and gorgeous. and not like ours at all. go and smell the roses! hello. this is "bbc world news". our top stories. pope francis welcomes president obama to the vatican. as the two leaders meet for the first time. could these satellite images show the debris of the missing malaysian airliner? up to 300 objects are found floating in the southern indian ocean. after 46 years on death row, why this japanese man has finally been granted a retrial. and what does it take to be

a member of a band like this? we'll go to mariachi school in mexico. thanks for joining us. a moment of history in the vatican this morning. president obama met pope francis for the first time, only a year since the pope too office. two of the most powerful and influential men in the world shook hands before heading into the meeting. although they agree on many issues, including abortion and gay marriage, they have some fight on global policy. he was watching the meeting as it happened. these images do contain flash photography. >> reporter: we saw president

obama get delivered by his calf kade into the heart of the papal palace and through the corridors of the papal palace, eventually meeting pope francis in a room outside the papal library. and then the two of them went into the small throne room where they were to conduct their meeting. and you're right. the atmosphere, the body language seemed pretty much as good as it could be. mr. obama famously relaxed in easy. the two of them chatted. we know now that president obama said that he was a great admirer of the pope, thanked him for the audience. and we know indeed that president obama is an admirer of pope francis in the hours before this meeting, interview with one of the big newspapers here in which president obama couldn't

have been more generous in his praise of the pope said he was a man who didn't just preach the gospel but lived it. said the pope was right to focus on global poverty around the world. right to say that too many people left behind in the process of globalization. right to remind the world it's too easy to become too ready to accept the gross in equalities that we see around us in so many countries. and president obama feels this is his fight too. he was fighting the same issues at home in the united states. he clearly hopes in pope francis he can build an alliance around this crucial issue, to build a slightly ferrer world. >> alan, lofty ambitions and lofty ideals. but away from the great photo oprtunity and the warm words, what's the politics of this? can either man really influence the other? >> reporter: well, there is perhaps a huge amount of

symbolism and you might say less substance to this. but certainly the vatican is happy to see a man of the standing of the president of the united states coming to their door. it shows that the world really is listening. and more and more as it goes on, the pope is making a real impact. if you want to talk about some of the lower level politics on the american side, then of course this is a very popular pope. and this is a president who is struggling a little in terms of his popularity rating just ahead of important midterm elections. and this is a photo opportunity that will do no harm at all, with the hispanic voters, oeft move them of course catholic, mr. obama looks to come election day. >> satellites spotted up to 300 objects which may be debris from the missing malaysian airlines.

a passenger plane disappeared three weeks ago. they measure 2 and 15 meters in length. they were spotted 200 kilometers south of the area which french satellite photos indicated more than 100 objects could be floating in the sea. as for the search itself, bad weather and near zero visibility have forced all planes to pull out of the area deep in the southern indian ocean. these purple boxes here. this was the area where the australian led search teams were concentrating their efforts before heading back to perth. so far no debris at all has been recovered. there's no sign of the black box recorders which may unravel mv flight 370. i asked ahead of the technology agency about this new satellite image. >> we took this image on the

24th of marat 03 british time. so it was taken as a part of the -- as cooperation we have with malaysian government and disaster relief. so the location that we took is -- that we spot this objects were 200 kilometers southwest of the area by a french satellite earlier. >> now, can i understand these pictures, is it unusual to see this many in this area when your satellite has passed over it before? >> that's right. because this area is very much in the open ocean.

and there's no other natural reasons why they have a lot of objects. we have confirmed that these are real objects but not the silhouettes, not the clouds. but we cannot identify what they are. because the resolution we have on the satellites is not high enough. but it could detect they are at least in one scene of about 420 square kilometers. there are at least 200 or 300 objects floating in that area. >> well, lucy williamson is in kuala lumpur for us. before i ask about the images from thailand, i understand malaysian authorities for the first time in three weeks didn't

have their daily press briefing but issued a statement instead. >> reporter: that's right. they said they didn't have much to update us with. it's the first time really apart from one erratic incident when there hasn't been a daily press briefing. certainly it's a date when despite satellite images there was nothing for the search teams to bring a shores to have a look at. no concrete evidence. here people have left very much in limbo. almost every evening there's a ceremony for commemoration for flight mh-370. commemoration is happening here at the national mosque behind me. government ministers, families and friends of those on board the flight will be coming here to offer up prayers to remember those on board. >> i know there are still so much determination to find out what happened. but i do wonder if you get any

sense of fatigue sitting in here. >> i think this is turning into a two-speed process. i think on the one hand you have the malaysian government reaching their conclusions that the plane has been lost. you have lawsuits prepared to sue the aircraft manufacturer. at the same time you have the search not turning up any concrete evidence. you have families in limbo, not able to move on. it is very much a two-speed pose with things moving in different directions. >> lucy, good description. thanks very much for that. well, the family of a japanese man, this man who spent 46 years on death row, are celebrating after he was granted a retrial. a former professional boxer was accused of murdering the boss of

the factory where he worked, and his wife and two children. >> it's been a 50-year wait. they have grant aid retrial and ordered his release. his sister has stood by him, almost ununderstandably overjoyed. she thanked everyone who helped to release her brother. he was convicted of murdering his boss, the man's wife and their two children. he initially confessed but said the police have beaten that out of him. dna evident now suggests he was not the killer. the judge said investigators probably fabricated evidence. for these supporters, his innocence has never been in doubt. michael bristow, bbc. he will stand in egypt's

forth coming elections. he announced it in a televised address in which he resigned his military position. we were watching from cairo. >> reporter: announcing his farewell to arms, still wearing military fatigues, in this televised address to the nation, abdul fatah al seesy said he was given up his uniform after 44 years to take on a new and difficult mission. we have to be honest with ourselves, he said. our country is facing monument al challenging. our economy is weak. and millions are unemployed. his political a ssent began last july. many saw cissi as their savior.

in the historic cairo district where he group, there's plenty of appetite for a stronger leader, for a new pharaoh who can bring stability. his relatives remain working in the family business. his cousin shows me the intricate arabesque work he learned as a boy. even though we are happy, he told me, we realize he's facing a big burden. the nation has gone through tough times. he has to correct that. as happy as we are, we also pity him. field marshall al cissi is guaranteed a resounding victory at the polls. but egyptians have swept away two presidents in the last three

years. if he can't tackle the economic and security problems here, he could lose support fast. highs already hated by some because of the crackdown. more than 1,000 protesters have been killed, mostly islamists. thousands more behind bars. the opposition can't campaign freely. the former candidate says egypt is now a republic of fear. >> translator: personal rights and freedoms have been at their lowest. something egypt has never seen, even in the worst times of the regimes. >> once again, they look set to have another leader who hails

from the army. just three years after the revolution, which was supposed to end decades of military rule. >> i hope you can stay with us here on "bbc world news". still to come, turning up the heat as imf agrees an interim bail-out deal for ukraine. soon, the world's most intelligent servers, designed by hp, will give ups over twice the performance, using forty percent less energy. multiply that across over a thousand locations, and they'll provide the same benefit to the environment as over 60,000 trees. that's a trend we can all get behind.

my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems,

especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. this is "bbc world news". let's update the headlines. pope francis met president obama at the vatican. it's their first meeting together and they focused on global poverty. investigators examine satellite images appearing to show debris from a missing airliner. 300 objects were found floating in the southern indian ocean. more than $600 million worth of unwanted items from sofas and

kettles, dishwashers and coats end up in landfill in the uk despite the fact that they are still in condition good enough to use. now we are all being encouraged to think a little more carefully before we throw things away. >> we're often told that we live in a disposable, a throwaway society. but can we change? this site handles 16 tons of waste every year, but it recycles 82% of it. that means only 18% at the moment, less than a fifth of the stuff that comes through here, actually ends up in landfill. >> that looks brand-new. >> yeah. >> okay. now, that is brand-new. obviously we could put this in ourselves, but we will have to stick it on the side of it. >> suitable items are fished out

and sold at the on-site shop. the proceeds go back to the country that runs the depot. >> you're going to sell it on ebay? >> yes. there's no name on it, though. i'm sure somebody will love it. >> so how often do you come up here and pick up bits and bobs? >> twice. >> twice a day. you came to drop something off and you have taken something. how much did you pay? >> 4 pound. >> they are proud of their recycling. >> it is still thrown away as residual waste. we burn it. it is encouraging people to recycle or bring their stuff here. >> according to today's report by the local government association, it puts the value

of good being thrown away in england at 435 million pounds. of those in terms of weight, 440,000 tons that could be reused go into landfill. back in 1980, the sofa project charity started in bristol. the idea was to recycle unwanted items to be sold to those on a low income. >> if you get a cooker out of the box and you find it is damaged or something like that, like this one here, we'll do some tin bashing on that, clean up in the damage on the front. hey, you have a new cooker. >> there are now 300 similar organizations across the uk. whether it's reusing or recycling, as we produce more, we face the challenge of what to do with these items once we have finished with them. john maguire, bpc news, bristol. happy to say aaron is here

with all the business news. i don't know if you're much of a recycle. >> like the old lady, i would like to go there on my time off and find good deals and then make some money. hello there. the international monetary fund, imf has agreed an interim bailout deal with ukraine known by as a stand-by agreement. the loan will be worth $14 billion to $18 billion. of course much needed money. it is to stop the country defaulting on its debt. it could take the full bailout package to around $27 billion the next two years, all subject to an economic reform program. we know that talks between the two sides were quite extensive. they concluded on wednesday they would increase gas prices, listen to this, going to increase gas prices for domestic customers by 50 percent. that's a big chunk.

bowing to imf pressure to remove the quite big subsidies ukraine has always had. more on that during "gmt". how about this one, we're also looking at the rise of etihad airways. could be poised to take control of the budget carrier air berlin, which has a major stake. air bill in right here was due to announce its results today. early this morning, in fact. it has postponed that announcement pending talks on, and i quote, strengthening its finances. of course the deal with etihad would be the latest aggressive move into the european market. boy, let me tell you, it is a trend that certainly has european rivals increasingly worried. we will keep across that story. more on the search for the malaysian airlines flight 370. on wednesday, u.s. lawyers filed preliminary papers for lawsuits against both malaysian airlines

as well as the manufacturer of the plane boeing. they will be seeking millions of dollars of dimension for the families of each passengers and focusing on design or manufacturing defects that may have had caused the plane to crash. is it too early? no wreckage has been found. is it too early to point fingers at perhaps boeing or malaysian airlines. talking of tweets, twitter twaoet mtweet me. follow me on twitter. i'll tweet you back. aabbcaaron. twitter me. you looked shocked there. >> i do. let's get a round-up of the other news at this hour. the government of the philippines has signed a agreement with the biggest muslim rebel group. formal peace talks between the government began in 2001. it grants largely muslim areas

of the southern region greater political autonomy in exchange to an end for the armed rebel yon. two firefighters killed and 13 injured in boston. michael kennedy and walsh were overcome. the city's mayor did call it a sad day for boston. let's go to mexico next. because the mariachi has a bit of a reputation for being music aimed at tourists. they stand hoping to find people who will pay to hear a song. but the leading mariachi economy take it very seriously indeed. the american-born director of mexico city's mariachi school. ♪

>> when people want to listen to live music, they want to hear their song. they want the mariachi to perform what they are feeling at that moment. and that can be done. there's a music for every occasion. there's a music for every sentiment as well. ♪ >> my name is leticia. >> the school opened october 2012. we have about 200 students right now. they call it the mecca of mariachi musicians. you can come to this plaza and listen to mariachi music, pay

for it by the song. many musicians will stand there and flag down cars and say, hey, if you want a group you can hire us. so they are fighting for their customers. during the 1950s and 1960s when mariachi groups were then asked to accompany some of the most renowned artists of the time, they had to learn the music that they were going to perform. and it took way too long to teach them what they had to play. so it became important for them to have some kind of formal training and to learn how to read music so they could perform it and learn it on the spot. i started performing the music when i was in junior high school. it was an important part of my own identity as a mexican-american in the united states. i embraced it with everything i had. i decided at some point i have to tkao something with this music. it can't be something you just perform on the weekend.

my goal is for this not to be the only formal mariachi school in mexico. my goal is for there to be the opportunity to open another school with similar aims in other states. mariachi is everywhere. it's all over the world. >> i quite enjoyed that. still more to come on "bbc world news". ♪ [ man ] but what about when my parents visit? okay. just love this one. it's next to a park. [ man ] i love it. i love it, too. here's your new house. ♪ daddy! [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow. i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game.

i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

grareal ginger. real taste.e. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. real ahhh

our top stories. after a warm welcome, a gentle good-bye. pope francis met president obama at the vatican. could these satellite images show the debris of the missing malaysian airliner. up to 300 objects are found floating in the southern indian ocean. after 46 years on death row, why this japanese man has finally been granted a retrial. and egypt's general cissi at

last declared he will run for president. he makes his pitch to run the country. thanks for joining us. it was a moment of history at the vatican. president obama meeting pope francis for the first time, only a year since the pope took office. two of the most powerful and influential men in the world shook hands in the vatican's apostolic palace before a meeting which lasted about an hour. though they agree on many issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, they have some common ground on the fight against global poverty. he was watching in it happened. these next images have some

flash photography. we saw president obama get delivered by his motorcade into their cobbled courtyard in the heart of the papal pass lass and processed through the magnificent marble corridors in the papal palace, meeting pope francis in a room outside the papal library. then the two went into the small throne room where they were to conduct their meeting. you're right, the atmosphere seemed as good as it could be. mr. obama, relaxed and easy. the two of them chatted. we know how that president obama said he was a great admirer of the pope, thanked him for the

audience. and we know indeed that president obama is an admirer of pope francis. in the hours before this meeting, interview with one of the big newspapers here in which president obama couldn't have been more generous in his praise of the pope said he didn't just preach the gospel but lived it. said the pope was right to focused on global poverty around the world. and right to say too many people had been left behind of globalization. it's too easy to accept the gross in equalities we see around us in so many countries. president obama feels this is his fight too. this shared concern over efforts to build a slightly fairer world. alan, lofty ambitions and lofty ideals. away from the great photo opportunity and the warm words, what's the politics of this? can either man really influence the other? >> well, there is a huge amount

of symbolism and less substance to this. but certainly the vatican is happy to see a man of the standing of the president of the united states coming to their door. it shows the world is listening more and more as the papacy goes on you get the sense that this pope is making a real impact. if you want to talk about some of the lower level politics on the american side, then of course this is a very popular pope. this is a president who is struggling a little in his terms of popularity rating just ahead of important midterm elections. and this is a photo opportunity

this may be debris from the malaysian airlines debris from the plane that disappeared three weeks ago. it measures 2 and 15 meters in length. they were spotted 200 kilometers south of the area in which french satellite photos indicated more than 100 objects could be floating in the sea. as for the search itself, bad weather and near zero visibility caused them to pull deep auto into the australian ocean. that's where they were concentrating their efforts before heading back to perth. so far no debris at all has been recovered. there's been no sign of the black box flight recorder. this may unravel the mystery of what happened to flight mh-370. jonathan head with the latest in perth.

>> reporter: i almost lost count of the missions across the indian ocean. they have seen almost nothing at all. we are standing here at the air base. it's hard to imagine just how rough conditions can get out over the ocean. we are approaching the southern hemisphere weather. weather condition can deteriorate like today where a search was almost impossible. finding anything at all amid the waves is extremely difficult. it requires intense concentration and a great deal of luck. and that tells you just how tough this operation is. it's not for nothing. aviation experts are saying this is probably the most difficult search in modern aviation history. there's no doubt the dedication of these crews. they know how important their

job is. remember, unless they find something, unless they stop debris, even if it was seen in the satellite days ago, they have to find it first before it can be pbgd up. there's no way the investigation into what happened of flight mh-370 can be completed until these guys find something. they have not had any luck yet. they will keep going. so much depends on the weather. >> that was jonathan head there in perth. chinese insurance companies started paying compensation to the families of passengers aboard the malaysian airlines planes. the families of seven passengers have received almost $700,000 all up. the money comes from china life, the country's largest insurance company. >> for a start, laws are involved in this. we had the announcement recently from the malaysian government that the aircraft almost

certainly came down in the southern indian ocean. it says that has probably triggered the payments. china life paid out $670,000 to the families of seven passengers. the firm actually did have 32 on board that plane. it expects to make further payouts. the overall payout will be $1.3 million. other firms are reportedly making payouts including sunshine inches and china pacific. >> these are life insurance payments. >> it would have been part of their ticketing arrangements. passengers on any aircraft flying anywhere in the world are covered by the montreal convention, an international agreement about how much passengers should be compensated in the event of an accident or their relatives. malaysian airlines has a strict

liability of $175,000 per passenger. that's what they obviously have to pay out. obviously they can appeal for higher payouts. that will have to be met by malaysian airlines insurer. >> we have just seen a little bit of news here about some sort of lawsuit out of the u.s. tell us more about that. >> this is likely to be the first of many i think. it specializes in aviation accidents. it is planning to file a lawsuit in american court against malaysian airlines and boeing. it seems to be a little bit speculative at this stage because we don't know what happened to the aircraft. american law firms do like to get in early. and the firm says it expects to represent half of the passengers on board. >> they are saying here one of the theories there was a failure of equipment in the cockpit that may have caused a fire that rendered the crew unconscious.

it feels a little early to be talking about all the speculation. we haven't found anything yet. >> i imagine that would be a problem going forward. we haven't found anything yet in there is no roof about what happened to the aircraft. the proof will not be found until the flight data recorder is found. that's lying under the ocean, probably about four kilometers down. we are a lot closer to finding it today than we were a couple of days ago. there are lots of images on satellite of potential debris. until a piece of debris is found and identified as part of the aircraft, it's impossible to narrow it down enough to submarines, ping locators the high-tech technology can be found. >> german airports as ground staff, maintenance staff hold a strike. most of the country's major

airports including frankfurt, the third largest. >> it has been one of the worst kept secrets the head of the egyptian army has confirmed he will stand in the forthcoming presidential elections. he made his announcements in a televised address. with me is muhammad to talk more about this. worst kept secret in the world. i guess the timing is interesting. >> yeah. now, since the ousting of the muslim brotherhood government in june last year, which assisi led, he mappinged to rise sentiments which put him in the position where he is now in a

place where he is almost guaranteed to win the elections. he enjoys support from considerable large section of the egyptian public. but of course on the other hand there's the pro muslim brotherhood supporters are vehemently against them. >> we have just watched the televised address in which he not only announced his intention but resigned from the military as well. what did you make of that? >> it was 13-minute statement that was played on primetime tv last night in egypt. he made some indications about, you know, wanting to restore respect to the government authority and that he doesn't have magical solution but he urges egyptians to work very

hard which almost indicates that he will not be very willing to tolerate strikes and demonstrations and sit-ins which has been disrupting life for the past three years in egypt. >> we're talking about a presidential election. however, in terms of other candidates and opponents to field marshall al assisi, will there be any? >> so far we know of one candidate zabahi. he enjoys some popularity but not as much of course as al assisi which has the whole government, media machine backing him. >> you're egyptian. how do you think people feel about the fact that another military man, it looks like a foregone conclusion, may once again resume power in egypt? >> if you ask this question in egypt you get different answers depending who you ask it to.

some see it as a savior. and the only person who has the power and the authority to transform the country and we turn it into stability. on the other hand, if you ask somebody from the muslim brotherhood they will say that he killed their colleagues, jailed many thousands of people. and very strongly against him. >> a lot to watch. thanks for your announcements. appreciate it. hope you can stay with us here on "bbc world news". the defense case in the oscar pistorius murder trial starts on friday. we look at the chances of the athlete given his own testimony. check it out.

i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

this is "bbc world news". let's have a look at the latest

headlines. after a warm welcome and gentle good-bye, pope francis met president obama at the vatican. their first meeting together and they focused on global positive. . investigators examine satellite images appearing to show debris from the missing malaysian airliner. 300 objects were found floating in the southern indian ocean. the family of a japanese man who spent 46 years on death row are celebrating after he was granted a retrial. he is a former professional boxer. he was convicted of murdering the boss of the factory where he worked and the man's family, including two children. but with me is our asia editor michael bristow. i think we have just received these pictures of him being released. 46 years on death row. >> indeed. 46 years. a judge earlier today ordered the release of iwa hakamata.

we are just seeing him walking from prison in tokyo to the celebration earlier of his family and his supporters who have argued all along that he was innocent. what happened was in 1966, four people died. his boss, his boss's wife and their two children. they were found stabbed in their home. the home was set on fire. and mr. hakamata was accused of the crime. he initially admitted to it but later at his trial pleaded not guilty saying the cop tpegz had been beat pen out of him by police. he was convicted and sentenced to death. over the ensuing decades over a number of legal battles culminating in this where an appeal court judge ordered his release. he has been released. we are waiting to see now whether there will be a retrial or not. that's what the judge initially ordered. >> in terms of his spending so much time on death row, i know this might sound like a silly

question, i wonder perhaps how was he on death row for so many years. how come the execution was never carried out? >> the legal processes just took so long. from the very beginning, mr. hakamata appealed again. that took a long time to go through the legal procedure, years, decades even. i think it was only 2008 that another was launched by his elderly sister which we have seen in pictures or celebrating with supporters his release. it's just been a long legal process. it seems very few people have actually successfully overturned conviction. just a hand full of people. so the legal process does seem to move slowly. it does appear to have come up with a new verdict in this case. >> these are pictures of people celebrating. he has had a lot of supporters campaigning, hasn't he? >> he has. they have never given up. you can see how pleased they

were. when they got the news from the appeals court judge they have been granted a real trial and has been released. >> extraordinary story. thank you for bringing it to us. government officials in soviet georgia have issued an arrest warrant unless he returns to the country today. they want to question him on several criminal investigations including the suspicious death of former prime minister. he currently does live abroad. he claims there has been a political witch-hunt against him and the previous government. one of osama bin laden's sons-in-law has been found guilty in new york of conspiring to kill u.s. citizens. he is the highest ranking al qaeda figure to be brought to trial on u.s. soil. >> reporter: the attacks of

september 11th forever changed america. almost 3,000 people were killed that day, and the country's war on terror began. this is the man who led the propaganda war, summoned by osama bin laden to a cave in afghanistan and told to deliver his message to the world. u.s. officials say he was part of what they call homicidal power hierarchy. in one video, the kuwaiti national promises no end to the storm of planes. he evaded capture for years. in 2002, he fled afghanistan for iran, where he remained more than a decade. then in february of 2013, he was arrested in a hotel in the turkish capital of ankara. and it was decided he would be deported to his home country to kuwait. on his way to kuwait, he was picked up by u.s. agents in amman, jordan, and flown to the united states. just blocks away from the site

of the world trade center, he faced trial here in federal court. on wednesday, he was convicted by conspireing to kill americans and providing support to al qaeda after a trial lasted three weeks. his lawyer says they will appeal the decision. >> it's not about words. it's not about association. there are clear requirements under the law. if you want to turn around and indict people for words, there's about 270 congressmen and women right now that have said pretty incindiary things about a lot of things. maybe we should start there. >> it's likely he will be sentenced to life in prison. >> the obama administration will likely see this as a legal victory. it strengthens the president's argument that it is possible to try high-profile terror suspects in civilian court and that it is an alternative to detaining suspects in guantanamo bay.

let's get a wrap-up of some other news this hour. the government of the philippines signed an historic peace agreement. formal peace talks between the government and the liberation front began in 2001. the agreement glantz large area. >> two firefighters killed and 13 injured in the u.s. city of boston. walsh and kennedy were overcome by flames in the basement of the three-story block of flats. a number of residents were rescued from the upper understand of the building. the city's mayor called it a sad day for boston. outspoken opposition legislator stripped of her job ldz she will continue. she described her dismissal as illegal.

the national assembly said she breached the constitution when she spoke at the organization of the american states. they have repeated called for the removal of the president nicolas maduro. lawyers for the south african paralympic champion oscar pistorius will open the case for the defense in pretoria on friday. he is standing trial for the murder of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp on valentine's day last year. the big question is whether they will put pistorius into the witness box to give his first-hand account of what happened that night. we have a look at what we learned so far in pretoria. >> reporter: it took place in a luxury housing estate behind me. the prosecution has finished putting its evidence before the court. they tried to paint a picture of gun crazy, wildly jealous of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp.

neighbors were amongst the first to testify, telling what they heard in the early hours of valentine's day last year. one witness told of being woken by a woman's blood-curdling screams. she said the cries for help were followed by gunshots. another thought people were fighting. but the defense says it's a case of mistaken identity and that oscar pistorius was the only one to call out for help. the toilet door which pistorius fired through has also made an appearance in court. a ballistics expert testified miss steenkamp was standing up facing the door when the first bullet hit her right hip, suggesting enough time for her to scream before being shot in the head. we've also heard character evidence. boxer kevin lorena told the court he was injured after oscar pistorius accidentally set off a gun in a crowded restaurant. he said mr. pistorius asked the friend to take the blame. the prosecution, hoping to

portray him as trigger happy and reckless with guns. a firearms specialist later testified pistorius fully understood he was only allowed to shoot if his life was in danger and knew the importance of identifying the target. messages between the couple have also been read out in court. one from reeva steenkamp to pistorius said, i'm scared of you sometimes. >> the prosecution says oscar pistorius murdered reeva steenkamp in a fit of jealous rage. he said he shot her thinking she was an intruder in his bathroom. if convict he could face a life sentence. before we go, let's remind you of our top story this hour. president obama has met pope francis for the first time only a year since the pope took office. they are two of the world's most powerful and influential men. they shook hands in the vatican's apostolic poll lass before heading into a meeting

which lasted almost an hour. they do disagree, on many issues including abortion and gay marriage but they do have common ground when it comes to the fight against global poverty. that's it from me here on "bbc world news". still plenty more to come. you can catch up with me on twitter. hope dow. thanks a lot. m. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding.

don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans.

as a i'm still not going toall the pmake it to mars,o visit. but thanks to hotwire's incredibly low travel prices, i can afford to cross more things off my list. this year alone, we went to the top of the statue of liberty...

and still saved enough to go to texas-- to a real dude ranch! hotwire checks the competition's rates every day... so they can guarantee their low prices. so we got our 4-star hotels for half price. next up, hollywood! ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com save big on car rentals too, from $11.95 a day. man: "but who is this creature with terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws?" go on, your bit. "he" -- "he has" -- go on. i can't do it, dad. i can listen to books, anyway. i know it don't come easy, son, but you've got to keep at it, all right? you're not on your own with this. mo, you'll be late for your shift. yeah, you're right. sorry, el, got to go. now, who loves you more than me? no one.