09/05/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Alice Baxter.

Intense fighting in eastern Ukraine as President Putin visits Crimea,

recently annexed by Russia. At least 20 people are thought to

have died as Ukraine's government takes on pro-Russia separatists in

Mariupol. Here at the police station seems to be the most serious

incident so far in this city. There are still birdies on the streets

waiting to be taken away. -- buddies. In Crimea, President Putin

joins a military show of strength to mark the anniversary of the victory

over Nazi Germany. Also coming up: Nigeria's abducted

school girls - did the government fail to act on warnings about the

raid? We'll be talking to a Nigerian presidential spokesman.

First day at work in a care home - we'll find out how the former

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has fared as he starts

community service. And how do you stop students

cheating in exams? Harvard University's asking them to promise

not to. Hello, and welcome. More than 20

people, thought to be mainly pro-Russian demonstrators, have been

killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The government says its

troops responded when activists tried to take over the police

headquarters. Our correspondent Richard Galpin and cameraman Tony

Fallshaw were caught up in the crossfire on the streets of the

city. Their report contains images you may find distressing.

GUNFIRE. Video the BBC believes to be showing

victory Day in Mariupol turning into a bloodbath. Ukrainian troops

fighting a pitch battle with pro-Russian separatists in the city

centre. The military brings in reinforcements as the battle

intensifies. But pro-Russian activists rush out onto the streets,

trying to stop the reinforcements going through. This man makes a

fatal error, walking out into the middle of the street. He is shot in

the chest. When we arrived on the scene, we discovered the battle had

been over this building, the police headquarters, which according to

officials had been occupied by pro-Russian rebels who refuse to

leave. The fighting here at the police station seems to be the most

serious incident so far here in this city. There are still bodies on the

streets waiting to be taken away. In the aftermath of the intense

fighting, people gathered outside in a state of shock. They were

pro-Russian, and said the killing here was indiscriminate. This woman

tells me "Only Russia, no-one else, can now protect them." "Why hasn't

President Putin come here so far?" She says. The Ukrainian military

seems to be stepping up its operation to push the pro-Russian

rebels out of this city. But it won't be easy, and there are many

other towns and cities which have yet to be cleared.

Vladimir Putin has marked one of Russia's most important

anniversaries by making his first visit to Crimea since the former

Ukrainian region voted to join Russia in March. On the day when

Russians celebrate the country's victory over Nazi Germany, he told a

cheering crowd in Sevastopol that 2014 would go down in history as the

year when Crimeans decided to be together with Russia. Daniel

Sandford was there. President Vladimir Putin, the first

Russian leader in almost 70 years to expand his territory, arriving today

in Crimea. CHEERING.

As Russian air force jets roared overhead in triumph. It was the

first time he had come here since he annexed the peninsula less than two

months ago. TRANSLATION: I am sure that 2014 will be written into the

history of this city and our whole country as the year when the people

who live here made the firm decision to be together with Russia. And then

he stepped out into the crowd of tens of thousands of delighted

patriotic Sevastopol residents. With its long history as the home of the

Black Sea fleet, this is Crimea's most Russian city. It was a display

of defiance by President Putin, coming to Sevastopol in the face of

international opposition to his annexation of Crimea, knowing full

well that the people here supported what he did.

MARCHING BAND PLAYS. Today was victory Day in Crimea and

across the old Soviet Union, the day people celebrate the defeat of Nazi

Germany. But with Crimea gone and parts of his country in flames, the

Ukrainian Prime Minister said today history was repeating itself, with

its people facing a different form of fascism. Daniel Sandford, BBC

News, Sevastopol. With me now is a Russian

commentator. Let's begin with events in Mariupol.

Sad and symbolic perhaps that we saw this happening on today of all

days, victory Day. The details remain sketchy, but how far does

this show is key is trying to take back control of eastern Ukraine?

That is exactly what it shows, and it shows how difficult this is as a

joke that the military in Kiev. Part of the problem is that the local

people don't want to cooperate. There is huge entity kilos feeling

there. It is very difficult. Right-mac we're seeing in that

report cheering crowds in Crimea, welcoming President Putin as he made

this speech. We have seen President Putin very visibly there. To what

degree can we draw parallels with what is happening in Crimea in terms

of Britain's involvement and support of what is happening. We can now

join the news that is an interesting question. The

contrast was so clear. On the one hand, you have Putin using victory

Day to go down to Crimea and basking in his triumphant, to the universal

approval of the crowds. In eastern Ukraine, you had as somebody pointed

out, no Vladimir Putin. He did not say, even in his speech in Crimea in

his speech at Moscow, he did not mention Ukraine. I think that is

hugely significant. It does suggest that all of the talk of Russia and

Vladimir Putin in particular ability to intervene in eastern Ukraine is

actually not true. That is not his preference. Right-mac in recent

days, we have seen this softening of talent when it comes to his rhetoric

regarding eastern Ukraine and the upcoming referendums. What you think

we can read into that softening of tone? Is this an impact of these

economic sanctions we have seen with people and organisations close to

the only Briton? There are certainly officials who

would like to think that. I do not share that view, and I do not share

the view either that Vladimir Putin has done a U-turn on his views of

Ukraine in general. I tend to think that Britain had one priority in

Ukraine, and that was Russia's security. -- in Britain. Actually

going into Ukraine, he would damage that security. Ukraine enhanced its

security because it keeps Russia's on its black sea bass. In eastern

Ukraine, the risks are so colossal that I think it would take a huge

amount, a much greater level of disorder in eastern Ukraine,

Professor can-mac would intervene. Right-mac looking ahead on Sunday,

we are expecting the referendums on succession. We are no longer in

expecting money car keys. But you think will happen during those

referendums? Kharkiv. Vladimir Putin has flagged that he asked for the

referendums to be delayed. He was under no obligation to endorse the

results. That leaves open some possibilities. Interesting. Many

thanks for coming in. The human rights group Amnesty

International alleges the Nigerian authorities were warned in advance

about a raid on a school but failed to act. The attack led to the

abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls. Meanwhile, British and

US teams have arrived in Nigeria to help with the search for the girls.

Here's our security correspondent, Gordon Corera.

Bring back! Our girls! Passions run high at a protest

outside the Nigerian High Commission in London today. Anger at both Boko

Haram for kidnapping the schoolgirls, and the Nigerian

government for its slow response. They are innocent children! Boko

Haram, what have we done to you? It is a total, total disgrace what the

government has done. It was three weeks ago. They could have done

something three weeks ago. Today, more reasons for anger. Amnesty

International claimed that the Nigerian authorities received four

hours' warning about the raid on the school, but still failed to act. And

the father of one abducted girl claimed in an interview with the BBC

that some of the teachers had made sure their daughters at the school

were safe. The staff who are working there, they have daughters at school

there, and none of their daughters were kidnapped because they had the

information earlier, and they sent away their daughters home. They left

the rest of the daughters there, and then Boko Haram came in and

kidnapped them. Bring back our girls.

Four weeks on, and anger over the abduction of the girls is growing

here and around the world. With it, demands for action. Britain and

other countries have sent small teams to help, but it's not clear

how much they will really be able to do. Part of the role of those

British and American teams is to help in the search for the girls

taken from Chibok. This will involve using high-tech intelligence,

including satellite and aerial reconnaissance, maybe also drones.

But it has been a month. The search area is huge, and includes difficult

terrain, especially the Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram have their

hideouts. Foreign teams will also be trying to improve security to

prevent more abductions, and trying to persuade the Nigerians to adopt a

more subtle counter-insurgency strategy. But their poor human

rights record mean there are limits on how far Britain and America can

cooperate with them. So despite the arrival of foreign help, the

Nigerians are still in charge, and it's still not clear what they want

to or are able to do. We can now go live to Abuja and

speak to Doyin Okupe, the spokesman for the Nigerian President Goodluck

Jonathan. Thanks for joining us. Let's begin with the allegation made

in that report by Amnesty International saying it believes the

Nigerian military government had advanced warning of more than four

hours of the attack on the school. Yet reinforcements were not sent.

How do you respond? Thank you. This news broke a couple of hours ago,

and I have had the opportunity to consult with the authorities in

Abuja. They have actually demanded this statement. They have said this

is untrue. I believe in the next couple of minutes, I am sure the

defence headquarters will be making an official statement on this

matter. From what I know, you will recall that a couple of months ago,

Amnesty International also did come up with some negative information

about the Nigerian army during the episode where several thousands of

people were killed. Amnesty International insisted that these

people do this, and evidence pointed out that that was not true. The

evidence initially put together by Amnesty International turned out to

be false. If you go by that record, I am not surprised that this is also

one of the antics trying to spoil the Nigerian military. I understand

you refute the claim being made, but they have also said that

reinforcements were not sent on this occasion because of a reported fear

of engaging with the often better equipped armed groups. Why is Boko

Haram better equipped than the Nigerian government? Why are they so

powerful? Who is them? Thank you very much. This is a statement that

has often been repeated. You must understand that the Nigerian army is

a professional army, and is a highly disciplined army. In the Army, the

greats of equipment and machinery that soldiers can carry during the

affair. -- grades. Boko Haram is undisciplined and does not conform

to international rules of engagement and can carry rocket propelled

grenades and machine guns. This is not allowed under international law,

not because they are not responsible to anyone, they can do that. The

Nigerian army still has the capability to overpower them as in

every case. The Nigerian army prevailed. That is why they we're

ready to push them out of the States in order to run the state. They are

better armed. But what people are seeing a rocket propelled grenades

that nobody uses in any professional area.

Mr Okupe, I want to ask you briefly about the globalisation of the

search for the girls. President Girdler Jonathan has recently

accepted help from the United States, Britain, China and France.

Is that an admission that your own efforts have been ineffective? That

is not correct. Most world leaders have considered the fact that

wherever there is insecurity brought about by terrorists, the whole world

should come together and fight it together. After all, the flight that

crashed in Malaysia, MH370, it wasn't because the Malaysian

government was incapable, it was because of empathy, people brought

what they could to help. This is not about the Nigerian government or

military. We are all against this menace and we are fighting together.

And I think it is to change now, unless there are other ulterior

motives, why would people want to put down the Nigerian government?

The United States, Great Britain, France and Canada have agreed to

work together and we should be using this instead of looking for ways to

bring down the Nigerian government. Mr Okupe, many thanks for joining me

here on the programme. Now a look at some of the day's

other news. The leaders of the warring factions

in South Sudan have both arrived in Ethiopia for face-to-face peace

talks. Rebel leader Riek Machar has already met with the Ethiopian Prime

Minister, who is mediating the talks. South Sudan's President Salva

Kiir is also in Addis Adaba. A ballistics expert at the murder

trial of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has questioned the

prosecution's version of how he shot his girlfriend. Defence witness Tom

Wolmarans said wounds show Reeva Steenkamp may have been standing

when first shot, and still falling when the last shot hit her. That

contradicted evidence by the prosecution's police ballistics

expert, who said Ms Steenkamp sat on a magazine rack, attempting to

protect her head with her arms when the last shot hit her. More from

South Africa now. The ruling ANC is headed for a comfortable win as

vote-counting in the elections drew to a close. With nearly 99% of South

Africa's voting districts counted, the African National Congress had

over 62% percent of the vote - slightly lower than its result in

2009. The BBC's Andrew Harding reports from South Africa.

Elections over, and it is back to work in a country anxious for

change. Many businesses, big and small, say they are struggling here

in South Africa. With an unskilled workforce, restrictive labour laws

and mixed messages from government. I think they need to create an

atmosphere that is pro-business, that allows small entrepreneurs to

enter the market and flourish. It would be good to see corruption

disappear. I think corruption is the rot of everything and from there,

everything else just goes pear-shaped. And a better education

system to provide more educated workers? It would be great. It would

be helpful. So can the governing ANC deliver? Today, it is celebrating a

reduced but decisive election victory and is promising to use that

mandate to push through a big pro-business reform programme,

focusing on investment and infrastructure. It is going to be, I

think, quite an exciting and robust development of the economy in South

Africa, as long as we stick to the plans that we have, which I think

are very good plans. But there is the problem. After the bloodshed of

Marikana, tensions remain high in the crucial mining sector. The

Government seems reluctant to confront its trade union partners, a

recipe perhaps for more uncertainty. I think it will be more of the same.

And I think it will be a tough job for us in Parliament to hold the ANC

accountable, to keep it on its toes, and to make sure that, where

possible, it does implement those critical policy interventions. The

public have made it clear in this election that they have not yet lost

faith in the ANC, but the Government will now be under growing pressure

to deliver on tackling unemployment and corruption. That is the problem,

jobs. At my age now, I am 40 years old, it has been ten years not

working. So I think they will be more jobs than this one. So maybe

our poverty might be a little bit nicer. So things might get better?

Thank you very much, sir. Some optimism, then, and lots of hard

work ahead. Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio

Berlusconi has completed the first day of the community service he was

ordered to do after being found guilty of tax fraud. David Willey

has more from Rome. The media turned out in force to

watch Mr Berlusconi begin his first four-hour weekly stint at the care

home for the elderly. His bodyguards weren't allowed inside. The former

Italian Prime Minister had been warned by justice authorities not to

give interviews and he arrived and left without saying a word. He was

originally sentenced to four years in prison, but this has been

commuted to community service. One protester shouted out that the media

magnate ought to be in jail. A regular volunteer at the care home

was unhappy about all the publicity Mr Berlusconi still gets, despite

his conviction for fraud. Italian criminal law is lenient to offenders

over 70 years of age. Mr Berlusconi has been stripped of his seat in

parliament after his conviction for tax fraud by one of his media

companies. Yet he still intends to lead the political campaign on

behalf of his Forza Italia party in the forthcoming European elections.

And now, how do you stop students cheating in exams and stealing

essays from the internet? There's been growing concern about the

so-called Google generation's academic habits and now Harvard

University is going to introduce an "honour code" in which students will

promise not to cheat. The Ivy League university faced a major scandal two

years ago, with dozens of students disciplined for sharing answers in a

take-home politics exam. Joining me is Mike Reddy, from the

University of Wales. He's a member of the academic network of the

Plagiarism Advisory Service in the UK, and an advisor to Turn-it-in, a

company which has created software to help detect student plagiarism.

Many thanks for joining me. So honour codes, "I promise not to

cheat" , they are hardly binding. Do they work? It is Don McCabe, from

brokers University, he has done research over the last few decades

and has found there is a small amount in the difference plagiarism

and academic offences in universities with honour codes, but

he has also found that unless there is an ethos or a culture of honesty,

introducing an honour code at a late stage isn't in any way affected.

Give us a sense of the scale of the problem. How big an issue is

Internet plagiarism now when it comes to academic work in

University, across the globe? You have do remember we are in a very

different culture to when I went to university, when you would have to

wade through shelves of abstracts and wait weeks for a paper to come

back. Now you can get 50 papers in five seconds with a click and a few

presses on a keyboard. So it is a very different culture and obviously

we need to make use of the Internet, it is a fantastic resource but

unfortunately it has a dark side to and it makes it easier to copy and

paste. But also easier to detect. It is a truly international problem.

And presumably other problem is a lot of the students are Parmar

Internet savvy these days than their lecturers and teachers? --far more

Internet savvy. This is a good point, we need to be engaging in

teaching with these technologies because students are used to using

them in their everyday lives. They take them for granted where it still

seems like magic to me. The thing for us old fuddy-duddies is to keep

learning and talking and developing. There is a conference in Newcastle

this year, the International Plagiarism Conference, where people

come from all over the world to discuss new ways of educating

students to prevent Majorism and collusion as a possible offence.

Presumably, there is the problem that we can create software to

detect the problem but then students will get better at plagiarising.

Does this call for a reassessment in the way in which we grade students

or assess students, that we need a new way of testing them? There is a

movement called Assessment For Learning, where they say it

shouldn't just be a measurement of your performance but wait for you to

load while doing the assessment. It an interesting point about students

getting better at plagiarising. It is like getting better at driving.

Universities are like teaching you for your driving test, you never

afterwards drive... Mr Reddy, I am sorry, we have to leave it there.

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