[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> a welcome to the journal. i'm peter craven. >> and i met urban. >> the white house warns it could plunge u.s. national security efforts into disarray. peter: beijing bans lighting up in all indoor public places. >> police in bangladesh charge people with murder in a factory collapse that killed 1100 people. peter: we start in the united states were the battle over the patriot act has entered the next stage. matt: the key part that they are

discussing is an agreement in a rare sunday session. it meets the broad surveillance powers like the collection of americans phone records have run out. peter: senators are considering a compromise bill. the freedom act that has the backing of the president and the house of representatives. he will go to washington in just a moment. here are the latest developments that are going down. reporter: rand paul was the man in the headlines. he single-handedly blocked legislation on the mass collection of americans phone records. the presidential hopeful opposed the extension of key provisions of the usa patriot act. it means telephone surveillance programs are on hold for u.s. citizens. >> are we going to blindly give up our freedom? are we going to go along and say, take it?

i'm not going to take it anymore. i don't think the american people are going to take it anymore. reporter: the senate met in a rare sunday session, but the deadline came and went. senators failed to agree on a deal to allow the nsa to continue the counterterror electronic surveillance measures. president barack obama made a television appearance. he said national security was at risk. obama: we should not surrender the tools that help keep us safe. it would be irresponsible. it would be reckless. we should not allow it to happen. reporter: the senate must reach a compromise. the patriot act to gave sweeping powers following the september 11 terror attacks. the new law the freedom act would restrict these powers. the domestic surveillance may be under scrutiny but the foreign operations remain unchanged. peter: it's a complicated story.

we are joined by richard. we have the white house welcoming the freedom act. it looks as though it will pass. will it reinstate what has gone before? guest: by and large, peter, it will. but in a different form. the main change involved in this new usa freedom act centers on the controversial bulk collection of telephone records as first revealed a couple years ago in the leaks by edward snowden. you remember that this is not the content of telephone calls, it is not amounting to a wiretap. it is the so-called metadata. who called who at what time from where. so on. it's not actual conversations but you can glean an actual -- a lot of information by connecting those dots. no wonder the intelligence community has been keen to hold on to those powers. until now, the nsa has been

doing all of that, getting that information and holding that under its service. the freedom act would be held by the telephone companies and the nsa and other intelligence agencies would have to go through a court procedure although a very secretive one to get a hold of that information. the question is, how much of a difference does that make? critics like rand paul saying, who holds the data does not do sincerely make such a huge difference and they are concerned intelligence agencies will soon be able to go after huge bundles of information while targeting particular terror suspects. peter: there is resistance to what the nsa has been doing. where is it coming from? is this grandstanding or is there more to it than that? guest: if you look at public opinion, it can seem quite contradictory.

just over half of the people of object into this notion of bulk collection of telephone records whereas another poll suggested that many more people were more concerned that the u.s. is not doing enough to protect itself. rather it's not doing enough to protect civil liberties. this will be the key difference at the start of this year. there was an opinion poll showing that americans are more worried about terrorism than anything else. that terrorism has trumped the economy as their chief concern. ever since the financial crisis has been the biggest concern terrorism has overtaken that. anything that can be presented as a threat to national security will be a very hard sell for the voters. rand paul has been strengthening his support among his libertarian followers.

i think they sway the republican voters looking at next year, they may be turned off by what he is doing. peter:matt: over in iraq, the funerals have taken place when fighters attacked a police station. peter: north of the capital of baghdad, 60 people wounded and hundreds of people attending the funerals. the triple suicide attack resembled the coordinated isis assault on ramadi last month. they met with the relatives of those killed. germany's foreign minister says the international community needs to act now to end the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the gaza strip. matt: after meeting with israeli leaders on sunday -- peter: they describe the plight

as a powder keg that could explode in fresh conflict with israel. reporter: the gaza strip is still in ruins. in places no stone was left unturned. houses and schools have been destroyed. little has been built since the war between israel and palestine. they saw this wasteland on a three-day trip to the region. >> we must ensure from the rubble of war that no new conflict or escalation of tensions rises from these ruins. this is why we must tackle reconstruction here which is urgently needed. reporter: germany has offered to rebuild gaza. this school was set up with funding from her land.

it was one of 20 supported by germany. but other building work is on hold as israel won't allow materials to be delivered to the gaza strip. >> we need the gaza strip to be opened up so the economy has the chance to get back on track. if this doesn't happen, it could lead to the next crisis. reporter: he has urged israel and palestine to restart talks for lasting peace in the region. matt: we spoke to our correspondent and asked what she thought of the message delivered to the israeli government by the juran -- german foreign minister. >> speaking quite strongly about the situation in gaza, the construction process to allow the economy finally to develop and to open the borders.

emphasizing humanitarian aid has not improved and the status quo was acceptable. this is certainly a strong message. the people felt quite strong about what they said. an amazing media turnout for this very short visit. people are generally happy to see the foreign minister visiting. they were wondering if these words which lead to political pressure was a political solution. peter: joining us there from jerusalem. it is pretty hard to find a world leader who is not on social media. a european wide online strategy, it's often easier face-to-face. matt: angela merkel has been hosting her french counterpart francois hollande in berlin.

comparing the rise of digital technology. police in bangladesh have charged 41 people with murder in connection to the collapse of the plasma -- peter: those charged could face the death penalty. reporter: they arrive with a crate of indictments. they fail to carry out safety inspections. the investigation has taken two years. police had to find and interview thousands of witnesses. >> the 1136 diseased -- deceased workers had family members.

those injured also had family members. all of them are witnesses to the incident. we traced many of them and got statements. some were untraceable. the investigation took two years. reporter: the plaza collapsed in april of 2013 sparking a desperate rescue operation. thousands of people were in the building. large cracks appeared in the walls the day before they gave way and managers ordered work to continue. investigators say that lacks government controllers meant that they added additional storage to the building and packing too much machinery. the disaster sparked public anger and response from western clothing companies. regulations have been tightened. more than 200 factories closed due to safety concerns. 4 million work in the textile

industry. it remains a huge task. peter: two aircraft have crashed over beaches packed with holiday -- leaving people dead. matt: one of the pilots turned suddenly and his partner. the other did not survive. they were about two kilometers out to sea. peter: the french capital paris is often called the city of love. perhaps no more because authorities have become a little bit hardhearted. matt: they have removed the lovelock's that have adorned the bridge at the heart of the city. peter: the padlocks had become a threat to safety on and under the bridge. the railing is due to be replaced by thoroughly unromantic plexiglas panels.

reporter: too much love can be hard to bear. on this paris bridge, 45 tons of metal padlocks have taken their toll. >> it is very sad. we wanted to come to the middle but we found out it is going to be illegal. >> it was one of the top things to do while i was here. reporter: even in the city of love, safety comes first. a section collapsed under the weight of the amorous padlocks. authority said it is not worth the risk. the question remains what to do with the locks. >> i think they should at least put it in a museum. put it somewhere where people can see it. i think they are going to put it in the bin. reporter: with more than 30 bridges over the river lovestruck couples are likely to find an alternative location to

lock their love and throw away the key. matt: henrique iglesias is nursing an injury after being hit by his own drone in the mexican city of tijuana. he uses drones in his performances. peter: meant to present audiences with new angles. it slices fingers open. he performed the rest of the show. i wouldn't. matt: the things you do for love. let's take a short break. peter: when we come back, we will go to prison told that is battling a fever epidemic. -- we will go to brazil where they are battling a fever epidemic. they are using mosquitoes to try to control the insect population and slow the spread of the fe ver. matt: we will be back in 60 seconds. don't go away.

matt: welcome back. brazil is witnessing a surgeon fever. the health ministry says there have been 740,000 new cases from the start of the year to mid april. peter: spread by mosquitoes, there are no vaccines to prevent infection just yet but they are trying to slow the spread by genetically modified mosquitoes. here is more. reporter: there are 1000 insects in each container. they are releasing a quarter of a million mosquitoes into the wild. these insects were bred in a laboratory and the team hopes to use them to stop deadly favor from -- fever from spreading. >> we are not attacking the fever directly. we are going after the carriers

of the disease. it will have a direct in spec on -- impact on the spread of dengue. reporter: 2 million anti-dengue mosquitoes are bred in this laboratory in sao paulo state. only male larvae they are allowed to develop -- larvae are allowed to develop. they don't bite but are deadly to other mosquitoes. >> when they are released, they will find the females in the wild. all of the females living in our house and underneath our bed they will copulate and will transmit the lethal gene to their progeny. the babies, when they are born in the wild, they will die during their development. reporter: the testing zone is about two hours from sao paulo.

it has a population of 5500. from the first time ever -- for the first time ever, insects have been released into a residential area. >> this is all good for us or they would not have allowed it. >> dengue is a huge problem, but i don't know if it justifies such a project. more research needs to be done first. reporter: previous field tests predicted the mosquito population would go down by 80%. there are no official figures. the team gather bigs to determine the success of the project. staff at the local hospital says that some progress has been made. >> on average we had four new cases a day. this number has dropped significantly. we have high hopes for the project. reporter: a vaccine is expected

to take three years to develop. laboratory mosquitoes are being used as a weapon against the dangerous fire us. peter: a tough new smoking ban has gone into effect in the chinese capital of beijing. lighting up a cigarette will be prohibited inside public buildings like offices, malls, restaurants, and airports. matt: some outdoor spaces will be protected as well. in a country where more than 40% smokes not everyone is convinced the van will work. -- the ban will work. reporter: pulling out all the stops in the anti-smoking drive even deploying a dance troupe to sway smokers. effective immediately, no one can smoke in public buildings. not even outdoors. at least near hospitals schools, and sports facilities. authorities mean business. housings of inspectors are fanning out to find violators.

-- thousands of inspectors are fanning out to find violators. they are serious this time. the waiter told me to finish and come back in. they have started to be quite strict with the policy. people that light up anyway face a 30 euro fine. citizens are encouraged to report offenders to unofficial hotline. of course it's bad for our health because secondhand smoking is more damaging. i think it's best to stop smoking in public places. the government seems determined to see this through. persuading diehard smokers is another matter. i have had this habit for 10 years. it will be pretty difficult to change. city authorities will provide smokers with plenty of information on the new campaign and law. as for healthier air, that remains a pipedream.

the government still hasn't found a remedy for the choking smog in the city. peter: in the past, russia has consistently denied involvement in the downing of malaysia airlines white m -- airline flight mh17. and now they are questioning russia's version of events. forces shot down the plane, they say. others say those photos were faked. the clouds seen in the left-hand picture were digitally added and the dates of the pictured altered. the downing of mh17 and the disappearance of another has taken a toll on malaysian airlines. the ceo says he is bankrupt. matt: the company announced a restructuring plan that will slash jobs and cut routes.

the plan is to break even by 2018. reporter: malaysia airlines has sent its employees letters of termination. many have been asked to rejoin the company after the restructuring. 6000 workers have lost their jobs for good. the airline plans to cut several international routes and will sell two of its a380 superjumbo jets. the once successful airline has experienced a drastic change of fortune since 2011. in that year alone, it suffered losses of 628 million euros due to increased competition. its chief executive aims to break even by 2018. two large-scale disasters in 2014 sealed the company's bad run. in march of that year, a flight disappeared without a trace after taking off from kuala lumpur. in july, mh17 was shot down over

eastern ukraine, killing hundreds of the pool. matt: and a change for the chipmaker intel. they are buying altera for 15 billion euros. the biggest acquisition in that company's history. peter: traditional chipmakers are seeing margins squeezed as prices for personal computer chips dropped. intel was slow to move into the booming smartphone and tablet businesses. it is the third major takeover in the sector this year. matt: let's take a look at equities markets where traders were, surprise surprise, worried about greece. reporter: once again, investors were eyeing the situation in greece. opinions are different about the situation. investors are optimistic that greece and creditors will find a solution this week. many investors are very pessimistic about the situation. they fear aggression this month.

they are nervous, a lot of anxiety, and the market reflected this nervousness today. it was somewhat of a roller coaster ride today. in the and, the index closed in positive territory. matt: let's take a closer look at those market numbers starting in frankfurt. a roller coaster ride ended with a climb, finishing up about .2%. euro stocks rose slightly. the dow jones industrial average is still trading up by .4% at the moment. the euro slightly off against the dollar. peter: a sports item. a shocker at the french open. maria sharapova has been knocked out. matt: she lost in straight sets to lucie safarova. peter: a blockbuster

quarterfinal in the making with top-seeded novak djokovic will be meeting defending champion rafa nadal on wednesday. just in time for summer, iceland has opened a man-made ice cave to the public. reporter: the journey begins in this monster truck. inside, a select group of people were embarking on the journey of a lifetime. they are on their way to iceland's second-largest icecamp. this is a trip with a difference. the group won't just skirt the surface, they will get to explore the neath it. -- beneath it. it is below sea level. >> nobody has done this before. there was a lot of things we had to do in the beginning.

to try to throw it away and try something else. 40 months later, we are opening the first of two. reporter: construction of the tunnel began in the spring of last year. at 7000 cubic meters it is thought to be the world's largest artificial ice cave. it even includes an ice chapel designed to host wedding ceremonies. visitors are fascinated at the site. >> probably from the volcanic irruption in 20 -- eruption in 2010. it caused severe disruption to european air travel at the time. reporter: glaciers cover more than 1/10 of iceland's area. the climate change is leading to a dramatic reduction. in the past two decades glacial volume has fallen by 10%.

>> we believe the icecap will no longer exist at the end of this century. this is the last time for humanity to be able to experience it. reporter: organizers hope that the giant ice tunnel will lead to an appreciation of the glacial beauty. as well as raise awareness to the risks of climate change. matt: that's all for the journal. bye-bye. peter: cheers.

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damien: hello and welcome to "focus on europe," showing you how europeans really would. i'm damien mckenna. thank you for joining us.

why macedonians want a new government. why french models are being told to put on weight. and why british gardeners don't like the not so fantastic mr. fox. the face of macedonia has been rocked by violence and masterman's rations, sparking fears of a new ethnic conflict. the turmoil started earlier this month when