:00:00. > :00:07.This is BBC World News Today, broadcasting in the UK
:00:08. > :00:21.The first in Paris injured several children who were at
:00:22. > :00:24.And in Germany 35 people are hospitalised as lightning
:00:25. > :00:31.The World Health Organisation says the Rio Olympics should go ahead
:00:32. > :00:34.as planned - despite some medical experts calling for the Games to be
:00:35. > :00:40.delayed or moved because of the Zika Virus.
:00:41. > :00:44.Who will be driving off with the Champions League title -
:00:45. > :01:00.Real Madrid currently lead Athletico 1-0.
:01:01. > :01:03.11 people, most of them children, have been struck by lightning
:01:04. > :01:05.at a park in the French capital, Paris.
:01:06. > :01:11.The children were celebrating a birthday party at Monceau Park
:01:12. > :01:17.An off-duty fireman immediately began first aid, and officials said
:01:18. > :01:20.the situation would have been much worse if he hadn't been there.
:01:21. > :01:22.Here's the Paris fire service spokesman, Eric Moulin.
:01:23. > :01:35.The BBC's Bethany Bell is in Paris with the details.
:01:36. > :01:42.The Paris firefighter commander was off duty today in his civilian
:01:43. > :01:47.clothes visiting a museum nearby and saw people running and came to see
:01:48. > :01:52.what was going on and saw on the ground people including two adults
:01:53. > :01:57.who were unconscious. He saw who was most serious and dead a quick triage
:01:58. > :02:01.and first aid and alerted emergency services and guided them so he had a
:02:02. > :02:04.most serious effect. The BBC's Bethany Bell
:02:05. > :02:15.is in Paris with the details. We have just heard a statement from
:02:16. > :02:20.the Interior Ministry in France saying these 11 people were struck
:02:21. > :02:33.by lightning. It is Parc Monceau, in quite a wealthy area not far from
:02:34. > :02:39.the Arc de riomphe. We understand these people had been having a
:02:40. > :02:43.children's's birthday party when the storm hit and some reports suggest
:02:44. > :02:48.they had been taking shelter under a tree. 11 people and your band
:02:49. > :02:53.reports on French television have suggested an off duty firefighter
:02:54. > :02:58.was wandering through the park and solve what had happened. He went ten
:02:59. > :03:02.and gave them first aid and authority said if he had not done
:03:03. > :03:03.that the situation would have been much worse. The injured have been
:03:04. > :03:07.taken to hospital. And a second lightning strike has
:03:08. > :03:10.struck on a soccer pitch in western Germany at the end of a match
:03:11. > :03:13.between children leaving 35 wounded The incident occurred
:03:14. > :03:16.at Hoppstadten, about 180 The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
:03:17. > :03:24.has echoed the view of the World Health Organisation
:03:25. > :03:26.that the Olympic Games should go ahead in August,
:03:27. > :03:29.despite calls for their postponement due to the Zika virus
:03:30. > :03:31.threat in Brazil. The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro,
:03:32. > :03:34.Eduardo Paes says thousands of health workers are monitoring
:03:35. > :03:36.the situation and inspections are being stepped up,
:03:37. > :03:59.with mosquito eradication teams Less than ten weeks ago until the
:04:00. > :04:03.world's best athletes are here competing for medals. A huge amount
:04:04. > :04:07.of work goes into hosting. The organisers scrambled to get
:04:08. > :04:11.everything ready and are also fighting a major public health
:04:12. > :04:16.emergency spread by mosquitoes. Tens of thousands of cases of the Zika
:04:17. > :04:20.virus leading to severe birth defects. 150 scientists and experts
:04:21. > :04:25.say it would be unethical for the games to go ahead. They say they're
:04:26. > :04:29.Dizzee Rascal the Olympics accelerating the spread of the virus
:04:30. > :04:34.and warn the Spain and Brazil has more serious medical consequences
:04:35. > :04:42.than previously known. 500,000 visitors are expected. It is not
:04:43. > :04:47.people coming from the UK but people coming from countries where malaria
:04:48. > :04:49.is endemic and taking it back to places in Asia and Africa where
:04:50. > :04:55.there already malaria and the chances of it becoming endemic is a
:04:56. > :04:59.much more serious problem. There is no known vaccine or cure although
:05:00. > :05:04.most people who get it have mild symptoms but it is suspected of
:05:05. > :05:10.leading to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains. In
:05:11. > :05:16.a letter the scientists say efforts to eradicate mosquitoes have failed.
:05:17. > :05:19.Zika has reached more than 60 countries and the World Health
:05:20. > :05:24.Organisation says it is bound to keep spreading but there is no need
:05:25. > :05:27.to change the date or venue. Based on a careful risk assessment and all
:05:28. > :05:31.the information gathered so far, these games should go ahead as
:05:32. > :05:38.planned and we should continue to work to make sure they are as safe
:05:39. > :05:42.as possible. The Olympic torch is already making its way and billions
:05:43. > :05:48.have been spent on construction and commercial rights. After political
:05:49. > :05:49.turmoil this is another blow for Brazil but it seems unlikely the
:05:50. > :05:52.games will be halted. Soren Holm is joining
:05:53. > :05:54.me from Manchester. He is a signatory of the open letter
:05:55. > :06:14.to the World Health Organisation. What is your reaction to the
:06:15. > :06:17.reaction? First of all I am surprised at how quickly they
:06:18. > :06:26.thought they could react because it was less than 12 hours after our
:06:27. > :06:32.letter was publicised that they actually felt they had secured
:06:33. > :06:36.enough evidence to answer. They didn't just spend 12 hours looking
:06:37. > :06:39.into it and presumably have been examining it since the outbreak
:06:40. > :06:45.began, not just since they got your letter? Of course they have been
:06:46. > :06:55.looking into Zika but our letter is about a specific issue which is the
:06:56. > :06:58.risk that having the Olympics will read to Zika spreading rapidly
:06:59. > :07:07.outside the Americas where it is currently contained. But why is your
:07:08. > :07:10.research more definitive than the World Health Organisation's
:07:11. > :07:19.research, and your opinion? What do you know that they don't? I think
:07:20. > :07:26.the difference is, and this has been evident in some of the commentary,
:07:27. > :07:31.that they are primarily looking at the number of people going and a bit
:07:32. > :07:37.of Brazil, and as you rightly say that number is always high, but the
:07:38. > :07:41.Olympics is a very specific global event which means that people from a
:07:42. > :07:48.number of countries who don't normally go to Brazil as two arrests
:07:49. > :07:59.will call, especially people from low income countries in the tropics,
:08:00. > :08:06.where the particular family of mosquito is endemic across the
:08:07. > :08:11.world. Why can we not just continue with the advice of if you are
:08:12. > :08:14.pregnant, don't go? What are the dangerous to other people if they
:08:15. > :08:23.are not pregnant or not trying to start a family? Why is it worrying
:08:24. > :08:34.you so much? It just takes one person to be infected and go back to
:08:35. > :08:39.an area where these mosquitoes are, and that that person is bitten by a
:08:40. > :08:48.mosquito back home, he or she can start a chain where the virus
:08:49. > :08:53.spreads in that country. Our worry is not primarily about the people
:08:54. > :08:59.going to reveal, because it is an unpleasant disease, but if you're
:09:00. > :09:06.not pregnant or planning on pregnancy, it is not that serious,
:09:07. > :09:10.but the problem is that you carry it for probably up to a couple of
:09:11. > :09:15.months after being infected, so going back to a place where there
:09:16. > :09:20.are the right kind of mosquitoes is highly problematic. So you are
:09:21. > :09:21.worried about the spread and we have to leave it there but thank you.
:09:22. > :09:24.The Russian Olympic Committee says eight Russian athletes are among
:09:25. > :09:26.those who've tested as positive for doping in re-tested samples
:09:27. > :09:32.The names of the eight athletes haven't been revealed
:09:33. > :09:34.but a statement said they came from three different
:09:35. > :09:39.The statement comes a day after the International Olympic
:09:40. > :09:42.Committee revealed that 23 athletes from the London Olympics
:09:43. > :10:07.Vladimir Putin has been taking part in celebrations at one of the most
:10:08. > :10:15.sacred sites Orthodox Christianity. The secluded monastery. One of the
:10:16. > :10:23.holiest sites for Orthodox Christians. Vladimir Putin's visit
:10:24. > :10:29.demonstrates further the deep ties between Greece and Russia, the two
:10:30. > :10:36.countries celebrate the same fate. The few hours he has spent here will
:10:37. > :10:40.resonate loudest in Russia. Russian monks have spent a life of players
:10:41. > :10:46.and communal work here for 1000 years. This is the year of the
:10:47. > :10:50.millennium celebrations of their presence on Mount Athos and a chance
:10:51. > :10:59.for a Vladimir Putin tissue of some Russian pride. The Russian President
:11:00. > :11:05.game to Greece with the intent of reinforcing the relationship was one
:11:06. > :11:09.of those few allies in the EU. In Athens, he offered a package of
:11:10. > :11:14.promises for investment. He was given words of support weeks before
:11:15. > :11:19.the EU is likely to renew sanctions imposed against Russia in 2014 over
:11:20. > :11:26.its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. The vicious circle of
:11:27. > :11:34.militarisation and cold War rhetoric and sanctions is not productive. The
:11:35. > :11:39.solution is dialogue. In front of discussions next month, Greece is
:11:40. > :11:44.unlikely to break ranks with the rest of the EU. Asked about the
:11:45. > :11:51.disputed region the Russian President stood firm. As for Crimea,
:11:52. > :11:56.we believe the issue has been closed. This is a historic decision
:11:57. > :12:01.of the people who live there and Russia will not get into any
:12:02. > :12:08.discussions about it. And so this was his first visit to an EU country
:12:09. > :12:12.this year. His next book remains unknown but it may be somewhere he
:12:13. > :12:20.can hope to weaken the unanimity of the union further. We will go back
:12:21. > :12:22.to our top story and those dreadful lightning strikes, one in Paris and
:12:23. > :12:26.one in Germany. With me now is Sarah Keith-Lucas
:12:27. > :12:37.from the BBC Weather centre. Is this just a freak coincidence
:12:38. > :12:43.that Paris and West Germany both get struck? It is fairly unusual that we
:12:44. > :12:50.have such widespread storms and it is not unusual this time of year, so
:12:51. > :12:56.late spring and summer is the peak time but the extent today has been
:12:57. > :13:00.phenomenal. Lightning detectors were recording up to 18,000 lightning
:13:01. > :13:06.strikes every hour. Very very widespread and intense. A
:13:07. > :13:10.slow-moving system that has been charming and developing throughout
:13:11. > :13:18.the day. The chances increase of such a wide area. How does lightning
:13:19. > :13:25.will work and just how much danger or Ian? What we need for these big
:13:26. > :13:30.thunderstorms we are seeing is that he thinks, heat, humidity and
:13:31. > :13:33.instability in the atmosphere. The has been coming up from North Africa
:13:34. > :13:40.and the Mediterranean pushing across parts of Italy and Germany, so these
:13:41. > :13:44.have been warming up and higher up in the atmosphere the pressure has
:13:45. > :13:49.been falling so layer on top of the hot air has lead to instability, so
:13:50. > :13:56.hot air rises and we have had these huge clouds developing. It is that
:13:57. > :14:01.upward movement, soak updraughts and downdraughts creating the cloud,
:14:02. > :14:05.becoming charged. That huge amount of electrical charge needs to
:14:06. > :14:10.discharge and finds the shortest route to conduct the electricity.
:14:11. > :14:15.And quickly, what would your advice be, to get indoors food is any
:14:16. > :14:22.chance? Absolutely, indoors as quick as you can and if you are out and
:14:23. > :14:27.but said beneath tall trees. If you are the trees look for the shortest
:14:28. > :14:35.three, move away from whatever and metal and isolated Paul objects.
:14:36. > :14:42.Don't go away, still to come. Remembering the Battle of Jutland,
:14:43. > :14:46.100 years after thousands of British and German sailors died in the
:14:47. > :14:59.largest naval battle of the First World War.
:15:00. > :15:10.The first of what the makers hope will be thousands of queues started
:15:11. > :15:13.forming at seven a.m.. Taunting letters scuffles and finally a
:15:14. > :15:21.full-scale riot. The Belgian police lost control. The whole world will
:15:22. > :15:30.mourn the tragic death today. He was the father of the Indian people. The
:15:31. > :15:35.Oprah Winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4500
:15:36. > :15:40.episodes. It has made her one of the richest people on the planet. She
:15:41. > :15:59.has announced she has left the Spice Girls. Quite?
:16:00. > :16:08.Two lightning strikes in Europe have no more than 40 people, some
:16:09. > :16:14.seriously. The World Health Organisation plays down concerns
:16:15. > :16:16.over the spread of the Zika Pieris amid calls from some scientists for
:16:17. > :16:18.the Olympics to be postponed. There have been reports of heavy
:16:19. > :16:21.fighting in northern Syria as militants from the Islamic State
:16:22. > :16:23.group launched an attack on a rebel-held town
:16:24. > :16:25.near the Turkish border. Aid workers fear thousands
:16:26. > :16:27.of civilians who are trapped in Marea, which is less than thirty
:16:28. > :16:29.kilometres from Turkey. IS has been attacking rebel-held
:16:30. > :16:33.towns in the area close to the city of Aleppo over the last few days -
:16:34. > :16:36.around the same time that Kurdish led forces in northeastern city
:16:37. > :16:38.began a new offensive close to their de facto
:16:39. > :16:52.headquarters of Raqqa. With me now is Peter Neumann
:16:53. > :17:10.from King's College London - What are Islamic state up to? Is
:17:11. > :17:15.this an act of desperation or are they trying to reclaim areas they
:17:16. > :17:20.have lost? An important thing to realise is that over the last 12
:17:21. > :17:25.months Islamic state have been losing territory. 40% of the
:17:26. > :17:31.territory they had held on 2014, 40% on the Syrian side. They are under a
:17:32. > :17:36.lot of pressure and on the defensive and what they are regrouping to do
:17:37. > :17:42.is to hold the two key cities. More so on the Iraqi side. I think the
:17:43. > :17:51.international coalition is starting to want to retake, starting and
:17:52. > :17:54.offensive. They are between two thorns because you have the western
:17:55. > :18:00.government and the coalition who want us to know they are winning the
:18:01. > :18:04.war against Islamic state and Islamic state are saying the same
:18:05. > :18:12.thing. A social media and propaganda war. How do we know Islamic speaker
:18:13. > :18:17.weaken -- Islamic state are weakening? The spokesman for Islamic
:18:18. > :18:21.state for the first time admitted they were under pressure and had
:18:22. > :18:28.lost leaders and territorial. Not doing deals with the Syrian
:18:29. > :18:36.government. Not really. What is happening is that they feel a lot of
:18:37. > :18:39.pressure and it is important to realise Isis is a transnational
:18:40. > :18:44.ideology which has supporters everywhere in the world and as any a
:18:45. > :18:50.lot of other places like Libya and Afghanistan and Nigeria and in those
:18:51. > :18:55.places, in some of those, it is actually expanding whilst it is
:18:56. > :19:01.under pressure. So where do you think Islamic state will be in a
:19:02. > :19:05.year or two or three years? It will be difficult to maintain themselves
:19:06. > :19:09.in Syria and Iraq even though there is a deep political alternative but
:19:10. > :19:15.they will continue to shrink, and they might respond by trying to
:19:16. > :19:19.respond by lashing out, possibly by carrying out terrorist attacks.
:19:20. > :19:28.Becoming bored of a terrorist group and less of an army on the ground?
:19:29. > :19:30.Going from being a state into an insurgent and a terrorist
:19:31. > :19:38.organisation, because that is also what are expecting. Whenever the
:19:39. > :19:40.terrorist attack happens they are hugely enthusiastic and
:19:41. > :19:45.reinvigorated and start believing in the organisation. If you want to
:19:46. > :19:53.save Isis is a brand that is what you have to do. Thank you. Let's
:19:54. > :20:03.catch up with the sport now. We're heading towards the closing
:20:04. > :20:05.stages of the Champions For the second time in 3 years
:20:06. > :20:09.it's a Madrid derby, and it's currently Real Madrid
:20:10. > :20:11.who have the advantage And just like the final
:20:12. > :20:15.between these sides in 2014, Real defender Sergio Ramos has scored -
:20:16. > :20:18.he got on the end of Wales' Gareth Bale's flick
:20:19. > :20:20.on at the near post. were awarded a penalty,
:20:21. > :20:27.but Antoine Griezmann hit it too So the score is still
:20:28. > :20:31.1-0 to Real Madrid. Hull City are back in
:20:32. > :20:39.the English Premier League. They beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in
:20:40. > :20:41.the championship play off final. It means they join Burnley
:20:42. > :21:02.and Middlesbrough in promotion it was a touch of absolute class
:21:03. > :21:08.that one this for Hull. The goal was scored by Mo Diame and it was that
:21:09. > :21:11.touch of quality that distinguished the sides in this disappointing
:21:12. > :21:16.performance as far as Sheffield Wednesday is concerned. Their
:21:17. > :21:20.goalkeeper was brilliant with two great saves and the only real chance
:21:21. > :21:27.when they offered was in the first-half. 70,000 people saw this
:21:28. > :21:32.but it has to be said that Hull have won it on merit and were the better
:21:33. > :21:36.side and even the Sheffield Wednesday fans leaving now seeing
:21:37. > :21:39.exactly that. It is Hull City who will be playing in the Premier
:21:40. > :21:39.League next season. And well done to them.
:21:40. > :21:41.There was another twist in the Formula one season
:21:42. > :21:44.as the Australian Daniel Riccardo secured his first ever pole position
:21:45. > :21:48.On a circuit notoriously difficult for overtaking, he will start ahead
:21:49. > :21:50.of Championship leader Nico Rosberg and the reigning champion
:21:51. > :21:54.Lewis Hamilton, whose car stalled in the final part of qualifying.
:21:55. > :22:02.England are closing in on victory in the second test
:22:03. > :22:07.Difficult qualifying and I don't really know what to say but the good
:22:08. > :22:12.thing is I got up to do a lap and it wasn't as bad as some of the races
:22:13. > :22:17.have been in that respect. I am grateful to be up in third and
:22:18. > :22:22.obviously pole position was there for the taking but I will do it I
:22:23. > :22:23.can tomorrow to salvage what they can.
:22:24. > :22:25.England are closing in on victory in the second test
:22:26. > :22:29.After setting a huge total, declaring on 498 Sri Lanka have
:22:30. > :22:36.crumbled in reply in their first innings.Moeen Ali did the damage
:22:37. > :22:39.for England with the bat as he hit an unbeaten 155.
:22:40. > :22:43.an almost certain follow-on after they slumped to 91
:22:44. > :22:48.for eight at the close, still 407 behind England
:22:49. > :22:52.Rain caused delays in Paris at the French Open -
:22:53. > :22:53.there's been thunder, lightning and power-cuts
:22:54. > :22:57.at Roland Garros, but it didn't stop world number one Novak Djokovic
:22:58. > :23:02.from making easy work of British number two Alijaz Bedene.
:23:03. > :23:04.He won in straight sets 6-2,
:23:05. > :23:07.Djokovic now faces Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut
:23:08. > :23:12.Saracens have become the first English rugby union side to complete
:23:13. > :23:14.a domestic and European double since 2004.
:23:15. > :23:17.They beat Exeter 28-20 in the Premiership final
:23:18. > :23:23.At Murrayfield, Connacht clinched their first Pro12
:23:24. > :23:26.title with a 20 points to 10 win over Leinster in an all-Irish final.
:23:27. > :23:44.A hundred years ago more than eight thousand British and German sailors
:23:45. > :23:46.died in the largest naval battle of the First World War,
:23:47. > :23:50.It took place in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark
:23:51. > :23:53.and today wreaths were laid at a service in Rosyth.
:23:54. > :24:06.a 36-hour battle that left so many dead.
:24:07. > :24:08.We come together today in remembrance and thanksgiving to
:24:09. > :24:15.honour all naval personnel who served in the Battle of Jutland.
:24:16. > :24:17.On 31st of May 1916, and June 1st,
:24:18. > :24:18.14 British and 11 German ships were sunk
:24:19. > :24:25.and more than 6,000 British servicemen were killed.
:24:26. > :24:28.The Battle of Jutland pitted the two most powerful naval
:24:29. > :24:31.forces of their time against each other.
:24:32. > :24:33.Although indecisive, it significantly weakened the
:24:34. > :24:35.German navy and changed the course of the war.
:24:36. > :24:37.Relatives of those who fought and died came to
:24:38. > :24:51.but her uncle, just 16, was killed.
:24:52. > :25:01.because, always, the tradition of commemoration
:25:02. > :25:05.and the rituals of commemoration are important,
:25:06. > :25:10.A series of commemorations will culminate on Tuesday,
:25:11. > :25:31.100 years to the day since the battle began.
:25:32. > :25:33.Eleven people -- most of them children --
:25:34. > :25:35.have been struck by lightning at a park in the French
:25:36. > :25:39.Another lightning strike at a children's football match
:25:40. > :25:42.in Hoppstadten in Germany is said to have injured 35
:25:43. > :26:01.This comes as fierce thunderstorms strike many countries across Europe.
:26:02. > :26:02.That is all from the programme and from me and the team, thanks for