Fresh anti-rebel protests in Yemen

24 January 2015 Last updated at 11:01

Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets in the capital Sanaa to protest against Shia Houthi rebels who have tightened their grip on the city.

Friday saw marches for and against the rebels, in the wake of the resignation of the Western-backed president and PM.

President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi had said he could not continue after the Houthis failed to honour a peace deal.

Protests against the rebels were also reported in a number of other cities on Saturday.

Parliament is due to meet on Sunday to discuss whether to accept President Hadi's resignation.

Security sources have told the BBC that Yemen's intelligence chief, Ali Hassan al-Ahmedi, has also stepped down.

BBC regional analyst Alan Johnston says that in the aftermath of President Hadi's resignation there's a sense that Yemen is leaderless and drifting through a dangerously uncertain political moment.

Ceasefire shattered

Demonstrators chanted "No to Houthis" as they headed towards President Hadi's home.

They demanded that he stay in power and impose the authority of the state despite the pressure from the rebels.

Houthi militiamen did not attempt to stop them.

Some reports said up to 10,000 people were taking part.

On Wednesday the president's home was shelled, shattering a ceasefire that had been agreed only hours earlier.

The ceasefire deal had met a series of rebel demands, including the expansion of Houthi representation in parliament and key state institutions.

In return, the rebels said they would pull back from their positions and free the president's chief-of-staff, who they have held for a week. But so far they have not done so.

Houthi gunmen also fired on Prime Minister Khaled Bahah's convoy earlier in the week and then laid siege to the palace where he was staying.

The Houthis, who follow a branch of Shia Islam known as Zaidism, have staged periodic uprisings since 2004 in an effort to win greater autonomy for their northern heartland of Saada province.

Since July the rebels have inflicted defeats on tribal and militia groups backed by the leading Sunni Islamist party, Islah, and battled al-Qaeda as they have pushed into central and western provinces.

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Brazil in 'worst water crisis'

24 January 2015 Last updated at 07:42

Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira has said the country's three most populous states are experiencing their worst drought since 1930.

The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais must save water, she said after an emergency meeting in the capital, Brasilia.

Ms Teixeira described the water crisis as "delicate" and "worrying".

Industry and agriculture are expected to be affected, further damaging Brazil's troubled economy.

The drought is also having an impact on energy supplies, with reduced generation from hydroelectric dams.

'Poor planning'

The BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro says Brazil is supposed to be in the middle of its rainy season but there has been scant rainfall in the south-east and the drought shows no sign of abating.

The crisis comes at a time of high demand for energy, with soaring temperatures in the summer months.

"Since records for Brazil's south-eastern region began 84 years ago we have never seen such a delicate and worrying situation," said Ms Teixeira.

Her comments came at the end of a meeting with five other ministers at the presidential palace in Brasilia to discuss the drought.

The crisis began in Sao Paulo, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been affected by frequent cuts in water supplies, our correspondent says.

Sao Paulo state suffered similar serious drought problems last year.

Governor Geraldo Alckmin has taken several measures, such as raising charges for high consumption levels, offering discounts to those who reduce use, and limiting the amounts captured by industries and agriculture from rivers.

But critics blame poor planning and politics for the worsening situation.

The opposition says the state authorities failed to respond quickly enough to the crisis because Mr Alckmin did not want to alarm people as he was seeking re-election in October 2014, allegations he disputes.

In Rio de Janeiro state, the main water reservoir has dropped to level zero for the first time since it was built.

Environment Secretary Andre Correa acknowledged that the state was experiencing "the worst water crisis in its history".

But he said there was enough water in other reservoirs to avoid rationing in Rio de Janeiro for at least another six months.

Mr Correa described the situation in Sao Paulo as "infinitely worse".

However, Rio and Minas Gerais are asking residents and industries to reduce water consumption by as much as 30%.

Are you in the affected area? Are your prepared for the drought? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist please include a contact telephone number.

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Rockets 'kill 10' in Ukraine port

24 January 2015 Last updated at 10:57

At least 10 people have been killed in a series of rocket attacks by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's government-held port of Mariupol, police there say.

The Grad rockets hit a market in a residential area in the east of the city, the police chief said.

A spokesman for the rebels denied that they had any involvement in the attack, calling it "blatant misinformation".

More than 5,000 people have died in fighting in the east since April.

The rebels have seized a large swathe of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. More than a million people have been displaced.

The main pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko, said on Friday that his troops were on the offensive and that he did not want truce talks with Kiev.

A ceasefire agreed in September but never fully took hold. Many hoped that the lower level of hostilities it introduced would last, but the BBC's David Stern says that the fighting is beginning to approach what was seen last summer.

'Very scared'

Mariupol has a population of 500,000 and is in a highly strategic position, sitting between rebel-held eastern areas and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last March.

The city saw heavy fighting in August.

Police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said on Saturday: "As a result of shelling by rebels of a residential sector of Mariupol, 10 people have been killed."

The rebels denied any involvement. Interfax news agency quoted the defence ministry of the Donetsk People's Republic as saying: "This is blatant misinformation and a lie. Rebel forces did not open any fire in the direction of Mariupol, especially not on residential areas."

One resident told Agence France-Presse by telephone: "Obviously, everyone in the city is very scared. The rebels have already seized the airport. And now they are starting to destroy Mariupol itself."

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, tweeted: "Today's indiscriminate shelling of Mariupol part of an apparently Russian-backed general offensive in complete violation of Minsk agreements."

On Friday, rebel military spokesman Eduard Basurin said 24 rebel troops had been killed and 30 wounded in recent fighting. He called it "the heaviest losses in our ranks" in a 24-hour period.

Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany have all issued calls for an end to the fighting.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Russian regular troops are fighting alongside the separatists, using Russian heavy artillery and tanks. Moscow insists that only Russian "volunteers" have joined the rebels.

Ukraine: the human cost

• Some 5.2 million people live in conflict-affected areas and 1.4 million are considered "highly vulnerable and in need of assistance"
• More than a million people have fled their homes with 633,523 living as displaced persons within Ukraine and 593,622 living outside Ukraine, mostly in Russia
• More than 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10,300 injured

Source: UN report of 9 January for refugee figures; news reports for casualty estimates

Donetsk airport: Ukraine's coveted prize

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Bid to raise AirAsia fuselage begins

24 January 2015 Last updated at 11:04

Salvage teams have begun an operation to raise the fuselage of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into the Java Sea last month killing all 162 on board.

However, the initial attempt was unsuccessful as ropes around the fuselage snapped.

Another four bodies have been recovered, bringing the total to 69, with more thought to be inside.

Indonesian officials believe the Airbus A320-200 may have climbed too fast to try to avoid a storm and stalled.

The jet was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

The plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were found last week.

A preliminary report on the crash is expected to be filed next week , although the full investigation will take months.

'Tangled yarn'

Divers entered the main section of the fuselage for the first time on Friday.

Poor weather and difficult sea conditions have hampered the salvage operation since the main section of the aircraft was found.

On Saturday, the salvage team tied a lifting bag to the wreckage which was capable of raising up to 10 tons.

However, seven metres (22ft) from the surface, strong currents and the sharp edges of the emergency door of the aircraft cut the rope connecting the bag to the fuselage.

Navy Rear Admiral Widodo, who is overseeing the operation from a nearby ship, told the BBC divers had to pad the sharp edges with rubber material and try again. However, strong underwater currents have delayed the second attempt.

It is believed the plane's cockpit may also be in the same area.

On Friday, Indonesian rescue agency official SB Supriyadi described the difficulties of the salvage: "The divers said it was dark inside, the seats where floating about and the wires were like a tangled yarn."

The head of Indonesia's transportation safety committee, Tatang Kurniadi, says a preliminary report on the crash is expected to be filed to the International Civil Aviation Organisation next week.

This week Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan told MPs that radar data had shown that the jet had climbed too fast - at a speed of 6,000ft (1,828m) a minute.

He said: "It is not normal to climb like that. It's very rare for commercial planes, which normally climb just 1,000 to 2,000 feet per minute. It can only be done by a fighter jet."

This caused he plane to stall, he said. When planes stall, their engines do not cut out but the wings no longer generate lift because there is not enough air passing over them, BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says.

The jet took off from Surabaya at 05:35 local time (22:35 GMT 27 December).

Shortly before it vanished, nearly halfway into the two-hour flight, its pilot contacted air traffic control to request permission to climb to 38,000ft from 32,000ft to avoid big storm clouds - a common occurrence in the area.

But heavy air traffic in the area meant he was not given permission to do so straight away.

When air traffic control tried to contact the plane again, there was no answer. The plane disappeared from radar screens shortly afterwards. It did not issue a distress signal.

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Video shows US police fatal shooting

22 January 2015 Last updated at 01:35

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The footage from a police dashboard camera shows the moments leading to the shooting

A video has been released which shows a black man being shot dead by US police officers as he stepped out of a car with his hands raised.

Jerame Reid was a passenger in a car pulled over by police in Bridgeton, New Jersey, for going through a stop sign.

Before opening fire, one officer warns his partner about seeing a gun.

The case follows months of protests over the killings of unarmed black men by white police officers in New York and Ferguson, Missouri.

However, one of the two officers involved in the Bridgeton altercation is black.

The newly released footage from a police dashboard camera shows police approach the car and then an officer warning his colleague about seeing a gun in the glove compartment.

An officer shouts at Jerame Reid to show his hands and warns him that: "If you reach for something, you're going to be... dead."

After the officer reaches into the car to retrieve what appears on the video to be a handgun, the car door opens and Jerame Reid steps out with his empty hands raised to his shoulders.

At that moment, the two officers fired several shots.

The killing on 30 December has already sparked protests in Bridgeton, a city of about 25,000 people south of Philadelphia.

The BBC's Nick Bryant in New York says the video is likely to inflame tensions further.

Both officers have been given leave pending an investigation by the Cumberland County prosecutor's office.

Activists say they want the prosecutor to transfer the case to the state attorney general.

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Monk's 'sexist insult' angers UN

22 January 2015 Last updated at 05:42

The UN human rights chief has called on Myanmar to condemn a Buddhist nationalist monk for calling a UN special envoy a "bitch" and a "whore".

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said Ashin Wirathu's comments amounted to "incitement to hatred".

The comments related to South Korean envoy Yanghee Lee, who was in Myanmar last week to address the plight of its Muslim minority.

Wirathu spent almost a decade in jail for inciting anti-Muslim violence.

The monk is a leader of the 969 movement, which says Myanmar should remain a Buddhist country and calls for restrictions and boycotts on Muslims.

Mr Zeid called the language "sexist" and "insulting".

"I call on religious and political leaders in Myanmar to unequivocally condemn all forms of incitement to hatred including this abhorrent public personal attack," Mr Zeid said in a statement.

'Systematic discrimination'

Since the end of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma, in 2011, Buddhist nationalism, largely led by monks including Wirathu, has been energised.

In 2012, scores of people died and thousands were left homeless after violence broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state, mostly from the Rohingya minority. Anti-Muslim violence has flared several times since then.

The UN says the Rohingya are being persecuted, and last week passed a resolution calling on Myanmar to give them citizenship.

Ms Lee, who was on a 10-day trip to the South East Asian country, said the Rohingya faced systematic discrimination.

She criticised draft legislation, proposed by a coalition of nationalist Buddhist monks, that includes curbs on interfaith marriage and religious conversions.

Last Friday, Wirathu spoke at a public rally where he criticised the UN interference and personally attacked Ms Lee, according to local media.

"We have explained about the race protection law, but the bitch criticised the laws without studying them properly," he said from the stage to the crowd.

"Don't assume that you are a respectable person because of your position. For us, you are a whore."

In his statement, Mr Zeid said instead of focussing on people, leaders should address the substance of the concerns raised by the special envoy.

On Wednesday, Myanmar's government said it was investigating the speech.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Yangon said monks are a powerful political lobby in Myanmar.

With a general election this year the question now is which leaders will speak up and risk Wirathu and the monks turning on them, he adds.

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Anti-IS coalition meets in London

22 January 2015 Last updated at 09:26

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James Robbins reports on efforts to find a strategy for fighting Islamic State

Foreign ministers from 22 countries are meeting in London to discuss ways to co-ordinate their efforts to combat the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

IS controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq and the US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes since August.

But UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond insisted much more needed to be done.

He told the BBC that the countries wanted to find ways to halt the flow of recruits to IS, cut off its funding and "tackle the underlying narrative".

They will also look at providing more military assistance to those fighting IS on the ground, and more humanitarian aid to its victims.

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says the recent attacks by Islamist militants in France have put even greater political pressure on governments to show decisive results.

'Greater resolve'

Before leaving Washington to co-host Thursday's talks with Mr Hammond, US Secretary of State John Kerry said violent extremists hoped such attacks would drive the coalition apart.

"But in fact, their actions have had the opposite effect," he stressed. "They're bringing us together with greater determination, with greater resolve to be able to get the job done."

A senior US state department official said foreign fighters would be the "real focus" of the London conference, and that an expert working group would be formed to discuss sharing information to stop them travelling.

The European police agency, Europol, estimates that up to 5,000 EU citizens have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight. Thousands of others have travelled from Arab and Muslim states.

Looking back at the past five months, Mr Hammond said the coalition's strategy had arrested the momentum of Islamic State, whose advance across Iraq began in June when it routed several army divisions and captured the northern city of Mosul.

"The engagement of the coalition and the beginning of air strikes against [IS] positions halted that advance and in some cases it has begun to turn it back," he told the BBC.

The state department official said the air campaign had "taken offline [Islamic State's] ability to command and control, their ability to mass and manoeuvre".

"And they've gone from a force that was very much capable militarily to conduct fairly large-scale offensive operations to a force that is now digging in for defensive operations."

What is Islamic State (IS)?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, Western journalists and aid workers
• The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria

But Mr Hammond warned that there was "a big job ahead of us".

"We are building the Iraqi security forces from a state of disarray and poor training and poor leadership... for what will be need to be a sustained offensive against [IS] forces on the ground."

"It will be months yet before they are ready to start significant combat operations."

Speaking in Iraq before flying to London, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the international community needed to do more to train and equip ground forces.

"We are in this almost on our own," he told the Associated Press. "There is a lot being said and spoken, but very little on the ground."

In Syria, the US and its Western allies are relying on "moderate" rebels to take the fight to IS, and are reluctant to co-operate with President Bashar al-Assad, who they want out of power.

The rebels have received some training and equipment from the US, but have so far been unable to dislodge the jihadists from their strongholds in the country's north and east.

The countries taking part in the conference along with the US and UK are Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

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Ukraine troops retreat from airport

22 January 2015 Last updated at 10:26

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Drone footage filmed on Sunday shows the war-torn remains of Donetsk's airport

Ukraine's defence ministry says its troops have withdrawn from the main terminal of Donetsk airport, the scene of bitter fighting in recent weeks.

It said the military retained control of parts of the airport, but that six soldiers had died and 16 were wounded.

In Donetsk itself, at least nine people were killed when a civilian bus was hit by shelling.

Fighting between the army and Russian-backed separatists has intensified in and around rebel-held Donetsk.

More than 4,800 people have been killed and some 1.2 million displaced since pro-Russian rebels seized parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in April.

The rebel movements followed Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March.

The deaths come after Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany issued a joint call to end fighting in the east.

They also agreed on a line of demarcation between separatists and government forces from which both sides are meant to withdraw their forces, but so far this has not been carried out.

The airport just outside Donetsk, which is no longer in use, has taken on symbolic value for both separatists and the government.

Ukraine's defence ministry said 20 Ukrainian soldiers had withdrawn from the main terminal because their positions were destroyed and they were under direct shelling.

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Scene of the attack at a Donetsk bus stop

The loss of the main terminal is a major blow to pro-Kiev forces and will send political shockwaves back to the capital, the BBC's David Stern reports from Kiev.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shelling of the bus, but the defense ministry blamed separatists, saying their own forces were 15km (9 miles) away.

Some reports, citing local officials, said that as many as 13 people had died.

Last week, 13 people were killed when a bus was struck by artillery fire in Buhas, south-west of Donetsk.

Ukraine says Russia has more than 9,000 soldiers fighting alongside the rebels, a claim that Moscow denies.

Have you been affected by the recent events in Donetsk? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experience.

Please include a telephone number if you can be contacted by a BBC journalist.

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France boosts anti-terror strategy

21 January 2015 Last updated at 10:47

France is to create 2,680 new jobs and boost spending by 425m euros (£325m) to bolster counter-terrorism efforts, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said.

He said such resources were crucial to dealing with an expanded extremist threat, with 3,000 people currently requiring surveillance across France.

Mr Valls was laying out the government's plans following attacks in Paris in which 17 were killed.

Earlier, a prosecutor gave details on four men charged over the attacks.

Three of the men are alleged to have helped supply arms to Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to have shot dead a policewoman on 8 January, a day before attacking a Jewish supermarket in Paris where four hostages were killed.

On 7 January two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, attacked the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12. All three gunmen were shot dead by police.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said that international co-operation with authorities in Turkey, Spain and Belgium would continue, as investigators sought information on possible accomplices, the suspects' travel records, and information about how they got their weapons.

Announcing new counter-terrorism resources, Mr Valls said security forces would be provided with better equipment and protection, including bullet-proof vests.

"We will pursue this fight against terrorism relentlessly," he said.

Since the attacks, France has deployed more than 10,000 troops across the country to protect public spaces and sensitive sites such as schools, synagogues and mosque.

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Obama demands spread of wealth

21 January 2015 Last updated at 09:34

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President Obama: "Tonight we turn the page"

US President Barack Obama has declared an end to the financial crisis and pledged economic policies to benefit all Americans, in his annual State of the Union address to Congress.

In a speech devised to appeal to working families, Mr Obama outlined his strategy for "middle-class economics".

"It's now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years," he said.

But the plans are unlikely to make it past a Republican-controlled Congress.

Analysis: BBC's North America editor, Jon Sopel

Most of this speech must be seen as essentially aspirational, given the Republican control of both houses of Congress - and their antipathy towards the president

So if this speech stands little chance of becoming legislative reality, what was it all about?

First of all legacy. This is a president who seems to be following Winston Churchill's maxim that history is written by the winners.

A rock star sealing his legacy

In a speech which he described as more focused on values than policies, Mr Obama declared America had turned a page after the worst recession since the Depression.

The president said he planned to build on this growth by providing working families with help in the form of sick and maternity leave and affordable childcare.

"Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?"

Mr Obama's speech included plans to build a competitive economy by improving America's infrastructure and providing free access to community college.

"This plan is your chance to graduate ready for a new economy, without a load of debt," he said.

At the weekend, the White House pledged to close tax loopholes on large inheritances, raise capital gains tax on the richest earners from 23.8% to 28% and introduce new fees on US financial firms with assets about $50bn.

Some senior members of the Republican party dismissed this as "class warfare".

Other plans outlined by the president include:

• improve statutory sick leave and minimum wage
• help nine million students to pay for community college
• stronger cybersecurity and consumer protection
• continue with plans to shut the prison in Guantanamo
• equal pay for men and women

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The BBC's Katty Kay says battle lines are clearly drawn

On foreign policy, Mr Obama said America reserved the "right to act unilaterally" in hunting down terrorists and called on Congress to pass a resolution to authorise the use of force against Islamic State.

The president reiterated his belief that the US could negotiate an agreement to prevent Iran gaining nuclear weapons and said he would veto any new sanctions bill which threatens this.

He said his decision to end America's long-standing policy on Cuba and try something new had the potential to "end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere".

Alan Gross, who was recently released after spending five years in a Cuban prison, was among Michelle Obama's guests to hear the president.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced the speech as an indication of what he said was the determination of the US to dominate international affairs.

"Americans have set a course for confrontation," Mr Lavrov said. "Obama's address yesterday shows that there's just one thing at the heart of [their] philosophy: 'We are number one'... It shows that the United States wants to dominate the world."

'Best for America'

In ending his address, Mr Obama said he was optimistic he could work with Congress, despite months of political gridlock.

"I have no more campaigns to run. My only agenda for the next two years is the same as the one I've had since the day I swore an oath on the steps of this Capitol - to do what I believe is best for America," he said.

But consensus with the Republican party on many of the issues he outlined is unlikely.

In their official rebuttal, Republican senator and rising star, Joni Ernst, said Americans have not seen solutions from Mr Obama and criticised his health and immigration policies.

"Americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare," she said

The senator called on Mr Obama to work with Republicans on issues where they might have common ground - including a trade deal and tax code reform.

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