18/04/2016 World News Today

I'm Karin Giannone, this is BBC World News.

Still searching for survivors in Ecuador.

As the number of dead rises significantly after the country's

worst earthquake for decades, painful questions from those whose

A bus explodes in Jerusalem injuring 21 people - two seriously -

Israeli police say a bomb at the back of the bus

Brazil's president suffers defeat in the lower house.

Also coming up: It's revealed that Vladimir Putin's spokesman banked

But Dmitry Peskov says it's all down to a family inheritance.

It was an earthquake of terrifying intensity -

and the affects have stretched right across large sections of Ecuador.

It lasted about 40 seconds at a magnitude of 7.8.

350 have died so far, but that toll could rise.

It's damaged buildings and levelled infrastructure

that was hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre -

which was near the towns of Pedernales and Muisne.

And here's one of those towns right near the epicentre - Pedernales.

It's one of the most affected towns, and you can see in these drone

The mayor says the entire town had been flattened.

Part of the challenge for authorities is reaching some

The BBC has spoken to Ecuador's Ambassador to the UK -

Carlos Abad Ortiz - who explained the difficulties

We have only one airport in the region which is working,

even though we have some problems in communication of that airport,

because the problem is that all the roads that go to the region -

around eight different roads - are damaged completely.

This is the problem that we cannot go in the region by car.

So we are trying to do everything by air from this airport.

So we think that perhaps in the next 24 or 48 hours we will be able

to at least put in good condition two roads, but this

Let's get more on the situation with this report from Paul Adams.

In Pedernales on Ecuador's battered coast, the search for survivors went

Much of this town of 50,000 people has been reduced to rubble.

The death toll is rising, and there are still long

Rescue workers call out in the darkness,

demanding absolute silence, listening for the faintest

In Portoviejo, further south, survivors slept out in the open.

With so many homes damaged and scores of after-shocks already

recorded, people are simply too afraid to go indoors.

Among the dead, Claire Theresa Crockett, a nun from

Northern Ireland, killed with five others when a stairwell collapsed

in the school where she was teaching.

This was the moment, late on Saturday, that

A supermarket in the capital Quito, 100 miles from the epicentre,

shaking before being plunged into darkness.

In the worst-affected areas, whole streets have collapsed.

TRANSLATION: Actually, it's been horrible, horrible.

The only thing I can say is that we are alive.

We are asking passers-by to give us water, so at least we can survive.

This was Ecuador's worst earthquake in decades.

Enrique Garcia is the Regional Humanitarian coordinator

for Oxfam and he joins me now from the captial Quito.

Thank you for talking to us. What reports are you getting from the

worst affected areas? We are receiving many information from the

field, so the main information is, according to the Red Cross and

humanitarian sector, the needs of water, the need of food to

distribute to the population living in shelters in bad conditions, and

many things. The most important thing is good coordination between

the government and local and international people, we need to

support people. According to Ali many damages, especially in the

provinces in the north-west, they need collaboration to ensure support

for the people in need. Do we have a complete picture of the damage? Or

all the areas that are affected able to be accessed, or why their still

places where rescue teams are not able to get to? No, not now. The

government is trying to clean the roads in order to coordinate,

especially in the small communities, far away from the big cities. The

main helpers are going to the cities, but we need to be careful of

the communities living outside the main cities. How well equipped is

Ecuador itself to deal with this? Is Ecuador going to need assistance

from other countries? Yes, they are receiving many assistance from

Venezuela, Spain, many countries are coming at the weekend. We had to

collaborate with each other and to cooperate, because we need to be

careful in order to avoid duplication of effort. You felt this

earthquake in Quito, which is a long way from the epicentre. No, I came

in yesterday night, coming from Central America in order to support

the communities. What's time frame, realistically, is there to get help

to people? How urgent is it? Very urgent right now, because we are

receiving information from big cities such as Portoviejo, that they

need water, to secure water, so we need it as soon as possible. We are

flying in tonight or tomorrow because of the needs. We are willing

to do that, but we have to do coordinate with the governments,

with the provinces, the Red Cross and others. Regional humanitarian

coordinator for Oxfam, thank you very much. Thank you.

In Japan, nearly a quarter of a million people are being told

to leave their homes because of fears

Two have already struck since Thursday.

At least 42 people have been killed and many more are still missing.

Hundreds of thousands of families remain

without running water, and many are also

An Indian court has issued an arrest warrant, for liquor

tycoon Vijay Mallya, who's believed to be in Britain.

Once known as the King of Good Times, Mallya is the man

behind Kingfisher beer - and the failed Kingfisher Airlines.

He has been accused of fleeing the country

China is investigating reports that hundreds of children have become ill

after their new school opened next to a former industrial site.

China's national broadcaster reported that nearly five out of six

pupils who underwent medical checks had health problems.

Conditions ranged from coughs and headaches to cancers such

Police in Jerusalem have confirmed that an explosion on a bus

More than 20 people were injured in the explosion,

What more do we know? Right now, the recovery vehicle behind me is just

about to move away the charred remains of this bus. We understand

there was an explosive device planted at the back. It was

detonated and perhaps it had nails and nuts contained in it. Hospital

officials say that some of the people who have been injured have

injuries from such things. There was also another bus that was here that

caught on fire with this blast, and a car, they have now been removed.

This comes after Israel not seeing a bus attack for some years. That is

correct. There has been a recent upsurge in violence with

Palestinians attacking Israelis. There has been a series of

stabbings, shootings and car running is over the past six months. But at

this moment, the Israeli police are being very careful. They are not

saying clearly that this is a terrorist attack, they are saying it

could possibly be a criminal attack. But for many people here, this will

bring back worrying memories of those times just over a decade ago

when Palestinian militants would carry out attacks on buses in

Jerusalem. We have heard cautious tones from the authority since this

news came out. Since October, we have had this wave of violence, but

authorities have also been saying in the last few weeks, things have been

relatively quiet. In the past few weeks, we have had fewer attacks and

then just over one week ago, the Israeli Prime Minister came out

saying that this was due to the aggressive and systematic policy of

his government. But even in the past few days, there have been some small

instance, mainly in the occupied West Bank, but this is going to

worry people that there could be a new departure. What has Security

been like in Jerusalem? What does it feel like? One thing that has been

very visible is a lot more people going around with guns, and

increases in the security service on the streets. New security procedures

are in place. As soon as this happens, entering into my work

building, I was given extra security checks as I came in. Most places yet

seem to have extra security precautions. One thing that is

really remarkable is how quickly this scene has been cleared. You can

see now, traffic is moving through. When I spoke to one security

official in a different location a few weeks ago, he said there have

been so many attacks that is an expertise in clearing the scene as

scene as quickly as possible and is trying to make it less alarming for

people. Thank you. Brazil's political crisis has

deepened, after members of the country's lower house

of parliament voted to impeach the government's accounts to hide

a growing budget deficit. She has denied the allegations and

described the move as a "coup". A final decision to put her on trial

will now have to made by the parliament's upper house next

month, and reports suggest most senators will vote

against the President. President Rousseff's

supporters claim the process is threatening democracy

in Latin America's biggest country. When Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer

designed this futuristic capital, they deliberately set out

and separated the three pillars of power - the Supreme Court,

the two Houses of Congress, It might feel right now that

Congress has the upper hand, having voted in favour

of an impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff,

but she remains in the Presidential Palace pending a full impeachment

trial in the country's Senate, There's an economic recession,

inflation rates of 10%, and, of course, the country faces

a huge corruption scandal. Indeed, many of those congressmen

sitting in judgment on the President are accused themselves of far

more serious crimes. Brazil feels like a country

in hiatus - all the while, the work A week after Russia's President

Putin declared his assets and income to the public,

his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has He explained that the reason

HE earned four times more than his boss last year was due

to a large inheritance he received Let's have a look at the figures

that were released today. Mr Peskov says he earned

$544,000 in 2015 - part of this being his salary

as well as a family inheritance. This is over four times more than

Russian president Vladimir Putin - his salary was declared last

week as being $126,000. Meanwhile Mr Peskov's wife,

former Olympic figure skating champion Tatyana Navka,

earned over $1.3 million. It is not the first time Mr Peskov's

finances spending has At his high-profile wedding last

August, he was photographed wearing a watch worth over $620,000 -

more than his annual salary. With me is Olga Ivshina

from the BBC's Russian service. We have seen lots of controversy

here in the UK when figures are revealed about a top politicians'

earnings. Does it make waves in Russia? No, I want say that. It is

not the first time Peskov was accused of having high incomes. Each

time, he finds his way out. He said his wife actually made him a wedding

present, even though it is still an enormous sum of money, and he has

been photographed wearing a watch. Two weeks before the wedding

happened, that was. Why did they take this step of releasing the

present's earnings and then Peskov? According to Russian law, they have

a certain period of time when they can reveal their incomes and I think

it is just Russian law of hierarchy, which is why they first revealed

Vladimir Putin's salary and then Mr Peskov's. In motion media, this

story isn't digitally widespread. If you talk about Russian state medium,

no, they haven't reported much. Even though this explanation about him

inheriting this money came in Russian state media during a

broadcast, and each time they mention such things, they always

give Russian officials a chance to show how generous they are, or how

law-abiding they are. This was just another chance for them to show that

everyone is following law procedure and everyone is honest and open.

What we know also is how rich Tatyana Navka is, Mr Peskov's wife,

a figure skating champion. How did she get that money? It is an

interesting question, and I cannot give you a straight answer. She has

been involved in various shows, ice-skating shows, which were very

popular, and now, according to her official website, she organises

various holidays, celebrations, events. Can you earn that much money

just organising events in Russia? I don't know. There are people in

Russia you probably want to celebrate their things with such a

scale. $1.3 million last year, just to recap. What sort of figure is

Dmitry Peskov in Russia? He appears to be a man of unwavering loyalty,

you took the blame for his boss making a public error on that phone

in. Is very loyal to the president. He always helps Mr Putin to get out,

in case he makes any mistakes. He just provides the explanations to

some strange moves. Also, he is very famous for his moustache and his

fake Twitter account. It is tremendously popular, it has

thousands and thousands of followers. Thank you very much.

Dozens of people who were rescued as they tried to cross

the Mediterranean say that at least 500 others died when a boat they

The migrants, from various East African countries, say they set

They are now being held by the Greek authorities in Kalamata

The Greek police are holding the 41 survivors in this

We haven't been allowed to interview them on camera,

but we have managed to speak to them, and they have

told us what is a pretty extraordinary story.

They say that last week they set off from the port of Tobruk in Libya

and they set off - 240 of them in one boat -

But they say, in the middle of the Mediterranean,

the traffickers transferred them from one boat to another much larger

one, another wooden boats, but that was already full of more

than 300 people that were trying to make it to Europe.

They say, in the middle of the night, that boat

capsized and just these 41 managed to survive.

They believe that 500 other people drowned.

What happened to these 41 people, who include Ethiopians, Sudanese,

Somalis and Egyptians, they say that a Filipino cargo ship

rescued them and then brought them here to Greece, where, apparently,

they initially were very, very reluctant to get on land.

They didn't want to be handed over to the Greek authorities

because they were so determined to get to Italy.

Now, I ought to add that no officials have managed give any

details about this disaster, which, if true, will

to have happened since this entire migrant crisis began.

Signs of Iran coming back in from the cold -

it's held its highest level talks with Europe for more than a decade.

The EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini spent Saturday

in the Iranian capital Tehran with seven other top officials.

This comes after Iran met its obligations under last

year's historic nuclear deal, paving the way for the lifting

Our Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet

Europe's top diplomat sweeps into Iran's Foreign Ministry, backed

There's a warm welcome from Iran's foreign minister Zarif.

At the press conference, Miss Mogherini hails a new start.

And we want, as Europeans, Iranian people to have and to see

the benefits of this agreement turning into changes

Europe's commissioners are here to talk about everything

from banking and business to science and student exchanges.

All possible because financial sanctions were lifted

But on the streets of Tehran today, people still don't see much change.

Major European banks and businesses are still wary of dealing with Iran.

A shopkeeper says, we thought business would be booming

We hoped prices would come down, but they haven't, she complains.

We hope to God change will come soon.

Iran's Foreign Minister tells me, Iranians will only wait so long.

I believe Iran is very hopeful about the future.

Iranians see the benefits of engagement and they have shown

If they do not see change, they will change their mind.

But the nuclear deal didn't solve everything.

Sanctions linked to human rights and terrorism are still in place.

Most Iranians wanted the nuclear deal to achieve a greater engagement

with the outside world, and most of all the West.

Europe's visit is a strong symbol of that, but both sides still wanted

to see far greater changes if this new relationship is to have any

The Hollywood couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have appeared

in court in Queensland, Australia, to answer charges

concerning their pet dogs being smuggled into the country last year.

The couple have also appeared in a video made public

by Australia's Department of Agriculture -

A little bit of Hollywood in Queensland, Australia.

Amber Heard back down under to defend herself in a case

It dates back to May last year, when the couple were staying

at this Gold Coast Villa on a break from filming.

With them, their two pet Yorkshire terriers,

The dogs had first been spotted at this local grooming salon.

It wasn't long before Amber Heard was charged with illegally

A crime with a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

And in court today, the couple submitted this somewhat

Australia is a wonderful island, with a treasure trove of unique

Australia is free of many pests and diseases that are

That is why Australia has to have such strong bio-security laws.

And Australians are just as unique, both warm and direct.

When you disrespect Australian law, they will tell you firmly.

I am truly sorry that Pistol and Boo were not declared.

Declare everything when you enter Australia.

In the end, the Hollywood couple left court with Amber Heard having

been sentenced to just a month's probation.

The more serious charges were dropped, after Miss Heard

agreed to plead guilty to filling in her customs document wrongly.

For Amber Heard, no conviction and no fine, and some people will be

wondering whether this case was worth all the fuss and, indeed,

When does standing still help you move faster?

It may sound counterintuitive, but an experiment by the transport

authorities here in London has found congestion is eased when commuters

stand on - rather than walk up - escalators.

And today the theory was put into practice.

It's a rule that's been drilled into travellers and commuters

on transport networks across the country for

When on an escalator, you stand on the right

Apart from, that is, if you're on this escalator at

Ladies and gentlemen, if you can stand on both sides

of this escalator... Here, last November,

for one hour a day, commuters were part

of an experiment that seemed to go against all traveller logic.

Standing on both sides of the escalator to speed

up the flow of people through the station.

The escalators at Holborn are around 24 metres long.

That is the equivalent of climbing a six-storey building

if you choose to walk, and most people don't want to.

So they queue to stand on the right, creating a bottleneck

But if you have standing on both sides, that bottleneck is reduced

and the escalator can carry 50% more commuters at peak times.

However, despite the success of this initial study,

From today, and for the next six months, a new Transport for London

trial will turn one escalator over to full-time stadnding use,

but it may take considerably longer to change a century

Trying to tell London commuters what to do is not unenviable task.

The number of people confirmed dead after Saturday's devastating

earthquake in Ecuador has risen to 350.

Rescue teams have been flying in from abroad to help

But for now from me and the rest of the team, goodbye.

After the cold snap over the weekend, it looks like spring will

make a