17/04/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today. A diplomatic deal to end the violence

in Ukraine and a call on pro-Russian protesters to end their occupation

of government buildings. The agreement comes after more violence

but will the diplomacy make a difference on the ground? The USA

says was a good day 's work. Russia the Ukrainians need to find their

own solution. Hopes are fading for the school children still missing in

the South Korean ferry disaster. 280 people are still missing. The

captain of the sunken ship is under investigation. Also coming up. He's

77 and he's had a stroke but he's still seeking re-election as

President of Algeria. Why are opposition parties calling for a

boycott? And as Christians get ready to celebrate one of their most

important festivals, Easter, we look at a global test of opinion across

several countries about attitudes towards religion.

Hello and welcome. High-level talks in Geneva aimed at ending the crisis

in Ukraine have concluded with what looks like a breakthough. Before the

talks got under way, three Russian separatists were killed after the

attempted to storm a military base in eastern Ukraine. We'll have more

on that in a moment. But first, it was the Russian Foreign Minister

Sergei Lavrov who announced that inernational talks in Geneva had

resulted in a deal on calming tensions as Rob Watson reports.

For a meeting from which so little had been expected, signs of

progress, an upbeat Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said all

sides had agreed to take steps to calm tensions including removing

militants from buildings and to address their political differences.

What is the most important for us is everybody, all the parties agree

that this is the crisis that needs to be regulated by Ukrainians

themselves. Immediate cessation of conflicts. His US counterpart John

Kerry also talked a good work achieving good faith but said now it

was a question of turning words into action, warning of further sanctions

on Moscow if they went. This day 's work is produced principles and

commitments and it has produced words on paper. And we are the first

to understand and to agree that words on paper will only mean what

the actions are taken as a result of those words produce. Earlier, in a

phone in programme on Russian television, President Putin blamed

the authorities in Kiev for all the tension in trouble in eastern

Ukraine. He insisted there were no Russian forces on the ground at

again, held out the possibility there could be in the future.

TRANSLATION: As a reminder, the Federation Council of Russia, has

the right to use military force in Ukraine. I very much hope we will

not have to exercise this right and with political and diplomatic means,

we will resolve the acute problems in Ukraine today. On Wednesday

night, a reminder of the kind of flash points that could lead to an

even wider crisis. A National Guard base in southern Ukraine came under

attack from pro-Russian militants. The assault failed, but left three

of the pro-Russian is dead. And more than a dozen injured. All further

evidence of Kiev's struggle to maintain control of its territory

without provoking unwanted confrontation. Of course, not all

eastern Ukraine is in the grip of a pro-Russian insurgency. These

protesters were demonstrating for what they called a united country.

How to keep Ukraine United in a way that satisfies all of its citizens,

its Russian neighbour and Europe and the USA, remains the prize so far

out of reach. Sir Tony Brenton is a former British Ambassador to Russia.

He joins me from our studio in Cambridge. People are talking about

a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Is this it? Well, this is a very big

first step, very good news, and, given the unpromising background to

it, both sides looked into the abyss, the Russians never really

wanted to invade Ukraine, but with the deaths yesterday, it is harder

to evade. The Westerners were worried about a Russian

dismemberment of Ukraine, both sides are found in agreement which enables

them to step back. That's the good news. A lot depends on the

implementation but my feeling is both sides, having seen how bad

things could have got, are genuine about carrying this link through

now. What other tangible signs we can see this resolution being

occupied on ground? Occupied buildings being given up? If you

read a statement, there are explicit requirements, the disbandment of

illegal groups, the abandonment of illegally occupied buildings,

monitors being brought in, so things should happen quite quickly and that

will be an early test of how genuine both sides are on delivering on the

agreement. What about pro-Russian protesters in Ukraine? Will they do

what Moscow tells them to do or will they do their own thing? I think

there will be some grumbling, but since it was quite a lot of Moscow

activity behind-the-scenes in getting them out, to protest, I hope

they will quickly withdraw. Has Russia got what it wants? It never

had any designs on eastern Ukraine but got Crimea. Yes, Crimea is a

problem left over for another time. The big thing Russia has got in the

statement is a guarantee of an open constitutional process, and what

they see as guarantees of autonomy for regional populations which

includes the Russian population. There is a shift in tone of not

talking so explicitly about autonomy for the Russian speaking population

in eastern Ukraine. Much more just saying their rights should be

acknowledged more firmly. As I understand it, behind-the-scenes,

Ukrainian representatives, John Kerry said he spoke to the Prime

Minister of Ukraine, and there were assurances on autonomy for the

Russian population and all populations in Ukraine. It's very

clear. What would you say the balance of power between Russia and

the West is after this agreement today and the whole crisis over

Ukraine? It's an interesting moment. What has become very clear is it

impossible for the West simply to take Ukraine in the direction it

wants to go. The Russian hand and involvement remains very strong. And

that will have to be taken into consideration as Ukraine looks at

its future economic and political orientation. And therefore, the West

will have to take Russia a lot more seriously going forward. Thank you

very much indeed for sharing your insights with us. South Korea's

coastguard says it's investigating every detail of the final hours of a

ferry which sank with hundreds of schoolchildren on board. 179 people

have been rescued but almost 300 are missing. And the country's President

says time is running out to find more survivors. There are

unconfirmed reports that the crew delayed giving orders to abandon the

ship and launch the lifeboats. Divers are waiting to search South

Korea's stricken ferry but they can't get in. Held back by strong

currents today, this was all the rescue teams could do.

And in case there was anyone alive to hear them, they brought in oxygen

to pump inside the hull. Parents believe their children may be

clinging on in air pockets. Their disappointment at not finding them

turning on the rescuers themselves. "Children are dying," they shouted.

"Why aren't you doing something?" Out there is a disaster that no one

can get to. Perhaps hundreds of people, most of them children,

trapped inside a sunken ship. Surrounded by rescue boats, but cut

off from them by these terrible conditions. This man came here last

night to find his 67-year-old mother on her way to a cycling holiday with

friends. It takes him a while to find her photograph. She hates

having their picture taken, he says. TRANSLATION: Everyone wishes their

relatives would survive this accident. But right now, I don't

have the energy to get angry. I want to cry but I can't. I have no one to

talk to. I don't want to worry other relatives so I have decided to face

this alone with my brother. This video, apparently shot from inside

the ferry, shows how passengers struggled to stand up in the listing

ship. The captain hid his face of the police station today feeling the

pressure of getting out alive. TRANSLATION: I am really sorry. I am

deeply ashamed. I cannot put it into words.

For some of those here, the wait is over already. This mother, reunited

with her child too late. But grief is felt across the country. Most of

those on board the ferry were pupils of this high school outside Seoul.

The names of those still missing from the registers far outweighing

the numbers found. And then there are stories like this

one. Six years old and pulled from the wreckage yesterday. A chocolate

bar to mark the end of her ordeal. Stories like hers are getting rarer

here. But it's stories like hers which give the families still

waiting hope. Now a look at some of the day's

other news. The parents of some of the 100-plus schoolgirls abducted by

suspected Islamic militants in Nigeria, have begun searching local

forests for them. There's been confusion over how many of the girls

are still being held by their kidnappers. The governor of Borno

state originally said nearly all of them had escaped. But it now seems

more than 100 are still unaccounted for. The murder trial of the

Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been adjourned for just over a

fortnight. He's accused of deliberately shooting his girlfriend

Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. The judge interrupted

this morning's hearing to warn those watching a televised feed of the

trial outside that they could be heard cheering and shouting inside

the court. There's been a lukewarm reception for shares in Weibo, the

Chinese version of Twitter, which has been floated on the Nasdaq stock

exchange in New York. It's sold 16.8 million shares, raising $286 million

so far, well below the $340 million it was aiming for. Weibo is not

currently making a profit and the number of active users has fallen

since China's censors strengthened their control of online discussions

last year. Scientists in the United Sates say they've discovered the

most Earth-like planet yet found in another solar system. It's called

Kepler-186-F and NASA have released these artist impressions of what it

might look like close up. It's almost the same size as Earth, and

temperatures on it are mild enough to allow surface water. Prosecutors

in New York are outlining their case against the radical Muslim cleric,

Abu Hamza. The Egyptian-born preacher, who was extradited from

Britain to the US in 2012, denies all 11 terrorism charges against

him. The charges he faces include conspiring in a 1998 kidnapping of

tourists in Yemen that resulted in the deaths of three Britons and an

Australian. Abu Hamza rose to notoriety in the UK for preaching

violent messages at Finsbury Park mosque in London after the 9/11

attacks. We are now joined by our correspondent Barbara Plett-Usher

who's outside the court in New York where the hearing is taking place.

Barbara, tell us what the prosecution had been saying in this

court hearing today. The prosecution made its opening statement basically

saying that Abu Hamza had used his influence at the Finsbury Park

mosque to aid terrorism and terrorism training. He said he used

religion as a cover to hide in plain sight and then went through a fairly

detailed explanation of the case against Abu Hamza, saying for

example, he sent two men in 1999 to Oregon to set up a terrorist

training camp, assisted them in Yemen in 1988 by giving them a

satellite telephone and he talks about the witnesses he was going to

call. The defence attorney also gave his opening statement saying Abu

Hamza had not participated in any of these acts and presenting in

basically other decent man who had been misunderstood. He told the

Journal of the the context and a lot of what they were going to hear in

the trial had actually happened between -- before 911 when the world

was viewed differently. When he went to Bosnia and Afghanistan, to some

extent, he had been on the same side as the West at that point, and he

said British intelligence in London had repeatedly approached him to try

to keep situations that non-violent. And under control. So, he said to

the jurors also that they would hear some very harsh things, that Abu

Hamza has said in his speeches which would be played in the trial, but he

-- they must member these are expressions of views and not crimes.

Reminders about Abu Hamza because he had been hitting the headlines are

graded in the UK, where he was at this very prominent mosque in north

London. He fought in Afghanistan, where he suffered injuries.

That is right. He was radicalised during the Afghan war against the

Soviets. He also went to Bosnia to aid the Muslims there, and then he

rose to prominence in the 1990s at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London

where he had these very fiery speeches. MI5 did start watching him

after 1997 but they never really took him that seriously at first.

They thought he was sort of a noisy troublemaker. Eventually, though,

they did invite him and jail him for inciting racial hatred and calling

for murders in his very fiery speeches. Right around that time,

the Americans decided he was also a factor in global jihad, as they

called it, and they called for him to be extradited to New York. That

was delayed for many years, partly because he was serving jail time in

Britain, and partly because he and other terrorist suspects really

fought extradition. He was brought here in 2012 and the trial has

started now. Thank you. A presidential election is taking

place in Algeria, with the veteran incumbent President Abdelaziz

Bouteflika widely expected to win a fourth term in office. Mr

Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke last year and rarely appears in

public, cast his vote in a wheelchair. A coalition of Islamist

and secular opposition parties have called for a boycott, saying the

election will be a sham and that Mr Bouteflika is too ill to govern.

With me is Mohamed Ben-Madani. He's editor and founder of the Maghreb

Review, covering North Africa and the Middle East. Nice to meet you.

He is going to win, isn't he? He is going to win. Everyone expected him

to win. But his main principal challenger said that even if he

loses, he will not accept the result. So if he wins, there will be

chaos. It is hard to see how it will end. You are talking about the main

opposition candidate, Ali Benflis. I'm talking about resident macro, if

he wins. Why are the opposition calling for a boycott? The

opposition organised a protest last Friday with 40,000 to protest

against the election. They are protesting because Abdelaziz

Bouteflika has not fulfilled his promise -- obligations. What

obligations? Employment, jobs, poverty. It is a very rich country

in natural resources, Algeria, but that does not create many jobs and

you have a very young population. Is there a generation gap in Algeria,

that older voters, perhaps like Abdelaziz Bouteflika because they

remember the stability. There was all that terrible violence in the

1990s and thousands of people died. He has 24% of the Algerian

population with no jobs, despite the resources. You have almost 25% who

are living under the poverty line. You have made that point but on this

question of the fact that the RB, which backs Abdelaziz Bouteflika,

the deep state, they have brought stability. -- the fact that the

Army, which backs president-macro... Is he the candidate for stability?

That is what he is proposing, but there are problems because of his

old age and his health. He has not brought the economy... OK, but if he

is ill and unable to take care of the day-to-day process of

Government, who is running the show? His brother and the Army, and the

small group around him will run the show. He's completely unfit to rule

the country for now. And the Army will be watching very closely, and

the reason they are supporting him is because they feel first that he

has brought a little stability. He is the man who can manipulate and

control the other political parties. Thank you very much.

Voting has been taking place on the biggest day so far of India's

marathon general election. Today, 121 parliamentary seats are up for

grabs in 12 states. The main challenger to India's ruling

Congress party is the Hindu nationalist BJP. Its candidate

Narendra Modi is seen by critics as anti-Muslim. One of the key states

going to the polls today is Rajasthan in Western India. Sanjoy

Majumder reports from the state capital, Jaipur.

A helping hand to enable her to enter the polling station. She is

one of the many who streamed in steadily to cast their vote. This is

the most significant day of polling, and every vote counts in what is

turning out to be a bitterly fought election. The voters are in an

unforgiving mood. TRANSLATION: India should progress. We should get rid

of corruption so that the poor and middle classes get the chance to

move forward. TRANSLATION: Make things cheaper. Everything is

becoming so expensive. We are finding it harder to manage. This

building is more than 100 years old. It is one of the city's oldest

schools and it has now been converted into a polling station.

You can just see the number of women who have turned out to vote today.

It is something we have seen in earlier phases of these elections as

well, large turnouts, many women as well. It usually means that they are

trying to send a strong message. Wherever we go, they say the same

thing - they are fed up with the politicians. 100km from Jaipur, they

are focused on the elections, too. This is the village of Rajnota. The

pace of life here has not changed over the years and it has hardly

seen any development. In the village square, the elders tell me, "We only

see the politicians during the election times." TRANSLATION: There

are no jobs here. Delhi is 250km, 300km away, and Mumbai is even

further. It's too far for our children to go looking for work.

TRANSLATION: The politicians just lie to us all the time. In ten

years, no one has built a road or a hospital. People here have been left

out of India's progress, but they are hungry for change. And this is

the one time they can push for it. As Christians get ready to celebrate

one of their main festivals, Easter, a survey of 65 countries suggests

that most people believe religion has a beneficial role in society.

66,000 people were surveyed by the company WIN/Gallup. Indonesia came

out as the country most supportive of religion. Africa was the most

supportive region. The United States topped developed countries. Let's

talk some more about this. I am joined by our religious affairs

correspondent, Robert Pigott. An interesting survey. And one not done

very regularly but what it showed, what it hides is as interesting as

what it reveals. They asked people how positively they regarded

religion in its role in their own country and they subtracted from

that how negatively people thought as well. Some felt positive, some

negative. They got a score for each country. 95% of people in Indonesia

thought of religion played a positive role in their country.

Africa came at... The vast majority of people in Indonesia are Muslim.

Yes. Africa is partly Muslim and partly Christian, and has

traditional religions as well. The Middle East and North Africa was the

next region. Roughly 55% positive. Then you begin to look at roles

which are less positive than that. Is it across already genes? Some of

the areas you have cited, Indonesia, end of the nation, although it has

non-Muslim people living there as well, Middle East, Africa, was it

mainly Muslims who said they value religion? Muslims came out top of

the people who view religion as being a positive force in their

country. But Protestant Christians also. Hindus were one of the least

favourable of the role religion played in the country. Which region

was the most negative towards religion? Western Europe was

conspicuously the most negative and there are also to be just impossible

reasons. Could it be because religious institutions are

unpopular, could it be to do with the sex scandal in the church? There

is also the link between educational achievement and the religion. The

higher your education is, the least likely you are to favour religion.

At each stage, you find a greater negative net feeling towards

religion. So could it be that the most educated areas of the world

have that view? Did atheists see any merit at all in religion for their

fellow citizens the believers? Not a lot in the overall school but four

out of ten it think so, so they did see a positive role for religion. --

the overall score. And that is because religion, in essence, is a

good code for leading a good life when you take out ritual elements.

If you live in Africa do you see the big conflict between the themes and

Christians in Nigeria as being a religious one or tribal one? Thank

you. Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, have been

visiting one of the areas devastated by Australian bush fires just six

months ago. The royal couple visited the Blue

Mountains, speaking to people affected by the fires, before taking

in the view. They met local leaders, members from the emergency services,

and fire volunteers. The Duke and Duchess began their ten-day tour of

Australia on Wednesday. That is it from us. Goodbye.

After today's extra cloud, pressure is building for the start of the

Easter weekend. Friday and Saturday not the warmest,