hello. aid is arriving in fact island nation of vanuatu, devastated by a cyclone. the president says most buildings in the capital are flattened. >> after all the development that has taken place, all of this development has been wiped out. out. it means we'll have to start anew again. a final day of campaigning in israel with benjamin

netanyahu's likud party trailing a center left alliance in the polls. all eyes on president putin as he makes his first appearance in ten days. speculation has been swirling that he may be ill. and why elton john has called for a boycott of fashion designers, dolce and gabbana. plnk blnk. hello and thank you for joining us. military planes from australia and new zealand are flying emergency supplies into vanuatu, the south pacific state devastated by a powerful cyclone. tens of thousands of people are new living in temporary shelters, a communication blackout means that little is known about conditions beyond the capital, but the first reports from the outer islands are beginning to trickle in. they paint a picture of utter

devastation. much of the housing around the capital, port vila has either been destroyed or severely damaged. our correspondent john donnison who was on the first commercial flight allowed into the country since the cyclone has sent this report from a village near the capital. >> reporter: this is pango village just outside vanuatu's capital, port vila. about 2,000 people live in this village and you can see where the cyclone ripped through this community on saturday night with massive force. if you look at the houses some pretty damaged. this one made of corrugated iron and a bamboo roof and it's really been ripped apart. elsewhere, though, we've got much more sturdy buildings, and you can see what a difference that makes. these ones made of concrete and they're still standing. they've resisted the storm much much better. ones of the things we've really noticed is the huge amount of trees that have been blown over

or in some cases, literally ripped out of the ground. but what seems to have been avoided is a very big storm surge, coming in from the sea, which in previous sort of typhoon cyclones has proved absolutely deadly. doesn't seem like they have that here and that's one of the reasons why it seems the loss of life around port vila is relatively low. the big fear though is for the more remote islands, some of which remain uncontactable and when aid agencies get out there, i think there are fears that the death toll could rise. at the moment we just don't know. what people need here is shelter. many people who were living in this village were taken to evacuation centers. what they also are saying they need soon is food. people are saying look we're okay at the moment but in a week or two, food supplies are going to be running low. and that's one of the things that the aid operation is going to be focusing on.

>> that was john donnison. he's in pango, which is one of the villages just outside of the capital. now, vanuatu's president is traveling back to port vila after being in japan at the u.n. conference on natural disasters. now, he said that most buildings in the capital have been flattened. >> many have said the buildings have been destroyed. more than 90% of the buildings have been destroyed. people still haven't come through yet. have emotional feelings. it will take time. take time before they can build up. what is happening now is that over and over again, that the people need human help. humanitarian assistance at the moment. and i'm very pleased with the international communities that

they have response to my. >> that's vanuatu's president there, he's on his way back. let's talk to the country director of the vanuatu. he's on the ground in the capital, port vila. tom, the president was saying that the buildings in the capital, even in the capital, are very much devastated. what have you been seeing? >> yeah that's absolutely correct. basically, that's all we can see. you reported earlier, there's a blackout of information from elsewhere, other people live in dwellings here. it's not completely developed. settlements made out of tin, tin roofs and all of that has been flattened by this. we're looking at probably 10,000, maybe more people just in the capital alone without houses right now. and people living in evacuation centers. we've been supporting 28 evacuation centers, even today.

we've been getting out to places we've delivered basic emergency supplies to 2,000 people, just today. >> just today. my goodness. and in terms of access to water, i know one of the aid agencies that we were speaking to earlier said that actually the cyclone did manage to fill up water tanks. but what are the conditions in terms of food and access to drinking water? >> so you mentioned food first. a lot of people even around port vila the capital, certainly on those islands, rely entirely on farming. they farm for their own food and eat that food. so all of those crops have been destroyed. but the trees that they eat from and the root crops that they eat. so for those people in remote islands, there is really limited access to food. in terms of water, the problem is accessing clean water.

there's water running in port vila vila, but it's not water that people should be drinking without retreating it or boiling it, because you can really get sick from it. >> okay. tom wilson we wish you the best of luck with your luck there. giving us an update of the situation from port vila. let's bring you up to date with some of the day's other stories. it is the final day of campaigning ahead of tuesday's elections in israel. opinion polls show that benjamin netanyahu's likud party is training behind a center left alliance. mr. netanyahu has warned his supporters of what he calls the danger of a left wing victory. kevin connelly reports. >> reporter: it's been a long campaign, but israel opposition is starting to believe its push for power is peaking at just the right moment. no one ever wins an overall majority here. victory is about getting a coalition of parties to march in

step on issues like education and housing. in the crush of a hectic campaign trail, the opposition leader leader, yitzhak herzog told me he's doing just that. >> we are very vibrant democracy democracy. yes, it's a referendum whether he will continue having change. >> reporter: winning means beating this man. benjamin netanyahu is a veteran of the campaign trail. these pictures filmed not by journalists, but his own likud party, are meant to show that he cares about cost of living issues. an area where the opposition feels he is weak.

as the makers of this satirical tv show "wonderful country," mr. netanyahu is a slick showman, who lives the high life at the taxpayers' expense. ♪ filled at his official residence, including ones of pistachio ice cream, have made headlines. in election debates, the prime minister's ally defends him as a statesman, a leader to be trusted with the country's security amid uncertain times across the middle east. >> has incredible competent experience and leader. and opinion polls show that if you ask who can fit as prime minister of israel, who's more capable, that she is leading by enormous margins. >> mr. netanyahu's opponents hope his decision to trigger these elections is about to

backfire. the polls suggest it's very tight. >> so the left had the energy to get its people out. but ultimately that's not how you win here. the victory goes to the big party who can get smaller parties into coalition after the voting. benjamin netanyahu thinks he still has the advantage there. we will soon find out. kevin connelly bbc news televalley. >> reporter: iraqi forces and militiamen fighting islamic state militants near the city of tikrit say the tomb of the leader, saddam hussein has been almost completely destroyed. video shows saddam hussein's tomb reduced to rubble with only the support pillars still standing. it's on the southern outskirts of tikrit where saddam hussein was born and finally buried in a lavish mausoleum where he was

finally executed in 2006. now, breaking news for you. within the past few minutes, it has been reported that the russian president, vladimir putin, has made his first public appearance in more than a week. now, those reports are coming into us from the reuters news agency. he had not been seen in public since the 5th of march. but we are being told that he has met the president of kyrgyzstan. the president had denied all the rumors that he had been sick some rumors that he may even be dead. he was set to meet the president of kyrgyzstan in st. petersburg and from those reuters' reports, we believe that that meeting has taken place. but let's find out the actual details from our correspondent, richard galpin who's been following this in moscow for us. so has he hasn't he? we're being told he has made that appearance richard? >> yes, i think it's pretty certain now.

certainly, russian television news channels have been showing, briefly, some video of mr. putin in a meeting with the kyrgyzstan president. and from that recorded video, he looked pretty healthy, actually. he looked as you'd expect him, looking in pretty robust help. so certainly no outward sign of any medical problems. >> and the talk from the russian president, who's apparently quoted as saying that life would be boring without gossip. i've seen more of that gossip about his whereabouts. >> yeah well it certainly created a huge amount of gossip over the past week or so with this sudden and strange disappearance from public view. because normally this is a man who's -- you know he's on the presence. he appears absolutely everywhere on the state-controlled news channels and other news channels. you see him pretty much every day on the tv and suddenly it

all went quiet. and people were wondering, obviously, what had happened. he canceled a key meeting and in fact, it was the presidential spokesman said it was because he had fallen ill, which led to all these rumors which built up until there was a plethora of rumors right across the internet and wild speculation. he has appeared. but we have no explanation as to why he softwent into some kind of retreat. >> we assume these are the most recent images, looking well with the kyrgyzstan president. of course, today a very important day. also crimea marking its first anniversary, as now a russian territory. it's difficult to speculate on why this radio silence, why we just simply have no information from a man that really manages

his media appearances so accurately so intensely. >> it's very difficult to know, and his spokesman was absolutely bombarded by the skbrurnlss here and around the world on questions about what on earth is going on. he stuck to his lines, there was no problems with mr. putin. he was perfectly healthy. everything was okay. he was at work. but would never say, well why is he not appearing. what was this about? so we're still absolutely in the dark about that at this stage, at least. >> richard galpin in moscow thank you so much. and president putin has met the president of the kyrgyzstan. we are seeing these are the latest images. these are not live images, but this was the meeting that was -- that took place in st. petersburg and this is affirmation, that the president looks well, as he said, life

would be boring without gossip. the whereabouts finally known now of vladimir putin, who hadn't been seen in public since the 5th of march. now, moving on talks have begun in switzerland between the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, and iran's foreign minister, in a further attempt to reach agreements on limiting iran's nuclear program before a deadline set for the end of this month. washington wants tehran to severely restrict its fleerl program, in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. >> reporter: these talks mark the start of several days of intense diplomacy, both sides say they want a deal but the u.s. wants cast iron proof that iran's nuclear program is what tehran has always said it is for peaceful purposes only. >> if it's peaceful, let's get it done. and my hope is that in the next

days, that will be possible. >> reporter: and the next few days talking in switzerland are, in theory all that's left before time runs out to do a deal. >> reporter: the deadline to reach agreements on iran's nuclear program is supposed to be the end of this month. but, of course deadline have come and gone before. this time diplomats say they are determined to reach a deal. >> reporter: but there are stumbling blocks. thief among them enriched uranium. it can be used to make weapons as well as generate power. the u.s. and its allies want strict limits on iran's capacity to enrich. what's more tehran and washington face opposition at home to making too many concessions. witness the letter by 47 u.s. senators opposing a deal. so although some form of agreement may be possible it's likely to be rather vague, with

diplomats already suggesting negotiations over the finer points will continue into the summer. imogen folks, bbc news geneva. >> lots more still to come here on bbc world news. stay with us. we'll tell you just why sir elton john has called for a boycott of the fashion designer dolce and gabbana. we pour 'em! we pass 'em! we pick 'em! delicious fun for everyone. hershey's miniatures are mine, yours, our chocolate. after people find a dentist through us, they often say "i wish i'd done this sooner." don't let that be you. you know your teeth are important. so don't put it off any longer. call 1-800-dentist today. ♪ ♪

welcome to bbc world news. i'm kasia madera. aid is arriving in vanuatu, devastated by a cyclone. the president says most buildings are flattened. a final day of campaigning with benjamin netanyahu's likud party trailing a center left alliance in the polls. let's turn to europe now with all the business news. alice is here for us.

and alice, it's greece's time to pay up. >> absolutely right. back in our main business headlines, kasia, the cash-strapped nation due to make a large loan payment to the international monetary fund. greece has struggled to meet its recent debt obligations as its access to emergency funding has been severely reinstructed by its creditors. they say that greece will not be given another lifeline until deeper economic reforms are made. greece still owes the imf just shy of $1 million this month. today, the country is handing over another payment of 591 million. that's after it paid $355 million last friday. and the final payment this month of $55 million is then due on friday the 20th of march. at 10:30, we'll delve a little bit more deeply into the cash-strapped finances of greece with our economic correspondent, around 12:30 "gmt" for that.

and angela merkel says she wants closer high-tech corporation with china, as she opens a major i.t. business fare. mrs. merkel was speaking where hundreds of chinese companies will exhibit their tech marvels this week show casing the country country's rise as an i.t. powerhouse. this week's top you canic is cybersecurity. we'll be speaking to an expert on that later on in the day as well. now, the u.s. government has hit its debt ceiling again. the temporary suspension that was granted last year expired on sunday, but does that mean a default's in sight? will public workers won't be paid? it looks likely that it will be used as a political weapon as it was back in 2011 when a standoff between parties led to deep cuts. we'll be bringing you more on

that as well in world business report. that's all the business for this hour. back to kasia. >> alice, thank you, as always. let's bring you up to date with some of the day's other stories. the national assembly in venezuela has granted president nicholas nicolas maduro the power to govern by decree until the end of the year. he needed tools to deal with a coup that he accuses the u.s. of plotting. but the opposition says he was using the incident to amas extra power. opposition supporters in iceland have taken part in the country's biggest protest since financial crisis in 2008. about 7,000 people attended the event in the capital reykjavik, again the country's decision to drop its membership to the european union. firefighters in moscow have been tackling a blaze over the

russian capital's most famous tourist attraction. fire engulfed the 16th century monastery. the convent was covered in scaffolding to allow major repair work. sir elton john is calling for a boycott of the italian fashion designer, dolce and gabbana gabbana, after they criticized same-sex families and fertility treatments. the music legend who has two children with his husband, condemned the designers after dominique dolce told a magazine that he thought that ivf children were synthetic. a warning, this report contains flash photography. >> they are a fashion institution. he is a music icon. but now these global heavyweights have had a big falling out. a magazine interview where dolce

said conceiving children should be an act of love. you are born to a mother and a father, or at least it should be. i call ivf children synthetic children. elton said how dare you refer to my beautiful children as synthetic. he went on your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashion. i shall never wear dolce and gabbana ever again. celebrities have backed the call. pop star ricky martin says, your voices are too powerful to be spreading so much hate. wake up it's 2015. another tweeted, right on elton and david, my d&g shirts are going in the pin. perez hilton, whose son was born by a surrogate mother says because i choose to send my money wisely and not supporting self-hatinge inging gays who view my son

as synthetic. and courtney love shared a callout on instagram who said i just round up all my dolce and gaa banna items and want to burn them. i'm just beyond words and emotions. boycott senseless bigotry. the designers love mums even devoting their last show on motherhood. clearly taken aback by the reaction responding to the criticism, dolce said he'd only been expressing his own opinions and hadn't meant to judge the decisions of others. after decades of being a celebrity fashion favorite, dolce and gabbana will be hoping their traditional view on families doesn't tarnish their modern luxury image. christina, bbc news. >> that's still causing a storm on twitter. now, the united states has the bald eagle, france has the rooster, but britain has no national bird to represent the country. now, people here in the uk are being invited to choose one. a first round of voting has produced a short list of ten

species. people can go online to choose the winner from birds including the robin, the mute swan, and the barn owl. which one would you choose? let me know on twitter at kasia ma durduro durrah roe.

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i'm kasia madera with bbc news. aid is arriving in the pacific island nation of va vanuatu, devastated by a cyclone. >> after all the development that has taken place, all the development has been wiped out. so we'll have to start new again. a final day of campaigning in israel's general election with benjamin netanyahu's likud party trailing a center-left

alliance in the polls. all eyes on president putin, as he makes his first appearance in ten days. speculation had been swirling that he might be ill. and more than a million people protest in brazil against the president over a huge corruption scandal at the state-owned oil company, petrobras. hello and welcome to the program. military planes from israeli and new zealand are flying emergency supplies into vanuatu. the south pacific state devastated by a powerful cyclone. tens of thousands of people are now living in temporary shelters. a communication blackout means that little is known about conditions beyond the capital, but the first reports from the

outer islands are trickling in. and they paint a picture of utter devastation. much of the housing around the capital, port vila, has either been destroyed or severely damaged. our correspondent, john donnison who was on the first commercial flight allowed into the country since the cyclone spoke to us earlier have a village near the capital. >> people are voluntarying tremendous resilience. everyone is out and about, trying to clean up their properties, but the truth is around 90% of the buildings around port vila that some sort of damage. in the capital itself they're relatively sturdy but you don't have to go many kilometers out of the town to find many more remote villages where the properties are made of corrugatedcorrugate ed iron and thatched roofs and they have been ripped apart. we were in one village today where they said their well had been destroyed, a tree had collapsed on it. trees have come down. and they were simply running out of water and they were worried

about food coming out and many people still living in shelters. it's pretty grim. zpr john >> vanuatu's president, baldwin lonsdale, is traveling back to the capital after being in japan at a u.n. conference on natural disasters. he said that most buildings in port vila had been flattened. >> many of the buildings have just been completely destroyed. more than 90% of the buildings have been destroyed. and people are still, haven't come through yet. they still have wariness. they have an emotional feeling. but it will take time. it will take time. what is happening now is that as i've said over and over again, the people in vanuatu, they need humanitarian assistance at the moment. and i'm very pleased be the

international communities that they have responded to my appeal. >> president lonsdale there. well chloe morrison is from the charity, world vision australia. she is in port vila and she says that the destruction there is comprehensive. >> i've been in vanuatu, living here for a year now, and i've just seen my island home absolutely destroyed. through the port vila the capital city and around the island we've been really just absolutely destroyed. the winds of cyclone pam were over 300 kilometers and they have just torn through these villages and absolutely decimated them. what i've seen is houses which were once made out of iron sheets, just totally decimated. and gutteronly the strongest buildings standing. i have seen entire villages now sleeping in community centers,

which are just a rectangle concrete building. and these structures are what the people in vanuatu largely bunkered down in during cyclone pam. >> and chloe, what about water and food? how are they getting that? >> yeah so i've been really surprised when aif gone around to the villages but if there were any concerns cyclone pam filled up all the water tanks. so there are still water tanks in village standing. and what world vision has been doing is getting kitchen kits with cooking pots to people so they can boil the water so it's safe. because the water that got these tanks was quite dirty during the cyclone. there are so many people around here who are homeless, so shelter a also an immediate priority. now, breaking news for you. the russian president vladimir putin has appeared in public. this is the first appearance

since the 5th of march, quelling, of course, intense speculation about his health. now, he was meeting the president of kyrgyzstan in st. petersburg. commenting on the rumors about his health mr. putin disregarded them saying they things would be boring without gossip. let's talk about this first. we are joined by the head of the bbc's russian service. so samuel as you'd expect fight talk from the president there. life would be boring out this kind of gone september, but there was so much speculation about his whereabouts, what do we know? >> there are all sorts of things. back problems he could be just ill, having flu, going through a cold. there are also speculation that he could have been in switzerland, with a lady that is you know, linked to him by many many people and she's

apparently according to rumors was giving birth in switzerland. but, his spokesman says it's all untrue. it's just people speculating without knowing what's happening. but the question remains, what was happening? >> given that president putin is a man that minutely manages his media persona, his images. who can forget the topless pictures of him on a horse, it's bizarre that he's gone so quiet for so long. >> that's the problem when there's minute management of your image on tv screens every day, every hour backfires when you disappear. and the russians have a long history of people of big leaders of the country disappearing from the screen. and that's usually a bad omen. they usually get either you know taken away from the post you know or die all of a sudden

and he will wake up in the morning and realize something's wrong. >> he looks there, i have to say, president putin meeting with the president of kyrgyzstan. his first public appearance since the 5th of may. he looks well. >> he looks well. i think he's somewhat slouching on his chair. i would see him probably sitting straighter, because he is not very tall and it looks better when he sits is straight up. the other thing that he is very physical. he doesn't want -- his understanding of physical health is that you're extremely active. he's bare, as you said topless on the horseback. that's his sort of style of life. and he doesn't want to be seen as a weak or any kind of ill suffering person. and that's quite an important part of his image. so the image suffers as well.

>> yes, indeed. finally, his appearance has put to end a lot of speculation, but for the time being, thank you very much. will something that russia is, i am sure watching very closely is crimea marking its first anniversary since the referendum that resulted in the annexation of the territory by russia. in an exclusive interview, crimea's prime minister told the bbc that russia is its historical homeland and crimea will never again with part of ukraine. our world affairs editor john simpson, reports from the crimian capital, simferopol. >> reporter: the russian wolf wears wolf's clothing. still, crimea feels relaxed today, and those who helped to grab it a year ago are now purely ornamental. lennon square and in the center

of semipolefer pole, they're getting ready for preparations. this was a really scary place a year ago. not anymore. according to a recent opinion poll 93% are glad to be back with russia. it sounds positively north korean, but the poll was carried out for a ukrainian group, the people who have lost crimea. the russian takeover was helped through by this man, sergey crimea's prime minister who in the past has faced accusations of gangland links. in an exclusive interview, he said that crimea was now russian and there was no going back. >> crimea will never be part of curin. a decision has been made once and for all. >> the whole of the outside world regards this as completely illegal, for one country to look at the territory of another country and say, i like that i'm going to take it. >> i can tell you that no one took anything. that was the choice of the

crimeans. nothing could happen without the support of the local population which is why this was not an act of aggression but a real democratic act. >> reporter: it's genuinely calm here. no soldiers on the streets. but crimea's illegal status causes problems. there are some noticeably empty shelves in the supermarket. international credit cards and foreign phones don't work. those who aren't happy with the changeover can face problems. this tv station broadcasting to the crimean tartar minority has often been raided and the staff here are worried it will be closed down. but they keep on reporting opposition news even so. >> the case of leonid kuzman for instance. he's been summonsed to appear in court for attending the commemoration of a ukrainian poet and wearing ukrainian colors. he's been sacked by the school

where he taught. >> we'll fight this but we'll obey the law. we don't know what the consequences will be if we break the law. >> reporter: the court gives him 40 hours community service, for liking poetry and wearing a couple of ribbons. why do the russians want crimea so much? this is one clue. sevastopol harbor now the russian-backed sea fleet has got back full control of it. it's pretty hard to think russia will ever give this up. john simpson, bbc news crimea. >> it is the final day of campaigning ahead of tuesday's elections in israel. opinion polls show benjamin netanyahu's likud party is trailing behind a center left alliance. mr. netanyahu has warned his supporters what he calls the

danger of a left wing victory. our correspondent, kevin connelly reports. >> it's been a long campaign but israel's option is starting to believe its push for power is peaking at just the right moment. no one ever wins an overall majority here. the key is about getting a coalition of parties to march in step on issues like education and housing. in the crush of a hectic campaign trail, the opposition leader told me he's doing just that. >> we're a very vibrant democracy. yes, it's a referendum whether he will continue having change. >> reporter: winning means beating this man. benjamin netanyahu is a veteran of the campaign trail.

these pictures filmed not by journalists, but his own likud party, are meant to show that he cares about cost of living issues. an area where the opposition feels he is weak. as the makers of this satirical tv show, "wonderful country," showman, with a taste for living the high life at the taxpayers' expense. ♪ filled at his official residence, including ones of pistachio ice cream, have made headlines. in election debates, the prime minister's ally defends him as a statesman, a leader to be trusted with the country's security amid uncertain times across the middle east. >> has incredible competent experience and leader.

and opinion polls show that if you ask who can fit as prime minister of israel, who's more capable, that netanyahu is leading by enormous margins. >> mr. netanyahu's opponents hope his decision to trigger these elections is about to backfire. the polls suggest it's very tight. >> so the left had the energy to get its people out. but ultimately, that's not how you win here. the victory goes to the big party who can get smaller parties into coalition after the voting. benjamin netanyahu thinks he still has the advantage there. we will soon find out. kevin connelly, bbc news, tel aviv. hundreds of thousands of brazilians have taken part in a series of anti-government demonstrations many calling for the impeachment of their president. corruption in brazil's oil giant petrobras and problems in the economy have been stirring

resentment against her, just for months into her second term. >> reporter: it's being called the largest protest in the street of san paulo. a million people according to military police. a number disputed by a research institute, but the scale clearly too big for the government to ignore. thousands gathered in cities across the country, in front of congress in brazilia and on cocoa cabana beach in rio, prompted by the massive corruption scandal has hit brazil state-run oil giant, petrobras. billions of dollars of bribes were allegedly paid to middle men and political parties of the ruling coalition. there's no evidence against the president, but she's the main target. here in cocoa cabana thousands of people have come to protest, wearing the colors of the brazilian flag and bringing banners with various messages,

many calling for the impeachment of the president and some even for military intervention. but the general message heard here is one. these people want the current power out of party. >> we don't think that this government can give us that. we don't trust them anymore. >> basically, there's a political problem. so people are really upset with the government. >> reporter: inflation and rising taxes are fueling further discontent. in an effort to rebalance the economy, the government is trying to pass austerity measures in congress but the president's coalition is collapsing and sunday's turnout is another blow. >> it's very tricky how to implement a police agenda that generates lots of political costs for her, especially in that situation that the government can get involved in a corruption scandal. >> reporter: the government's reacted swiftly to the protest, announcing that a series of planned measures to combat

corruption would be lost this week. but ministers denounced calls for impeachment. >> >> demonstrations for or against the government are legitimate. what's not acceptable and should be condemned are any type of violence or calls for a coup and unfounded calls for impeachment, which violate democracy. >> last week the red of the workers' party filled the streetsstreet s in a set of smaller, pro-goth marches. since october's tight presidential election, the political polarization has been deepening, as more details about the petrobras scandal emerge there's one thing that brazil rns can agree on the need for political reform. well lots more still to come here on bbc world news including we have the remains of england king richard iii will

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hello, you are watching bbc world news. i'm kasia madera. aid is arriving in the island nation of vanuatu, devastated by a cyclone. the president says most bilgtdings in the capital are flattened. a final day of campaigning in israel's general elections, benjamin netanyahu's likud party trailing a center-left alliance in the polls. now, breaking news for you from syria. the president, bashar al assad, has dismissed comments made by the u.s. secretary of state, that negotiations to end syria's civil war should include him. speaking to iranian trfgs in damascus, president assad said

that declarations from outside do not concern us. on sunday, he wanted to reignite dialogue to end the conflict in syria. he told cbs news that the international community was upping pressure on syria's regime to hold new peace talks, saying we have to negotiate in the end with mr. assad. so mr. assad there, dismissing those calls for a negotiation. now, talks have begun in switzerland between u.s. secretary of state jkohn kerry, and iran's foreign minister in a further attempt to reach agreements on limiting iran's nuclear program. washington wants tehran to severely restrict its nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. but saudi arabia iran's regional rival, has warned that a nuclear deal could prompt other countries in the region to begin developing atomic fuel. prince turki bin faisal al saud

has been speaking to our correspondent. she asked whether a nuclear deal with iran would make the region a safer place. >> not necessarily. because the danger is not exclusively from iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. iran is already a disruptive player in various scenes in the arab world. whether in yemen, in syria, in iraq, in lebanon, in palestine, in bahrain, and so, ending the fear of iran developing weapons of mass destruction is not going to be the end of the troubles that we are having with iran. >> speaking of those troubles, the americans seem to be accepting iranian backing for the iraqi ground forces fighting isis. is there an alternative? >> there is.

the iraqi people. there is a record of that, of course, during the american occupation of iraq, it was the arab tribes, the sunni tribes that managed to get through. so that's where it should be going. >> but do you think more should be done to get iran out of the picture in terms of the fight against isis? >> now it seems that iran is expanding its occupation of iraq and that is unacceptable. >> that was prince turki al faisal of the saudi royal family speaking to the bbc's barbara plet. it's been described as one of the archaeological finds of the century. when the skeleton of king richard iii was found buried under a car park in the midland city of lester more than 500 years after he was killed at the battle of bosworth he is finally going to get a burial service fit for a king. sean lloyd has been talking to some of those preparing for next

week's ceremony. >> reporter: a place of worship since the norman conquest, soon to be the final resting place of the last king. the remains of richard iii were unearthed in a nearby car park. they'll be reburied at lester cathedral in a service with dignity and honor. the musical arrangements for the week-long commemoration will be a combination of old and new. this 21st century piece has been commissioned by composer bingham. ghostly grace will be performed during the focal point of the reinternment ceremony the moment the coffin moves to the place of burial. >> the tempo marking is at the speed of walking. so you imagine this slow

dignified procession and that pulse is in the musical. >> the first item is the rose remembrance. it would have been used in the medieval times. >> reporter: selecting which flowers should decorate the cathedral has taken months of careful planning for florist, rosemary hughes. she'll create 15 displays spectacular similar to this one. >> i particularly want just english, straight british materials, to give you that effect. because in medieval times, they'llthey wouldn't have had anything else. so they would go down to the woods and cut down what they require and that's how i've ended up with what i've got. >> the planes that you would have had back then would have had a metal blade.

the rest would have been wood. but obviously, it's basically the same tool same way of smoothing wood. >> we'll have special coverage of that but for me and the team here on bbc world news thank you very much for watching. we'll see you again soon. bye-bye. how do i get hotel deals nobody else gets?... i know a guy. price-line ne-go-ti-a-tor! i know this guy... konohito... and this guy... who knows a guy. hey guy. i know a guy in new

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