14/03/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi. Two days before

the referendum in Crimea that could see the region breakaway from

Ukraine and re-join Russia, Moscow ignores US calls for it to respect

Ukraine's territorial integrity. A handshake but no common vision on

Ukraine, says Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during talks

in London with his American counterpart.

We do not have a common vision of the situation. The differences are

there, but the dialogue was definitely constructive.

We believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of

Ukraine, is contrary to international law, is in violation

of that law and we believe it is illegitimate.

We're marking the third aniversary of the start of the conflict in

Syria. We ask what hope is there of a diplomatic solution with the

different sides showing little appetite for compromise.

An automatic signal from the missing Malaysian airliner suggests it flew

on for five hours after air traffic control lost contact with it.

And remembering one of Britain's political giants: Tony Benn -

towering figure of the radical left - has died.

Hello and welcome. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei

Lavrov, and the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, had six hours of

talks today on Ukraine - including a walk together in the sun in the

grounds of the US ambassador's residence in London. But even with

the threat of extensive US and EU sanctions hanging over it, Moscow

was not budging on its support for the referendum on Sunday in Crimea,

which will allow the region to break away from Ukraine. Washington says

it is regrettable that Russia has chosen not to de-escalate tensions

in Crimea. An intensive six hours of talks in

the sunshine of the US Ambassador's London garden. At stake, the future

of relations between the West and Russia. At the end of it, no

narrowing of the gap over Ukraine's future. The urgency is the

referendum planned for Sunday in Crimea. The region could either

break away from Ukraine even opt to join Russia. People in the West are

saying this would be illegal and a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.

With preparations under way, there seems little chance of it being

called off. John Kerry flew to London for one last attempt. And to

warn his Russian counterpart that if Crimea is effectively annexed by

Russia, there will be serious consequences. We believe that the

decision to put for word this by Russia and to ratify the boat, this

would be a back door annexation of Crimea and would be against

international law. Sergei Lavrov said that

disagreements remain and indicated that if Crimea votes to join Russia

in Moscow will not stand in its way. Do you expect Crimea to become

independent or to become part of the Russian Federation? TRANSLATION: As

for the referendum, I and President Putin have said that we will respect

the choice of the Crimean people and will make clear our position once

the outcome of the referendum is known.

It is clear that these last-ditch talks have gotten nowhere and

there's nothing that the West can do if the Russians because of Crimea

were to break away and join Russia. The stage is set for new western

sanctions against Russia next week and a deterioration further

East-West relations. Who knows what the consequences will be? And,

immediately a further worry. Violence in eastern Ukraine last

night. Sergei Lavrov said that Russia has no plans to intervene.

But his Foreign Ministry warned that Russia reserves the right to protect

its compatriots. A worrying hint of possible things to come.

Bridget Kendall joins us now. Presumably people are waiting to see

what the results are? In particular, whether Russia may wish

to annex Crimea? Sergei Lavrov said in public and

private to John Kerry, that would meet its nuclear ones the referendum

has happened. I do not think that is a sign that there could still be a

way out of this. That is simply Russia being procedural. It does not

want to pre-empt what the people of crime yesterday. I asked him, as you

heard on the report, what will happen? He said that they would

respect the Crimean people. Crimea is lost to Ukraine. It will join

Russia and the West sees this as annexation. Russia sees it as the

Crimean people exercising their right to self-determination. If that

happens, if the referendum goes ahead, then there will be more

sanctions. EU ambassadors will be gathering on Sunday to prepare for

the talks on Monday which may trigger these abounds for officials.

-- bans on visas. That also includes Germany. It has

strengthened its position. Yes, Angela Merkel has toughened her

position. She has previously been a peacemaker but she clearly has an

arrangement, a relationship with President Putin. She has spoken to

him on the phone. She speaks in Russian and he speaks

in German, apparently. Yes, they have the languages and a

relationship but you have seen that Germany has no hard its position.

Europe is very alarmed. Russia sending its troops into Crimea and

training taking place on the border with eastern Ukraine, as he saw in

the report, is a sign of trouble. This will be seen as a pretext. A

new statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said that they

reserve the right to protect compatriots. That is worrying.

Although, Sergei Lavrov seems to have reassured John Kerry that

Russia does not plan to intervene. But things change quickly.

Do you see any potential for movement on either side? There was a

change in tone with John Kerry. He said that Crimea has a special

status for the Russians. John Kerry came with a proposal

which was that if you do not annex Crimea then maybe Kiev will allow

greater autonomy. The new Ukrainian Prime Minister, the interim Prime

Minister, was in Washington yesterday. But I think what was

interesting was that it took six hours today for these talks. It was

fairly congenial also. They had different visions but they did shake

hands. They both do not want to stop the diplomatic track. 's the body

language is good. They are smiling at each other. Shaking hands.

Yes. This is not a break-up of a relationship. Even a personal level,

between Russia the West. But once the sanctions that chicken, Russia

will retaliate. They have said there will be reciprocal actions. That

will ratchet up the tension. Whether schools now, is well...

They said it was regret regrettable. We are going to be

asking where diplomacy is in the Syrian situation. To mark this grim

milestone, we have gained rare access to a new front in the war, in

the north-east of Syria. The Kurdish population they are clashed daily,

not with the regime, but with Islamist and other rebel groups.

Killed by a suicide bomber. Another gunfight is given an emotional

funeral. This person is among more than 500 who have died in the

struggle with Islamic extremists, not the Assad regime. This part of

Syria is controlled by the cards. We have rare clips of women fighters.

-- this part of Syria is controlled by the Kurdish people.

You cold-blooded British, you are sending us the scum of Britain and

Europe. And all in the name of Islam. They grow their beards but

they have nothing to do with Islam. This Islamic group is more extreme

than Al-Qaeda and are on the offensive here. This mosque was

virtually demolished when the attack a village recently. It belonged to a

sect of Islam they do not like. This was not random damage, this was

wholesale and absolutely systematic destruction of the mosque. There is

virtually nothing left. For most Muslims it is the ultimate insult to

burn the Koran. The Kurdish people are back in control of that village

but it is still problematic. The struggle is also about the oil that

abounds here. Gangs fight over it at night. By day, home-made mini

refineries pumping pollution. This nearby village was occupied for six

months last year by an official Al-Qaeda group in Syria. Kurdish

forces got them out. The villagers say they were glad to see the back

of them. TRANSLATION: When we were attacked, the village fled. If they

were here, you would not last five minutes.

The Kurdish people showed us a jail for captured militants. A group of

prisoners paraded for cameras. They were all Syrians from ices or

Al-Qaeda and we were not allowed to speak to them. But we were shown

people with papers from several countries. They found on the bodies

of Islamist fighters. Evidence of outside involvement in Syria's war.

This is a war with any words. Kurdish people fighting Islamic

extremists while the regime watches on. Like the wider war, it shows no

sign of ending, as Syria moves further deeper into conflict and

disintegration. We can now speak to Andrew Tabler, a

Syria specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East policy. On

this grim anniversary, I would like to ask you where we are at

diplomatically in trying to find a resolution?

Were at a dead stop. The recent peace talks in Geneva and Montreux,

came up with no solution. The deal was between Russia and the United

States that the United States would deliver the opposition and the

Russians would deliver the regime and they would hammer out a

transitional Government, based on the Geneva communique. The regime

refuses to discuss it. It only once talk about fighting terrorism.

Therefore, the talks broke down. Special representative Dave a top to

the Security Council yesterday and his words back that up to stop why

do you suppose the international community has lost the momentum a

bit in trying to bring the Geneva talks back to any kind of meaningful

pathway? Is it because of Ukraine? Is the

situation simply too difficult? The regime simply will not discuss

it. It is a strange situation where everybody realises that the only way

to peace Syria together again is through a transition, the bona fides

transition. Unfortunately that is simply not happening. Particularly

for the Russian side, there has been no pressure placed on the Assad

regime to comply. And that, I think, has led to the current breakdown in

talks. Is there also a sense, which some

people in Washington have expressed, of concern about certain elements in

the opposition being Islamist? Even jihadist West were hanging on?

Yes. I think that particularly among the Sunni opposition it is extremely

chaotic. Not just on the extremist side, but there are literally

hundreds of groups and I think that in the absence of a coherent

structure, but people can trust, the height next to a very brittle leader

like President Assad. -- a very brittle leader. It is one that is

not easily rectified. Thus far, the only programme that President Assad

has put forward to try and change this is his transition, his third

re-election as president of Syria. I have observed a number of elections

in my life and really, the elections there are just a big joke. President

Assad won the last election by 97%. Quite overwhelming. Do you see the

friends of Syria, perhaps, using military force in some shape or

form? I do not mean in the way of boots on the ground, but perhaps a

no-fly zone? Unfortunately, I do not see that. I see consensus where, the

regime is behind on delivering chemical weapons and there is

international agreement if they do not comply, there could be military

strikes, but until now, we do not have the strong arguments for direct

military intervention. People are suffering in the meantime and we

will see how much the international community can stomach this. We still

have a way to go before intervention is likely. Thank you for talking to

us. And now some of the other news in

brief. The police officer who initially investigated the death of

Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend was cross-examined again today at the

athlete's murder trial in Pretoria. He told the court that Pistorius had

blood on his arm after shooting Reeva Steenkamp. Photos from the

night, of the athlete with blood and of the gun were also shown in court.

Pistorius denies intentionally killing his girlfriend.

The president of Bayern Munich Uli Hoeness says he will not appeal

against his conviction for tax evasion. He's been sentenced three

and a half years in prison, for defrauding the German tax

authorities out of more than $35 million. A former star player,

Hoeness is stepping down immediately as president of Bayern Munich.

Information has emerged that the the Malaysian airliner that has been

missing for seven days sent routine automatic signals for several hours

after the aircraft was reported lost. 239 people were on board.

There is still no trace of the aircraft, and still no idea of what

happened to it. The search area has widened again. That search began in

the South China Sea. The authorities have since expanded that area

several times. First to the Straits of Malacca, then they shifted focus

toward the Andaman Islands. In the latest development, the search has

stretched further west to include the Indian Ocean, as well as deeper

into the South China Sea. Rupert Wingfield- Hayes sent this report

from Kuala Lumpur. In Beijing today, but hostility

towards Malaysia Airlines officials was palpable. One of the most

important things Malaysia Airlines has been doing is not speculating.

Nobody here is satisfied. How can love ones have simply disappeared?

It is incomprehensible. Astonishingly, a week later, there

is no trace of the flight. Today, the BBC confirmed the aeroplane

continued sending out a signal, via satellite, for several hours after

radar contact was lost. In the past 24 hours, we have seen a shift of

resources, ships and aircraft from the original search area, in the

Gulf of Thailand, over here, to the Straits of Malacca, and even far out

into the Indian Ocean. The latest to join this shift has been the U.S.

Navy, which is sending a destroyer to the Straits of Malacca today.

What remains unclear is why. This captain was a Malaysia Airlines

pilot for 35 years and says there is no way they are starting to search

the Indian Ocean on a hunch. I have a feeling. This is not your own

property. You are telling America, give me a ship, send it there. The

British, probably, have you any ships around the area? Can you

please send it now? It is our own property, we can do what we want.

There must be a level of strong conviction that something has

happened. Malaysia 's prime minister joined prayers for the missing. Many

think is government knows much more about the fate of the flight than it

is letting on. Our science correspondent has

conducted his own research, looking at satellite systems on the flight.

One of the systems was operated by the big London telecommunications

company who confirmed their system was on board and they received

automated signals. I understand they received the signals for up to five

hours after the aircraft went out of Malaysia and S space. It is probable

the information was automated, it does not really carry any real

information. But the fact they received the signal means the plane

must be intact and powered. It cannot have crashed.

Jonathan Amis. -- Amos. The veteran British Labour

politician Tony Benn has died at his home in London at the age of 88.

Tony Benn was one of the most influential left- wing figures in

British politics, and was a popular public speaker, anti-war campaigner

and political diarist. He was a life-long Socialist and in a moment

we will be discussing how relevant his kind of politics is in today's

world, first Iain Watson looks back at his life. 100% support to those

who do not, cannot, or, will not pay the poll tax. For much of his career

he was seen as a left-wing firebrand, indulging in what he

called extraparliamentary to the tee, or put simply taking the

argument for socialism into the streets. -- activity. As Anthony

Wedgwood Benn, he refused to inherit a title to become an MP. You have

defeated the House of Lords. As a minister in the Wilson government he

was seen as a modern eyes and technocrat and help to clear the

supersonic Concorde project for take-off. He later said that Tony

Benn later immature -- immatured with age. His critics say the

deficiency highlighted help get labour from power the two decades.

He argued the nationalisation of the Big Bang is and the withdrawal from

the European Union. The Humphrey Applebys have got together. You

cannot do this, Minister, because we agreed with the Dutch, and the

Belgians and the Italians, and so the minister has no power anyway. In

2001 he said he was leaving Parliament to take up politics. He

was a leading figure in the campaign to stop the Iraq war. People paid to

hear his thoughts. Confirming he had completed the journey from radical

to national institution. He chronicled contemporary events. Last

year, he told the BBC he remained convinced politics should not be

about shoddy compromise. My mother said to me that all decisions,

including political, are basically moral, is it right, is it wrong? He

often declared politics should be about policy as not personality.

Today, Westminster lost one of its most distinctive and distinguished

figures. With me is Hilary Wainwright,

founding editor of the magazine Red Pepper, and an author and

commentator on left-wing politics and social movements. Looking at the

political beliefs Tony Benn had, socialism. A bit out of date today?

I do not think so. His socialism was about people collaborating, acting

collectively. It was not about the state. He believed in workers'

control and industrial democracy. It was going back to original ideas of

socialism as a form of collaboration and cooperation rather than the

market ethos of individualism. Even countries who have socialist

somewhere in their title, such as Cuba, with the socialist system,

China, if you look at them now, especially the economic systems,

they have embraced capitalism. I would not say capitalism. Market

forces. It is a particular kind. The state still plays an important role.

On the other hand, you have coming from the people, whether it is next

to Wall Street, or the City of London here, all the squares of

Spain and Greece, you have the emergence of incredibly strong,

youthful movements, wanting a different system, which are clearly

against capitalism and the kind of experiment with new kinds of collect

to democracy, which is what Tony Benn would have looked towards and

been inspired by. Is the term socialism an albatross, and people

espouse socialism but the term is a bitch... ? I

-- the term is a bit... It is the worship of capital. It is worth

keeping alive. It is important to distinguish the social from the

state. There have been many different forms of social and that

should not be overwhelmed by simply the notion of the state. Tony Benn,

he said the older he got the more of a socialist he was and that is

unusual. Because he radicalised in office. He had a vision. He was

blocked by business and the state. He was looking all the time for

alternatives. That is it. Enjoy your weekend.

With more of a breeze picking up, we have lost the risk of fog in the

morning. Into the weekend, it is looking pretty decent the most.