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we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news america. >> marriage at an early age. er are forcedn nig to become bright. helicopter military was shot down. he is renumbered as a good spy. a ciat we hear how agent work to achieve peace in the middle east with charm as his cover.

welcome. we will do everything possible to bring our daughters home. that was the valve that the nigerian president made. has put a global spotlight on the plight of women and girls. the african union has waged a campaign to eradicate child marriage. tonight we have a special report nearly 80% ofre girls are married by 18. choice is land all defined by the demands of survival.

niger is the world's least developed nation. bride price is part of african custom. asse people said as well locals wealthy nigerians are offering big money for beautiful girls. a goodview, it is not thing, this man said. girl can fetch thousands of pounds depending on her beauty. iss person has no job, separated from her husband. she would welcome a wealthy husband. >> many families do not have the choice. [indiscernible] ge ofe legal ai

marriages 15. childhood vanishes. this person, it was the trauma of being forced to have sex at 13. >> [indiscernible] i did not think it was about marrying somebody i would be happy with. i was so young and did not have anybody to whom i could go for device. always trying to -- it was as if he had bought me. it was not because i wanted him, but because he had bought me. he missed treated me. one day he locked me in the bedroom. it is as if he raped me. writes there can also be -- for child brides there can also be traumatic

medical consequences. gynecological condition that leads to infection. at 14, a person married another married at 12, another married at 15. they are comforted by a symbol of african dynamism fighting back against child marriage. getting changes very difficult and it is very costly. it is not easy, because most of the population is illiterate. they do not go to school and do not allow girls to go to school. change is difficult. >> economic desperation is driving the decisions of many families, but the recent this society has a long tradition of does not exist in the west. for also, religious leaders here are giving encouragement to

child marriage. encouraged by the u.n. have tried to provide more protection for girls, but face religious opposition. person insists islam allows for job marriage. it depends on the body of the girl and the man's body. if the two are mature, then the marriage can be ok. she can be able to get married. i do not doubt your strong the but it soundss, like you're making excuses for child abuse. >> this is not what i mean. there are rules to follow. if you follow islamic rules for this kind of marriage, we will never have this kind of problem. >> the problem comes from education and the example set by individuals. this woman forced into sex at

13, now studying to be a nurse come hoping to change her world. girls also married at nine years old. in ukraine pro-russian separatists shot down a helicopter that was on its way to a stronghold. 12 people were killed, including an army general. a portable missile was used to bring down the chopper. local people captured the aftermath of the crash, a thick plume of smoke rising above the wreckage of the helicopter. it was brought down by pro-russian rebels that had transported personnel. one of them was an army general. ukraine's outgoing president told parliament the aircraft had been hit by russian-made

antiaircraft missile. the real war is going on in the east of our country. i have just received information our helicopters, which is bringing armed servicemen from military rotation, was shot down by terrorists. there is a sense of lawlessness in eastern ukraine. today militiamen were guiding the -- guarding the airport after a fierce battle earlier in the week. on monday, four members of the security organization were abducted by demolition men. they have not been seen since. >> as the days pass we get more concerned. but we are using all our toernment contacts reestablish contact with them. we believe they are fine, well, but of course one thing we do want is the return to base in donessk.

>> in kiev, banners following sunday's election. many people want a return to normality. the new president has vowed to suppress. he faces an immense challenge. >> for more on the escalating tensions in ukraine, ice oak with a person from the carnegie endowment for international peace. a rocket to used bring dennis helicopter, are we seeing an escalation in to war? >> we do not know. these have happened a couple times and that pass. they are far verbal, do not have the kind of terror measures that they might be able to deploy. the challenge is very chaotic and there's not an easy solution.

is of 120,000. or would they have got it? in weapons.s awash it is a major industrial producer. they export weapons all around the world. we do not know where the system the shortagey, but of weapons is not a problem in the ukraine. called the russian foreign minister to talk about the issue of foreign fighters crossing the border from russia. 2-wood baby? >> we are seeing reports after the weekend. there was an attack on the etsk, a group of fighters that come from very parts of russia. we have seen reports of chechen and other places. we are seeing a pattern of russian intervention inside

ukraine that go beyond what was documented today. >> it sounds like it might get more chaotic. >> there are reports that russia may be holding its withdrawal. it is a dangerous attrition. >> if you were still in the white house looking at this, the president just made this major speech outlining what his foreign policy is. how worried would you be? >> the real challenge for the white house is can make de-escalate. we see with the new ukrainian president to up the ante militarily, but there will be a sermon he next week in normandie. the question is is there something we can start something on the diplomatic track. takee new president is not office until june. he says he wants to quash this rebellion in a matter of hours. >> i'm skeptical there is a military solution. problem is if it will get out of

hand, with others who have jumped on the cause of ukraine, can they be brought back into some sort of normalcy. it is not clear any side has the capability to do that. >> any negotiations? >> we have seen the osce with initiatives. those are the kinds of maneuvers you would want to see, but we do not see enough in the diplomatic push so far. >> thank you very much. police have arrested two men and file charges against a number of others in connection with the rape and killing of two girls. the girls were found hanging from a tree on wednesday morning. there was a protest by the bodies. were initially refusing to investigate. young people in a central were in --ublican

republic were in protest. on wednesday more than 10 people died in the attack in a muslim neighborhood in the capital. grenades were thrown into a court regard where people were sheltering. the former army chief in egypt has won the presidential election with more than 90% of the vote. his opponent has conceded defeat. brotherhoodlim boycotted the vote. in syriaian situation is deteriorating. that is the warning issued by leading groups trying to deliver aid. the international community to act in the face of this grave and worsening suffering. among those making the appeal is the former british foreign minister david miliband. he joined me from the united

nations a short time ago. david miliband, why are eight agencies choosing this moment to highlight the gravity of the seriousness of the syrian people? nation'sthe united resolution was passed in february, we have been campaigning for three years to highlight the plight of civilians. in february the security council demanded -- see not just organizations like international rescue committee, but all of our partners, but it is not making the difference planned. it is right world knows that this is a time to redouble our efforts, not to believe that the plight of the syrian people has been properly addressed. security council is not working, is there any further action the security council can take or is it too divided with russia as syria's ally? >> there are steps that can be

taken. when a united nations security counsel resolution is the fight, as it is by the syrian regime, it makes a mockery of the united nations and the nations who voted for it. i think there is very strong argument now for each of the permanent embers of the security council who have already put their name to the un's resolution to appoint a permanent humanitarian envoys who would be the job to make sure that that resolution was properly instrumented. they need help from the supporting space different sites in the conflict, from the iranian side, or the saudi side. they will be able to draw attention to the abuse of international law that is going on. her credit, very be having five different coordinators. >> we have a united nations coordinator. we need an voice that are willing to put the muzzle and

the muscle of their countries behind the effort. united nations is working hard after, butte the aid there needs to be much stronger pressure on the assad regime but also on the rebel groups to make sure that they abide by the norms and laws of international humanitarian help to make sure that civilians are able to get the basic food, medicine that they need because at the moment we have a refugee crisis in the countries andng unspeakable her in serious -- horror in serious doubt. >> on tuesday assad held elections that will possibly keep him in power. you think anything is changing? situation is extremely severe. 9 million syrians have been displaced from their homes. 3 million are now in neighboring countries. the attorney millions of

children are no longer in school inside the country. the short-term prospects of this war continues, a war without law, and a war with an and. the short-term prospects are extremely bad and neither side is giving way. that puts a significant onus on the international community, nations with an interest, whether because of their position on the security council or in the region to put maximum pressure on the regime and on the rebels to abide by international humanitarian law, which is what organizations like mine are trying to fulfill. >> david miliband, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> still to come, after months of searching, crews are no closer to finding the mala

ysian airliner. there are questions whether they were looking in the right place. according to new research a staggering 2.1 billion people are overweight worldwide most of whom are living in the developing world. western habits are to blame. once an element of rich ofntries, it is not peoples all ages and regions to escape. the heavy burden of unhealthy weight is greater than ever before, and not one country has succeeded in bringing down the problem. 2.1 billion people are now overweight. united states tops the list with 13% of the population. china came in second, followed by india, together making up 15% of the world's obese. the top 10 were pakistan and

indonesia. -- of the obis population the obese population is living in the developing countries. some say it is a sign of prosperity and greater access to western foods. >> there is a lot of western habits being taken on by those, and it is destroying the indigenous culture and the food. also it is perceived in this chictries that it is rather to go out and eat. they have never had it in their lives, and all of a sudden these wonderful stories that you can get a quick meal easily. >> the study found in developing countries women were more likely to be overweight than men. the reverse is true in the beloved nation's. researchers say this is the most comprehensive study of its kind, and with obesity rates rising in nearly 50% in children and adolescents worldwide, an urgent change is needed at the government level to stop this

consuming the next generation as well. >> has been another disappointing development in the search for the malaysian airlines flight 370. investigators announced a large part of the southern indian debrisontains no related . the search area for the missing plane will now have to be greatly expanded. >> nearly three months of looking at almost back to square one. the underwater search in the southern indian ocean using this automated separating -- submarine was focusing on an pings were blacked from the plane's

box. nothing was found. that part of the search was called off. it is now advised that the search in the vicinity can be considered complete. and it is professional judgment the area can now be discounted as the final resting place for the airplane. >> it is another blow for the families of the 239 people who were on board. it is a far cry from the optimism australian prime minister showed last month. area have narrowed down to and we are very confident that the signals we are you are from but box on 370. >> investigators will continue to scan the ocean floor. commercial contractors will be run in. the search area is having to be massively extended to an area of over 60,000 square meters, ofghly half the sidze

england. the cost is message. the australian government recently allocated more money for the search. and money have to solve the mystery. they may not be looking in the right place. >> difficult for the families of those on board. once again the middle east peace process has stalled. i'm the scenes over a decade, figures have worked hard as he did in the conflict. agentthem was a cia robert ames read a new book tells about how he deployed his understanding of the region and his personal charm. he died in 1983, but his contributions lay the groundwork for the peace accords a decade later. here is the story. >> we are standing in arlington

national cemetery right beside robert ames' gravesite. it is the only tombstone here that identifies someone as a cia officer. ames was completely unknown to most americans, but inside the cia, he is the hidden legend. years writingour the biography of robert ames read he was really an all-american boy who had this curiosity about a very foreign place, and he just threw himself into it. and charmed everyone. story is of the ames this fabulous relationship that he created with yasser arafat's personodyguard, a young

who rose to become arafat's virtual intelligence chief. they dined together, knew each other's wives, respected each periodand over a 10-year in a 1979 they met clandestine fashion because these were the years when no american official, no american diplomat could be caught speaking to someone from the plo. a cia officer was exempt from this prohibition. inside the agency they believed the oslo peace process started with ames' cultivation of this friendship with this person. ames was stationed in places like saudi arabia, kuwait, a he diedand then

tragically on april 18, 1983 in a route, lebanon. oddly enough, there was no retribution for the security lapses. the u.s. government really did not know who had done this. hezbollah did not exist then. another tragic consequence of ames' death in the embassy bombing was that it demoralized u.s. foreign-policy in the region. officer who,ne when i broached the idea that ames had started the peace process, he said, maybe that is true, but it all came to naught. yet i would argue that he showed us the way. his work is unfinished. someday it will come to fruition. >> the extraordinary life of cia agent robert ames.

show to as today's close. you can find more on our website. thanks for watching, and please tune in tomorrow. >> bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, kovler foundation, and union bank. a relationshipk managers work hard to understand

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(george chattering excitedly) this program was made possible by: are designed for kids to be as active as their imaginations. all she knows is that, today, purple is her favorite color, and that's good enough for us. stride rite is a proud sponsor of "curious george." at houghton mifflin harcourt, we believe reading opens new worlds and inspires curiosity in learners of all ages. we're proud to sponsor curious george on pbs kids. can fuel a lifetime of learning. abcmouse.com early learning academy, proud sponsor of pbs kids and curious george. funding for curious george is provided by contributions to your pbs station...

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(munching) (george chattering) (slurps) narrator: breakfast was george's favorite meal of the day... along with lunch and dinner. (chewing noisily) george, could you pass the pepper, please? (puzzled chattering) (chatters happily) (grunts) oh. (sniffs) uh-oh. pepper always made george... (sneezes) aah! ...sneeze. uh, are you all right? uh-huh. (giggles) (laughs) that's some mess you made. i'll go get the sponge-- ooh, except i'm late for a meeting. i have to go. can you clean up, george? (chattering) uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. thanks, and make sure to vacuum up all the crumbs. i saw an ant in here a few days ago.