight In Shaddadi, air strikes

and the Kurds drove out IS. Here, on the streets,

the militants once held a slave But the Islamic State

can still surprise. American jets help repel

an attack in Talabiad. This town was taken months ago

by the Kurds, but IS snipers and commandos attacked in droves

an hour before the truce. And across a long

stretch of territory. IS attacks have transformed

the security situation here in north-west Syria,

security is a lot tighter along the roads, in fact, it's

impassable from the West. If we stop the vehicle,

this wasn't just an attack with ground troops and snipers,

they also deployed typical The Kurds got lucky, they found it,

stopped it and detonated it. It scattered debris for hundreds

of meters across these fields. Just imagine the damage this

would have done to local So the Kurds have control

here but it isn't absolute and, of course, there is no truce

with the Islamic State. But elsewhere this ceasefire

of sorts is mostly holding. It's not a return to normal

life, but it's a start. Today, the jets flew over,

but they didn't bomb us. We hope that they stick

to their word and the calm Back in Shaddadi it's a defeat,

not a ceasefire, that is making The Islamic State is gone,

but their markings on shop fronts We'll all come back here

to recover our lives taken This town was a place

for the whole nation, Arabs, Kurds, Christians,

we all lived together. The men with guns won't

be disappearing here. A truce isn't peace,

but it's a moment of calm. And, for Syria right now,

that's good enough. So calm is a start but also then

comes hope and the hope is that the ceasefire

of sorts continues and And in fact in the last

half hour, the BBC has heard from the United Nations

that tomorrow humanitarian aid will finally start making it

into besieged towns, villages and cities in Syria

and they are hoping that over the next five days they'll get

released to over 150,000 people. That's a remarkable

weekend for Syria. To Iraq where IS have claimed

responsibility for what it called Two bombs exploded in

a crowded market in Baghdad. Local medics are reported as saying

at least 70 people have been killed. The blasts - which are the worst

to hit Baghdad in recent months - happened in the mainly Shia

neighbourhood of Sadr City. Our Defence Correspondent Jonathan

Beale has this update. This was the second significant

attack by so-called Islamic State in the capital, within

the last few days. On Thursday, a Shia mosque

was targeted by two suicide bombers, Then on Sunday, the Sunni

extremists set off explosions in Sadr city,

a large Shia district in Baghdad. The blast killed dozens

of people and left IS has recently been

using tactics involving double A second device detonated

soon after the first, With so could have called Islamic

states suffering recent setbacks in the rest of the city,

there are fears attacks may be stepped up in the capital.

To Iran, where counting continues in elections there.

And the scale of the losses suffered by conservatives

Two of the most senior hardliners have lost their seats.

Whereas moderates and reformists backing President Rouhani have

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the high

turnout, describing Iran as a wise and determined nation.

The counting of the votes has been slow, not surprisingly

became clear that Iranians have come out in big numbers

All 30 seats in parliament for Tehran went to these reformist

Here with their mentor, former president, Ali Akbar

Here is one of the winners of parliamentary seats in Tehran

It means that we want to remove what has happened

It means that we want to empower our women.

President Rouhani has all but claimed victory saying

aside rivalries and revive the economy.

The results are a major boost for him and his nuclear deal

But it seems many millions of Iranians came out to vote

tactically to prevent the hardliners from moving Iran

At the so-called Assembly of Experts, this council of elder

and senior clerics, with the power to select

the next supreme leader, things are more interesting.

Former president Rafsanjani, who used to chair this assembly

Now he is back at the top of the polls.

Hardline figures such as the present chair

and the ideologue of the hardliners have lost their seats.

The hardliners in Parliament here calling for the death

of the opposition leaders a few years ago may have

lost their majority in parliament after having lost the presidency

The balance of power has shifted in favour of moderates.

Millions of Iranians have said no to these hardliners.

To another election this time in Switzerland,

where voters have rejected a proposal to automatically deport

The plan was opposed by 59% of those who took part

It was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party,

which argued that social problems are linked to rising immigration.

One of Vatican's top officials is due to begin giving evidence

to a public inquiry into child abuse in Australian

Cardinal George Pell has been accused of helping to cover

up cases of abuse by paedophile priests during his time in

Cardinal Pell, who's now in charge of the Vatican's finances, will give

A group of survivors of abuse have travelled to Rome to be present

Here's our Australia correspondent Jon Donnison.

-- As the head of the Australian Catholic Church, Cardinal George

Pell leads an institution that has been rocked by scandal.

He is a former Archbishop of Melbourne in Victoria,

the state with the church has acknowledged with 600 cases

That led in part to the government setting up a wide-ranging public

enquiry into child abuse within Australian institutions.

The Cardinal has already given evidence on two occasions.

David Ridsdale was sexually abused by his own uncle,

who is now in jail for abusing more than 50 children.

David has already told the enquiry that, back in the 1990s,

the Cardinal tried to bribe him to keep quiet,

Cardinal Pell's behaviour was more akin to the CEO of a big

corporation. He has moved responsibility

downstream, he has protected assets. And in all of his letters

and commentary, he rarely mentions Many of the hundreds of victims

of abuse in the Catholic Church here are angry that

Cardinal Pell has not returned to Australia to attend

the hearings in person. He's done that in the past,

but on this occasion, for medical reasons,

he was unable to do so. Instead, he will give evidence

through a video link from Rome. A group of around 15 victims have

raised the money themselves to fly Cardinal Pell's testimony

is expected to last three Much of the abuse carried out

by his colleagues happened before he was in a senior position,

but the enquiry will want to know how much he knew, when he knew it

and what he did about it. Greece has warned that the number

of migrants and refugees in the country could triple

in the next month because of caps imposed at border

crossings in the Balkans. 22,000 migrants are

already in Greece, including several thousand

in a makeshift camp Here's our correspondent

Danny Savage. For days now just a trickle

of people have moved north out The crossing to Macedonia has

remained closed for most of the time, and the 6000 people

here are growing restless We will try to cross

the border not from this gate, Hundreds of miles south in Athens

ferries from the Greek islands have all but stopped bringing

migrants to the mainland. That's because the camps and holding

centres are filling up fast, there's a real feeling of no more

room at the inn here. To illustrate that point, on Friday,

1700 people arrived on little boats But on the same day,

just 10% of that number left Greece So the government is scrambling

to build new camps to house The army is moving in to put tents

up on the new sites, At one proposed camp,

locals blocked the gates in protest, they say they don't want to be

outnumbered by migrants. TRANSLATION: How many people

will amass on the border? We're talking about a bundle

of souls we cannot take care of. We feel that we live

in a country where noone Migrants are not prisoners,

they are free to move. We found this queue of taxis outside

a camp in northern Greece. 80 euros will buy a ride

to the border and there's This afternoon, migrants managed

to block the railway line next This week is a crunch point

for this chaotic situation. With politicians planning

more Europe-wide talks. A tiny minority are

getting out of Greece. The one-month-old twins we found

last week were two of the few Still to come: It's nearly time

for Hollywood's biggest night We'll find out which films

are the favourites in the race Several air-strikes have been

reported in northern Syria on the second day

of a nationwide truce but in general, the cessation

of hostilities is holding. Islamic State claims responsibility

for a bombing at a crowded Baghdad It's almost time for the stars

to hit the red carpet The Revenant is leading the race

for this year's Oscars Rapid change, that's

what the Academy is promising as the red carpet's

prepared for tonight. But there is a perceived

overall lack of diversity. This isn't just talking

about diversity for the sake of diversity, it is also bad

for business, it's bad for Hollywood to be so behind in the times

that they are not developing projects for people of different

backgrounds and people Movies reflect our society

and are supposed to be a reflection For Hollywood not to make diverse

movies really is a big problem. Actors who have long campaigned

for greater diversity are welcoming that it has become an issue

recognised at all levels. I think it really must start

in the boardrooms and it's going to take bravery and it's

going to take courage. And, you know, making sure that

people aren't fearful to cast black actors, black actresses,

in roles that may not be For many, the expectation

is that this will be the last year the acting winners

are all guaranteed to be white and that the discussion becomes

exclusively about The numbers clearly indicate that

there were senior clergy involved. For Best Film, the Academy

loves to reward stories Will the spotlight this

year fall on Spotlight? A film about the Boston Globe's

investigation of a church When the banks committed

the greatest fraud in US history... Or perhaps The Big Short,

about the run-up to the global But the narrow favourite is perhaps

survival drama The Revenant. Its lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio,

looks almost certain Even last year's winner,

Eddie Redmayne, nominated I think it's pretty much

certainly Leo's year, In a year where everyone,

including, of course, this year's host, recognises that

what's been happening around the Oscars has, to a degree,

overshadowed the awards themselves. Manchester City have beaten

Liverpool on penalties, Goalkeeper Willy Cabellero -

the man everyone said should NOT be starting -

except for the manager Manuel Pellegrini of course -

was the hero. On what was a dramatic day

at Wembley, City took the lead But with just a few minutes

remaining, Liverpool levelled No more goals in normal or extra

time meant it was penalties, There were two very important

Premier League matches today too. We'll tell you about Spurs

in a moment, but first, third placed Arsenal travelled

to Manchester United. The Gunners slipped up

against Louis Van Gaal's side United teenager Marcus Rashford

stole the show in the Europa League on Thursday, and did so again

with two more goals Danny Welbeck got one back,

before Ander Herrera made it 3-1 Mesut Ozil got the Gunners

to within one but it wasn't enough. Arsenal remain five points

behind leaders Leicester. But Tottenham Hotspur

are just two points behind, after beating Swansea

2-1 at White Hart Lane. Spurs were one down at half time

to an Alberto Poloshi goal, but substitute Nacer Chadli

equalised with 20 minutes to play before Danny Rose hit the winner

a few minutes after. The new man in charge of world

football says Fifa can be fixed and fast, if it puts

wide-ranging reforms in place. Swiss Gianni Infantino was elected

to succeed Sepp Blatter as the ninth Our Sports Correspondent Richard

Conway reports from Zurich. Gianni Infantino

is a man in a hurry. Elected to the top job in world

football, Sepp Blatter's successor Is it a good feeling

to be Fifa president? Despite his election, Fifa

is still mired in a deep crisis. Vital reforms have been agreed upon,

but it must continue to satisfy US and Swiss prosecutors

in its clamping down on corruption. The reforms are to be implemented

now, they need to be implemented So I will go up to the office

and start looking at concretely how to implement these reforms

so that we can hopefully very soon Infantino's victory

came as a surprise. He upset the odds to beat

long-time frontrunner Today, his first task as President

was to open Fifa's shiny But his political juggling skills,

honed during years at the top of the European game,

will be needed now more than ever. These reforms have been approved,

you have to start us off now As of now, and for the future,

there will be no issues anymore. And as for the past, of course,

we have to make sure that we cooperate fully

with the authorities to make sure that everything comes out

if something has happened. Swiss media reports say that

as a baby, Infantino's life was saved after receiving a vital

transfusion of his rare blood type Are we claiming you as

one of our own now? Yes, you can claim I am one

of yours, absolutely. Many others as well,

that's why I am a world citizen! This weekend, Gianni Infantino

is basking in the glory of winning the Fifa presidential election,

but tomorrow he will be behind his new desk for the first

time, and that is when the hard On Oscars day, Liverpool and

Manchester City put on a bit of a show stopper but City took the

prize. That's' all the sport for now.

A group of disabled people from Bolivia have been suspending

themselves from a bridge. The protest is the latest in a campaign

which has lasted for several weeks. Forced they say, to take a protest

to a new level, claiming the government won't listen to their

demands. Passing traffic looked on in disbelief, part of a concerted

effort to raise the problems of people faced with disability in

Bolivia. The campaigners are asking for higher state subsidy of around

$70 a month. That many feel the message isn't getting through.

TRANSLATION: Unfortunately, since we have not had an answer from the

Government, we've had to take these extreme measures. 9 protesters said

they tried to take zrectly to President Morales when he visited

the city this week but were stopped by the police. The Government said

they have allocated $900 million. The protesters are saying they are

not seeing the benefit of it and are now thinking of taking their protest

to the president. A communications breakdown has led

to the French city of Reims scrubbing away what may have

appeared to be graffiti but was actually artwork

commissioned by the city itself. This artwork, showing a sulky boy

painted onto the side of a transformer next to the town

hall, was cleared just It was produced by the artist

Christian Guemy - known by the tag But the department which deals

with graffiti was not informed. Monsieur Guemy says he will paint

something similar in its place. It The main news: As a truce in

Syria largely holds, we give you a glimpse of the battle against

so-called Islamic State. A BBC team reaches an area free bid Kurdish

fighters that is still littered by bombs. That's for now. Thank you for

being with the programme. You can message me on Twitter. I will be

back with the headlines shortly. But for now, thank you.

Hello. Good evening. Last night t got very cold in the

north and west of Scotland. -- it got very cold. Not so tonight. More

cloud in a southerly breeze, eventually bringing in