this is bbc america and now live from london, "bbc world news." >> hello, i'm kasia madera with "bbc world news." our top stories. as the weather clears divers continue the search for the airasia plane which crashed off borneo. there's no sign yet of its black boxes. firefighters in south australia say they're racing to get a major bush fire under control before weather conditions worsen on wednesday. the french president condemns the apparent decision of a french mayor not to allow a roma baby to be buried in the local cemetery. and under pressure the euro weakens to a near nine-year low as investors worldwide worry

greece will exit the single currency. we'll have a full business round-up. hello, and welcome to the program. recovery teams have resumed their search in the java sea as they race to find bodies and wreckage from the airasia flight which crashed last week. teams of divers are hoping to find the plane's flight recorders, which could help explain why it came down. weather conditions have improved although underwater currents are still strong. 37 bodies have so far been recovered. lucas de jonge reports. >> reporter: getting ready to search for the one thing that could answer the question why did a plane carrying 162 people simply drop from the sky? the airasia flight's missing

flight reporters are now the firm focus for these indonesian navy divers. so far, though no signal from the black boxes have been picked up. from the government though the signals are clear. the transport minister has announced a separate probe into flight licenses after it was revealed that the crashed airasia flight didn't have permission to fly last week. >> translator: if airasia didn't do anything wrong, why would indonesia suspend their license? according to our data it shows that they are clearly in the wrong because they didn't fly at the times that we have approved or permitted. >> reporter: it's now been more than a week since the airasia flight from surabaya to singapore went missing in the java sea. while theories circulate about what could have caused the crash, bodies continue to be brought back to land. authorities have extended the

search area asking helicopters to follow coastlines in search of bodies and debris. most bodies they say, are somewhere down there, trapped inside the plane's fuselage. bad weather has made this search operation a hard one, but better weather today could help teams clear up some of the many questions surrounding this disaster. lucas de jonge, bbc news. let's turn to australia, where firefighters are battling to control bush fires. they're preparing for weather conditions to get worse in the next few days. the fires are burning in south australia. 40 kilometers outside the city of adalaide in the adalaide hills. emergency crews have taken advantage of milder conditions in recent days to try to contain the fire which has razed large parts of the country side. it's been described as the worst since the ash wednesday bush fires in 19 883. i asked the australian deputy

prime minister what he made of the situation. >> certainly, ash wednesday brings back horrific memories for australians. fortunately in this case there's been no loss of life and we're grateful for that and the injuries have been mainly smoke inhalation and the like so in reality, we're fortunate that there's been not the loss of life associated with ash wednesday. but nonetheless, in the adalaide area alone, at least 26 houses have been lost another 40 or more out buildings and the families that have lost everything, clearly they now have a rebuilding task ahead of them. >> as the temperatures are due to pick up and the wind speeds are due to pick up what is your concern? >> well certainly there's been little respite over the last couple of days as temperatures have dropped even a few showers in a few places. that's enabled firefighters to get on top of things in victoria. the concentration therefore has been around adalaide and the

weather temperature forecasts for two 38-degree days coming up with wind issues as well so there's potentially new danger coming up over the next couple of days. we hope that the respite is giving firefighters an opportunity to try and trim some of the edges of the fire. it is over 200-kilometer fronts to the fires around adalaide, so it's a messy task to try and contain it so that it can be managed when the weather is likely to be worse over the next couple of days. >> and what is your advice to people who are still on the ground? >> people are taking local advice from the local fire controllers. many people have left their homes and moved to safer places. most have come back now, because of these two better days, but another decision will probably have to be made for most people in the next day or so as to whether they again move away to protect themselves and their families, or whether they want

to stay at home and try and fight the blaze and protect their property. it's a decision that each household has to make. it's always a trying one. and clearly, the community gets behind one another, supports themselves, the firefighters have been very active. firefighters are coming in from other states to help the equipment that's assembled and maintained throughout the year is being located and has been located to the major fire areas. so we're doing everything we possibly can, but nature is powerful. fires are powerful. and everyone must respond to that threat. >> australia's deputy prime minister warren truss speaking to me earlier. now let's focus on all the business news. because once again, the euro is under the spotlight. greece under the spotlight. aaron, you've got it all for us. >> absolutely. a new year but we've got the very familiar old problems returning. thanks very much. hello there. yes, the euro that single

currency. boy, it slid today. it slid to a nine-year low against the u.s. dollar. all of this as investors basically predicting that the ecb, the big bank the european central bank may actually stimulate the economy. in fact, the drop in the value of the euro follows the ecb president, mario draghi's comments over the weekend, indicating that the bank could soon start a full-scale program of quantitative easing qe similar to what we saw certainly here in the uk and in the united states. this is important, because although the ecb has already cut interest rates to a record low level and also bought some bonds, some debt issued by private companies, a full scale program of qe has not yet ever been launched. also political turmoil in greece weighing on the euro with fears that the general election that snap general election on the 25th of january coming up could see the anti-austerity left wing party take control of the country, and now once again,

many talking about a greek exit out of the euro. we're going to keep our eyes on that one for you. aside from the ongoing turmoil in the eurozone the other big question for the financial markets this year will be yes, when will america's central bank the u.s. federal reserve raise those interest rates? we know that rates -- that's the boss, by the way, of the federal reserve. rates in the world's largest economy have been near zero for six years, and a return to more normal monetary policy could mean some big changes for everyone. now, this year for the first time since the turn of the century, the u.s. dollar rose against all major currencies. greater demand for the dollar by investors certainly reflects their expectations that interest rates will rise in the united states, so what are they doing? they are just piling in to that dollar to get a higher return basically than anywhere else they're looking at, compared to the euro or compared to the likes of japan. so another one we're going to keep across. and this one we're talking about today from january. this month millions of the

world's garment workers, they're going to get a pay raise. bangladesh vietnam, cambodia all will raise their minimum wages from the start of january. the industry employs about 60 million workers, but i have to say they are still amongst the lowest paid in the global economy. in bangladesh just as an example, the minimum pay will rise to $68 a month, which can work out as little as 20 cents an hour. still a long way to go right? lots going on. we're going to have more on that coming up in just over an hour's time on "gmt." lots going on. tweet me. i'll tweet you right back. you can get me @bbcaaron. that is it with the business for now. back to you. >> lovely. we'll see you very very soon. don't go away though here. we've got lots more still to go on this program. the charity save the children says it is determined to find out how a british nurse contracted ebola at a treatment center it runs in sierra leone. part of the investigation will focus on the use of personal protective equipment. the nurse remains critically ill in hospital in london.

our global health correspondent is in freetown sierra leone. she's been describing the mood in the country. >> reporter: there is clearly a great deal of concern. she had been working here in sierra leone for five weeks. she was going back home for rest and recuperation for a couple of weeks and was due to come back here to carry on her work. that investigation will look into whether she became infected at the save the children site which is just outside the capital where i am now, or whether she was infected whooil eded whilst whilst she was out in the community. this isn't the first time a medic has become infected at that site. a cuban doctor was flown back to geneva, had treatment there and he has survived. he has talked about wanting to come back and continue this fight. but i've been speaking to the save the children director in sierra leone, and he told me a

bit more about this investigation. >> well, we have a review on the moment. we're constantly reviewing protocols and procedures to ensure that staff working in the kerrytown center and outside take all measures possible to prevent themselves becoming infected with ebola. because of this very serious event, then we have put an extraordinary review to ensure that we do everything and leave no stone unturned to be able to -- as far as is possible, identify the source of this infection. >> reporter: now medics more than anybody, know too well the risks involved in dealing with this outbreak in treating patients. i've spoken to a number of both british and national medics dealing with this outbreak and they all remain committed to this cause. in the last few months since this outbreak started, more than

600 health workers have become infected. here in sierra leone, more than 100 have died and the vast majority of them have been west african health workers who have been dealing with this day in day out since the very start. >> tulip mazumdar reporting there from freetown. here in the uk buckingham palace has said there is no record of a meeting between the queen and the woman at the center of sex allegations against prince andrew. the duke of york has returned after a skiing holiday in switzerland. he's been named in u.s. court papers relating to the handling of a case against jeffrey epstein, a convicted pedophile. buckingham palace has emphatically denied the prince had any sexual contact with the woman. let's speak to our royal correspondent peter hunt. a complicated case. just bring us up to date on the background. >> well prince andrew is in the position he's in this morning because of his poor choice of friends, which he's acknowledged in the past acknowledged it was

a mistake he was a friend with jeffrey epstein, a sex offender and it's as a result of this friendship that in these court papers prince andrew is named for the first time and no one is pursuing an action against him, he's just named in these court papers. it's a very complicated ongoing legal case involving jeffrey epstein. and in these court papers the woman is anonymous in the papers, but it's known to be this woman called virginia roberts. in them she says she was forced when under age to have sex with prince andrew on three occasions in three different locations. in response to that when that first emerged on friday the palace have issued two pretty strong denials. the most recent of which prince andrew himself insisted needed to be delivered. he said the allegations made are false and without foundation. >> what happens next for him? he's back in the uk now. what happens next? >> i don't think it's been a very restful holiday given what he was dealing with. i think it's a real problem for him. he's back. he'll talk to the queen. he'll talk to his lawyers. he'll talk to his advisers. and he's very much wanting to

give out this message that he's not in hiding. he'll be seen in the coming weeks at the world economic forum in switzerland. he's done nothing wrong. he's got nothing to hide. but the challenge for him is it focuses attention on his poor judgment, which he's acknowledged in terms of his friendships. it also is the fear of drip drip, drip of further fresh allegations in the united states during this lengthy case which has no obvious end in sight, which could further damage him and the monarchy. >> and buckingham palace just categorically, remind us of what they're saying. >> they're saying quite a lot, which is unusual for them. generally they try to say nothing on these sort of matters. but on the issue of the allegations, they are insistent that there is no truth whatever in them. the phrasing he used in the last one, it is emphatically denied that the duke of york had any form of sexual contact or relationship with virginia roberts, and then on the other thing that's emerged, this has come from the father of virginia roberts, he says when his daughter was in london, she met the queen. again, another carefully worded statement from them they say

there is nothing to suggest the claim is true. we have no record of such a meeting. >> okay, peter thank you very much for talking us through that. peter hunt our royal correspondent there. don't go away. we've got lots more still to come on the program, including turning artificial limbs into work of art. we hear from one designer who's challenging the perceptions of prosthetics. the heroes you've been admiring. the worlds you've been dreaming of. the thrills you've been craving. the moments you've been missing. the vacation you've been looking for is here. come and take it. universal orlando resort.

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welcome to "bbc world news." i'm kasia madera. our main headlines for you. the search for the indonesian airliner that crashed off the coast of borneo eight days ago continues as weather conditions improve. firefighters in south australia say they are racing to contain a major bush fire before worsening weather expected on wednesday. boko haram militants have captured a key military base in the far northeast of nigeria, which was used by a multi-national force to fight the insurgents. they've also seized the town of

baga which was said to be the last in the area still held by government forces. residents of baga who fled by boat to neighboring chad said that many people had been killed and the town was set ablaze. will ross is our correspondent in nigeria. i put to him that losing this base would be a very big blow in the fight against boko haram. >> well it is significant, as you mentioned, the last town that was in government hands in this area the north of borno state, and for the people living in that town and the surrounding villages their lives have suddenly been turned completely upside down. they had to flee into the bushes. as you say, some headed across lake chad into that neighboring country. others have managed to make it into the safety of the main city in the northeast, and one eyewitness told us that it's completely impossible to know how many people have been killed in this attack on baga town

itself, because everybody fled and it's simply too unsafe to go back. but we understand the troops at the base near baga supposed to be a multi-national base, but we understand there are only nigerian soldiers in there. they did put up a resistance. there was heavy fighting for hours, but the boko haram gentlemen haddist fighters managed to overpower them. >> the soldiers have come under an amount of criticism that they did flee. the circumstances then weren't as clear cut as all that. it's not that they just lay down their arms and fled before the attack. >> well no. it's hard to get comprehensive information, but the information we have gathered and we're not getting anything at the moment from the military or the government, but the information we get from people who were eyewitnesss, but at the same time they were fleeing, so hard to verify exactly what they're saying. but certainly heavy gunfire going on for some hours at that base. so it's not as though the soldiers simply as you say lay

down their guns and fled. there was a battle for the control of that base. but once again it seems that the boko haram jihadists, who arrived on four-wheel drive pickup vehicles as well as many many motorbikes they outgunned the soldiers who were at the base. >> will ross reporting from lay goes for us. prosthetic limbs are usually seen as functional essential items for those who rely on them. but one woman has been working to turn official arms into workable art. she makes prosthetics using materials such as wood glass, and metal that reflect the wearer's personality. bbc news went to meet sophia at her studio in northwest london.

>> it's kind of a japanese inspired limb. you've got a dragon a kimono. i was working for a company working realistic looking prosthetic limbs for amputees. there was a little girl that would attend the clinic and i'd make her realistic limb every year, and she wanted something a little bit different, though and started out with images of pigs eating ice cream riding bicycles. i could see from her rehabilitation point of view what an impact this had on her. so i thought, this is really interesting, making something alternative and having rather than a standard kind of replacement, exploring the space, and then i thought well yeah, we could make some really unusual pieces that kind of spoke from people's soul as it were, and people's imagination, but turning them into kind of

reality. and works of art. but i thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to actually work with something who shed thebraceing their limb in a different way. so i found victoria modesta, a performing artist and a singer and we worked together and i made several covers for her, one of which was used in the paralympic closing ceremony. i think it captured the spirit visually of the paralympics and what it means to be kind of superhuman almost. so we have the shape of her leg, and then just kind of chopped into it, took chunks out, and just made it encrusted with crystals and rhinestones. i think the alternative limbs kind of definitely open up a dialogue, and it's a kind of unspoken dialogue which is if you want to come and speak to me about my prosthetic, i'm clearly kind of happy for you to talk about it and as i'm expressing

myself, and if you want to stare at something i'll give you something good to stare at. >> some remarkable images aren't they? the french president francois hollande has condemned the apparent refusal by a small french town to allow a roma girl to be buried in its cemetery. mr. hollande said he wouldn't accept the kind of france that treated people in such a way. the roma baby girl died on christmas day. the local mayor sparked outrage when he said priority for burial plots went to people who paid taxes. let's get more on this. lucy williamson is in paris for us. this has caused absolute outrage in france. >> reporter: yes there's been a lot of criticism of the mayor for what he reportedly said when asked for permission to bury this baby girl who as you said died on christmas day. the funeral director the family employed to help them with the preparations said that he had

requested, as normal permission to go ahead, and he had received the answer that it was not possible, which he said was quite a rare occurrence. now, the baby girl is today being laid to rest at a cemetery at a nearby town but this controversy really isn't going away. there's been a lot of criticism, as you mentioned, of the mayor in this case who's responded by apologizing, by saying his words were misunderstood, he says. >> and lucy another little roma baby girl died just last week. it's really putting a spotlight on this community in france. >> reporter: i think so. and the reported words of the mayor saying the priority in the cemetery was going to be given to local taxpayers, has highlighted that highlighted the prejudice that the roma community say they've faced for a long time. there's a french human rights organization that's launching an investigation into this case and even the prime minister manuel vows, who's been

associated with some of the more hard line policies has said that this is not acceptable that this is a case against humanity. >> and some of the roma in france live in really difficult conditions. >> reporter: that's right. the reports coming in from this infant's family say that they lived in a roma encampment on the edge of the city, that there were very little in the way of amenities in terms of electricity and water, and that this sort of situation is not unusual for the communities here. they appear to have lived there for quite some time. they have two other children it's been reported who attend school, and the funeral director they employed, so they wanted to have their baby girl buried in the local cemetery because they were committed kris yn schristians, they wanted to be able to visit her aggressive every day. >> lucy reporting from paris, thank you very much. just that news that that little baby is now being buried there.

the search for the airasia jet that crashed off the coast of borno is in its eighth day and weather conditions have improved. we're continuing to monitor all of our stories. but for me and the team on "bbc world news," thanks very much for watching. bye-bye for now. totaled him. you two had been through everything together. two boyfriends. three jobs. you're like "nothing can replace brad!" then liberty mutual calls. and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

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i'm kasia madera with "bbc world news." our top stories. as the weather clears divers continue the search for the airasia plane, which crashed off borneo. there is no sign yet of its black boxes. firefighters in south australia say they're racing to get a major bushfire under control before weather conditions worsen on wednesday. save the children say it's determined to find out how a british nurse who's critically ill with ebola contracted the disease at its center in sierra leone. and it may be good for holiday makers but what about those looking for somewhere to

live? paris acts to tackle the rising number of apartments rented online. hello. and welcome. recovery teams have resumed their search in the java sea as they race to find bodies and wreckage from the airasia flight which crashed last week. teams of divers are hoping to find the plane's flight recorders, which could help explain why it came down. weather conditions have improved although underwater currents are still strong. 37 bodies have so far been recovered. i've been speaking to the karishma, who gave this update. >> i was listening to the update given by the agency

that's been tasked with the job of recovering the bodies, finding any wreckage from this missing plane, and what the head of this agency was able to say to us today is that so far, 37 bodies have been recovered from the java sea. 19 of those bodies have been identified, and many of them have been flown back to their relatives who are standing by at surabaya airport. as you can imagine, this is a very distressing time for people in surabaya who are waiting for any news whatsoever as to what could have caused this crash. we've also been told by indonesian military officials they are making plans to assist families who want to go out to the crash site to the area where they think the plane crashed. and lay a wreath there to pay their respects, or find some sort of closure in this situation. >> and karishma, talk us through the weather conditions that have so far been hampers this search and also the fact that the search area has been now

widened. >> the weather conditions prove to be the major, the biggest obstacle towards finding any of the wreckage last week. despite that, people here the search teams here were able to find at least five pieces of the plane -- five pieces that they believe to be a part of the plane, but divers have been trying to get under the water to the areas where they think bigger parts of the plane currently are. the other problem, of course is despite the fact that the weather has improved today according to officials in the area, there's also still a very strong underwater current, and that's the reason why the search area has been widened. officials believe that this underwater current is spreading the debris and the wreckage around the java sea, and that's why they've widened their search. let's turn to australia now, where firefighters are battling to control bush fires. they're preparing for weather conditions to get worse in the next few days. the fires are burning in south

australia, 40 kilometers outside the city of adalaide in the adalaide hills. emergency crews have taken advantage of milder conditions in recent days to try to contain the fire, which has razed large parts of country side. our australia correspondent jon donnison reports. >> reporter: for a fourth day, the adalaide hills continue to burn. thousands have been forced to flee. some have returned to find they've lost all that they own. >> they wouldn't let us come and save the house, unfortunately. >> what have you lost everything? >> everything. >> all my possessions and documents and my paperwork, lost my pets here dogs few cars few collectibles. all gone. >> reporter: today, weather conditions ease slightly allowing a brief window to try and bring the fire under control. >> we want it contained before the weather changes. we're expecting more hot

weather, which will create conditions for the fire to escape, and we would like to contain it within its general perimeter. >> reporter: planes known as air tankers capable of dumping over 10,000 liters of water and fire retardant at the time of being used. and more than 500 firefighters many of them volunteers, are working round the clock. the adalaide hills are not densely populated, but there are fears huge numbers of cattle and sheep have also perished. and other wildlife has suffered too. this was the shelter for orphaned animals. >> when they turned up here i could see the house was well alight, and i just said to them let it go sag my animals, and we did. >> reporter: people here are well used to the threat of bush fires. many see it as a part of australian life. others, though, say climate change is making the fire season

increasingly treacherous. jon donnison, bbc news, sydney. the charity save the children says it's determined to find out how a british nurse contracted ebola at a treatment center it runs in sierra leone. part of the investigation will focus on the use of personal protective equipment. the nurse remains critically ill in hospital in london. our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar is in freetown sierra leone. she's been describing the mood in the country. >> reporter: there is clearly a great deal of concern. pauline had been working here in sierra leone for five weeks. she was going back home anyway for rest and recuperation for a couple weeks and was due to come back here to carry on her work. that investigation will look into whether she became infected at the save the children site which is just outside the capital where i am now, or whether she was infected whilst she was out in the community. this isn't the first time a medic has become infected at

that site. a cuban doctor got sick with ebola back in november. he was flown back to geneva. he had treatment there. and he has survived. he has talked about wanting to come back and continue this fight. but i've been speaking to the save the children director in sierra leone, and he told me a bit more about this investigation. >> well, we have a review at the moment. we're constantly reviewing protocols and procedures to ensure that staff working in the kerrytown center and outside take all measures possible to prevent themselves becoming infected with ebola. because of this very serious event, then we have put an extraordinary review to ensure that we do everything and leave no stone unturned to be able to -- as far as is possible identify the source of this infection.

>> reporter: now medics more than anybody know too well the risks involved in dealing with this outbreak in treating patients. i've spoken to a number of both british and international and national medics dealing with this outbreak, and they all remain committed to this cause. in the last few months since this outbreak started, more than 600 health workers have become infect infected. here in sierra leone, more than 100 have died and the vast majority of them have been west african health workers who have been dealing with this day in day out since the very start. >> tulip mazumdar reporting there from freetown. let's bring you up to date with some of the day's other stories. lebanon has imposed a visa requirement on syrians entering the country. it's an attempt to limit the number of refugees from the syrian civil war. about one in three people in lebanon are now syrian, with more than a million registered refugees and a further half a million syrians thought to be in the country unofficially. at least two people have

died when an eight-story residential building collapsed in the kenyan capital nairobi late on sunday. 38 people have so far been rescued. the operation to find survivors and bodies is continuing. the reason for the collapse is not yet known. but officials say that property developers often bypass building regulations to cut costs. boko haram militants have captured a key military base in the far northeast of nigeria, which was used by a multi-national force to fight the insurgents. they've also seized the town of baga which was said to be the last in the area still held by government forces. residents of baga who fled by boat to neighboring chad said that many people had been killed when the town was set ablaze. the former president of taiwan is to be released for one month for medical parole. he was sentenced to life in prison for corruption in 2009. he has long claimed that the sentence amounted to political

persecution. his doctors say that he is suffering from various ailments including brain degeneration. lots more still to come on "bbc world news," including leonardo da vinci flies into singapore, the first ever southeast asia show by the great master. ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. you want an advanced degree, but sometimes work can get in the way. now capella university offers flexpath, a revolutionary new program that allows you to earn a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university.

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hello. you're watching "bbc world news." i'm kasia madera. our main headlines for you. the search for the indonesian airliner that crashed off the coast of borneo eight days ago continues, as weather conditions improve. firefighters in south australia say they're racing to contain a major bush fire before worsening weather expected on wednesday. it is now less than a year before myanmar votes in a general election. for the first time in 25 years, the pro-democracy campaigner and

former political prisoner aung san suu kyi will take part. most believe it's a certainty that her party will win, but the constitution will prevent her from becoming president. our myanmar correspondent jonah fisher has been given exclusive access to the nobel peace prize winner as she visited her constituency. >> reporter: it's check-in time for myanmar's nobel laureate. aung san suu kyi has come to visit the country's first training college for the hospitality industry. funded through a charity named after her mother we've been invited to take a look. the college has been built in the constituency where two and a half years ago she first became an mp. 100 young people most of whom have never stayed in a hotel, are learning about food and how to cook and serve it.

>> that's not a fruit. that's just a fizzy drink. >> reporter: for the former political prisoner trying to create better opportunities for young burmese men and women is a real passion. >> too many young people are unemployed. so we need to help them to get jobs. >> reporter: the end of myanmar's international isolation means tourist numbers have risen fast and there's a shortage of both hotels and trained staff. with projects like this and by funding health facilities libraries, and by building roads, aung san suu kyi is hoping to give people just a little glimpse of how things might change if she was to become president. but under the current constitution, she's barred. as her sons are british, not burmese. so far all attempts to change

the rules have been blocked by the army. is the dream of becoming president of this country over for you? >> reporter: first of all, that's not my dream. my dream is of the kind of country i would like to see. that's what i dream of, not of sitting in a presidential suite or anything like that. and in any case i always say that we should never say you've lost a battle until you've actually fought it to the best of your ability. >> reporter: so you're not ruling out the possibility that some sort of deal could be done? >> no, it doesn't worry me. i don't like to think of it as a deal. what i like to think of is the people's right to choose the president they want is sacrosanct and this is what we are working towards. >> reporter: in the college kitchen, she is watching her chefs closely as they learn to make chicken and mushroom pie. in 11 months time she'll compete in a first general

election in 25 years. unless someone cooks the books, a win is a near certainty. the presidency is not. jonah fisher, bbc news, myanmar. egypt has one of the highest rates of road deaths in the world. according to the world health organization, 12,000 people are killed in road accidents every year. some blame the situation on careless driving, while others say the real cause is the poor condition of egypt's roads. sally nabil reports from cairo. >> reporter: responding to a car crash call an balance crew races against time through cairo's heavy traffic. they work around the clock. there is always a road accident somewhere. this paramedic says, there is a shortage of ambulances making it increasingly difficult to serve the rising number of

casualties. millions commute every day using vehicles that belong in a junk yard. not on the streets. people ride a mini bus with an exposed fuel tank. public safety is not of high concern. options are limited. in some areas, traffic rules do not apply. no license plates or street signs. but this chaos is just one reason for the high rate of road accidents. it is on the highways where the most fatal ones occur. a scene like this takes place in egypt almost every day. road accidents have become a fact of life here. on these roads, thousands of egyptians are killed and injured every year. an ongoing problem that no one has managed to solve so far.

the government is trying to impose some restrictions. at this check point, drivers are stopped for a drug test. doctors tell me it is mainly drunk drivers who test positive. i took a ride with mahmoud in his truck. he has been driving for 30 years, and he has a different view. i never use drugs, he tells me. when i get tired, i just pull over and sleep. in alexandria we visited said. a plumber. he's lucky to be alive, but is suffering from severe back injuries after being in a bus crash two months ago. >> translator: i wish i can walk again and go back to work. i don't want to be dependent on anybody. >> reporter: said and many

others like him pay a heavy price for a dysfunctional system. bbc news cairo. christmas and new year are busy times for global travel. many tourists visiting foreign countries during the holiday period stayed in apartments rented over the internet. it's known as the airbnb phenomenon, a name taken from the biggest website which arranges these short holiday lets. it might be good for travelers, but what about the effect on the cities? paris, authorities are so worried they've decided to take drastic action. from there, hugh schofield reports. >> reporter: exasperated neighbors. in a paris courtyard they're pointing out all the flats where there have been problems. problems caused by tourists on short holiday lets. residents say it's a growing source of irritation how their homes are becoming like hotels. it's the noise, he says and the

constant festivities. the whole building feels like it's been invited to their parisian soirees. it's not just the din. the growing demand for holiday lets is distorting the regular housing market taking thousands of flats out of circulation that are needed for parisians. that's the view of paris city hall and why it's decided to act. >> translator: today in paris, there's a terrible shortage of housing. flats are just too expensive, especially for the middle classes. so we need to find measures to protect housing. because if residential flats are turned into holiday lets that means fewer places for parisians to live in with their families. >> reporter: the city's clampdown is not aimed at people who occasionally let out their

primary home to visitors. that's perfectly legal. but of people who invest. basically, the city says that if you buy a flat for short holiday lets, then what you're doing is taking a residential property and turning it into a commercial property. so in order to maintain the stock of residential properties you, the new buyer, have to buy a second property, and turn it into residential. in other words in order to acquire one flat you've got to buy two. the city has a team of inspectors to enforce the new rule but it's so complex and so expensive, that few have complied. property consultant adrian lead says that as a result, thousands of owners french and foreign, now live in constant fear of the knock on the door. >> all of these people who invested in property here they didn't get into this thinking they were doing something illegal or wrong or horrible. they felt good about themselves. they felt good about the city. and now they've been turned into

criminals overnight. >> reporter: the city says that as many as 20,000 paris flats are now being let out illegally. good news for tourists less good if you live here. hugh schofield, bbc news paris. some of leonardo da vinci's most famous drawings have been transported to southeast asia for the very first time. they're being exhibited in singapore at the art science museum. the 500-year-old pages of masterpieces are from his largest notebooks. we spoke to the museum's director about some of the challenges in putting together this exhibition. >> reporter: he may be known for one of the most famous paintings in the world, but leonardo da vinci is making a splash in asia for his drawings instead. exhibited at singapore's art science museum these centuries old sketches offer clues to da vinci's genius as an artist mathematician, architect, and

musician. but getting them here wasn't easy. so i'm speaking now to honor who runs this art science museum. you've brought this extensive collection of da vinci's original works. these are hundreds of years old. first of all, tell us how challenging was that? >> well, we're standing here in the room the centerpiece of da vinci shaping the future. we're looking here at drawings which are 500 years old. they're priceless. we want to ensure that bringing them to southeast asia for the first time and presenting them to the public here in singapore, we're still preserving the drawings. and it's challenging. it means that we've got to control the environment perfectly. the reason why it's quite dark in here is because light is the biggest enemy of 500-year-old drawings. so after they're on show here in singapore for three months they then have to rest in the dark for three years.

>> reporter: how significant is this work that we're looking at? >> this is a masterpiece. this is one of the pages, you're looking here at leonardo's hand. this is his design for a mechanical wing. so in these two sections here, he's sitting ingsetting out all of theory all of the diagrams to build an aircraft. this is four centuries before the wright brothers invented mechanical flight and here we have leonardo perfectly articulating what would be required. >> reporter: this is the world's first art science museum and we know that da vinci was someone who brought these two studies together, so how significant is it to be showing his works here? >> very significant for us. in many ways you could say that leonardo da vinci is the museum's patron saint. there is no figure in history that represents the unity of arts and sciences more perfectly than he did. excelled in mathematics, central sciences technology, architecture, even music. so to bring this here very much

embodies our mission as a museum. from art that is hundreds of years old to a sport that's been practiced for thousands of years, they ride at breakneck speeds and hunt with a huge eagle perched on their arms. this sport is admired as much for its artistry as the high level of skill required and it's a tradition that shows no sign of dying, as russell trott now reports. >> reporter: they call them the lords of the birds. and it's not difficult to see why. ethnic kazaks showcasing one of the world's most oldest and spectacular of sports. with the snow bound mountains of northwest china's region providing the backdrop. they practiced hunting with eagles here on the eurasian step for generations.

>> translator: this is our traditional culture. i hope the culture can be carried on. i am moved and happy to see that. >> reporter: before the winter night descends one last display of kazak horsemanship. once the quickest way to get around in these parts. and one last performance, man and beast in perfect harmony. russell trott, bbc news. >> remarkable wasn't it? before i leave you, let's just bring you up to date with our top story. the search for the airasia jet that crashed off the coast of borneo is in its eighth day, and weather conditions have improved. military helicopters and ships have been deployed to the area of the java sea, where large objects have been seen 30 meters below the surface. they're hoping to find the plane's black box flight recordings, which could help explain why it came down on a flight from surabaya to

singapore. the search area for the bodies of those onboard has also been widened. the airasia plane was carrying 162 people when it crashed. 37 bodies have so far been recovered. lots more as always on our website. just visit the site. there you'll find the latest news and features including analysis from our correspondents, and don't forget, you can also follow me on twitter. the worlds you've been dreaming of. ♪ the thrills you've been craving. the moments you've been missing. the vacation you've been looking for is here. come and take it. universal orlando resort. experience it all with the wizarding world of harry potter vacation package. visit universalorlando.com you want an advanced degree, but sometimes work can get in the way. now capella university offers flexpath, a revolutionary new program that allows you to earn a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you.

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hello, you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. our top story. lebanon buckles under the weight of a never ending flow of syrian refugees. for the first time ever, syrians need a visa to enter the country. a third of lebanon's population are refugees. we'll be asking how the country is meant to cope. a search operation for the airasia plane which crashed into the java sea is over for another day. the crucial black boxes have still not been found. and an extraordinary statement, buckingham palace