:00:00. > :00:07.Hi, Ricky here with the top stories from around the world.
:00:08. > :00:10.Coming up this Monday afternoon: Paris goes to extreme measures to
:00:11. > :00:13.reduce its smog. And the rope swing in South Africa
:00:14. > :00:22.that is just insane. This is Newsround.
:00:23. > :00:27.First to Ukraine, and Crimea's parliament has formally applied to
:00:28. > :00:31.join Russia, a day after more than 96% of people who took part in a
:00:32. > :00:33.vote backed the region to join its neighbours. The man in charge of
:00:34. > :00:37.Russia, Vladimir Putin, says the vote was fair but Western leaders
:00:38. > :00:41.across Europe and the United States say it was illegal. I've been
:00:42. > :00:46.looking into why the vote has caused such a big debate.
:00:47. > :00:49.Balloons, fireworks and cheers on the streets of Crimea. Crowds of
:00:50. > :00:53.people celebrated after 96% of people who voted said they wanted
:00:54. > :00:59.Crimea to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia.
:01:00. > :01:04.But although many people in Crimea are happy about it - leaders across
:01:05. > :01:09.Europe and in the United States aren't.
:01:10. > :01:11.And here's why. In most cases when a referendum to vote on something
:01:12. > :01:15.happens, it's planned and announced a long time before voting actually
:01:16. > :01:22.takes place. In Crimea, it happened in less than two weeks.
:01:23. > :01:25.On the ballot paper, voters were given two options - they were asked
:01:26. > :01:28.whether they would like Crimea to rejoin Russia. And asked whether
:01:29. > :01:37.they supported the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine. But some argue
:01:38. > :01:40.that the words used were complicated and a simple yes/no question would
:01:41. > :01:41.have been better. Since the Ukrainian President, Viktor
:01:42. > :01:44.Yanukovych, who supported Russia, was removed from power last month,
:01:45. > :01:48.Russian troops have taken over control of Crimea with thousands of
:01:49. > :01:52.them on the ground. When the vote was announced, a number of Ukrainian
:01:53. > :01:58.TV stations were taken off air and some replaced with Russian channels.
:01:59. > :02:02.Lots of people who live in Crimea think of themselves as Russian and
:02:03. > :02:05.want to join their neighbour. But many people living in the region
:02:06. > :02:08.refused to vote - and people who see themselves as Ukrainian more than
:02:09. > :02:14.Russian are now worried about their futures. Europe and the United
:02:15. > :02:17.States have called the vote illegal and say they won't recognise the
:02:18. > :02:21.result. But the Russian President Vladimir Putin says he thinks the
:02:22. > :02:25.vote was fair, arguing that he needs to protect the Russians living in
:02:26. > :02:28.Crimea. For more information about the
:02:29. > :02:34.situation in Ukraine, head online for our in-depth guide.
:02:35. > :02:38.Next to Paris in France, where the amount of smog - the build up of
:02:39. > :02:42.factory and car emissions - has got so bad that only half the number of
:02:43. > :02:45.cars in the city are being allowed on the road. Only cars with
:02:46. > :02:48.odd-numbered registrations are allowed to be driven today and if
:02:49. > :02:51.the restrictions remain in place, it will be the turn of those with
:02:52. > :02:55.even-numbered plates tomorrow. But as Nel's been finding out, Paris
:02:56. > :02:58.isn't the only city that's had to battle the smog.
:02:59. > :03:01.Paris at its best: the Eiffel Tower in all its glory.
:03:02. > :03:07.Paris on a bad day: smog hanging over the city.
:03:08. > :03:11.The smog in the French capital is mainly caused by fumes from cars and
:03:12. > :03:14.factories and has been made worse by unexpected warm weather and cool
:03:15. > :03:18.nights in the city. Because smog can make it hard to breathe, people in
:03:19. > :03:21.Paris decided to ban half the cars on its roads until things improve.
:03:22. > :03:24.But it's not just in France where smog is a problem.
:03:25. > :03:26.Milan, Italy: cars have been banned from streets when air pollution
:03:27. > :03:30.reaches a certain level. Beijing, China: some of the worst
:03:31. > :03:34.smog levels in the world. In the past, half the cars were banned and
:03:35. > :03:37.factories closed but the smog hasn't gone away and dealing with it is
:03:38. > :03:41.back on the government's to-do list. And Los Angeles, America: In the
:03:42. > :03:47.1950s, the smog was sp bad that schools and factories were
:03:48. > :03:51.temporarily shut down. The ban on cars in Paris is set to
:03:52. > :03:55.continue until the smog clears, but if it returns, drivers will need to
:03:56. > :03:58.get used to keeping their cars at home.
:03:59. > :04:00.Next to athletics and Mo Farah says he's "feeling good" despite
:04:01. > :04:03.collapsing after finishing the New York half-marathon yesterday. The
:04:04. > :04:07.double Olympic champion came second in the race and was taken away in a
:04:08. > :04:11.wheelchair but has told fans that "it's no big deal". Mo will make his
:04:12. > :04:24.full marathon debut in London in April.
:04:25. > :04:27.What do you get if you cross a giant swing with a bungee rope? An insane
:04:28. > :04:30.rope-swing bungee, of course! This amazing contraption was created by
:04:31. > :04:34.Mike Wilson and Andrew Kirkpatrick, who travelled to South Africa to
:04:35. > :04:36.build it. The swing plunges 600 feet down and riders experience a four
:04:37. > :04:40.second free-fall. Finally, some of South America's
:04:41. > :04:43.cutest cats have been shown off by their owners during a Feline Fair in
:04:44. > :04:47.Colombia. All different types of cats took part, some were fluffy and
:04:48. > :04:49.others didn't have any fur at all! It was the sixth year the festival
:04:50. > :04:53.has been running. Head over to the website to see more
:04:54. > :04:56.of the purrrrrfect pets that took part.
:04:57. > :04:58.Let's look at that rope swing one more time! Incredible. I'm back
:04:59. > :05:02.before 7pm. See ya.