:00:19. > :00:22.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories: As protests continue to
:00:23. > :00:26.paralyse Kiev, is Ukraine's President feeling the pressure? He
:00:27. > :00:28.tells the EU that he intends to sign a trade deal.
:00:29. > :00:31.The Supreme Court in Bangladesh upholds the death sentence for an
:00:32. > :00:33.Islamist leader convicted of crimes against humanity.
:00:34. > :00:36.The sign language interpreter accused of using fake hand signals
:00:37. > :00:46.at Nelson Mandela's memorial service says he suffered a schizophrenic
:00:47. > :00:49.episode. Sometimes I react violent. Sometimes it feels like they are
:00:50. > :00:53.chasing me. A short lived honeymoon for
:00:54. > :00:54.Australia's first gay marriages as the High Court overturns a bill
:00:55. > :01:16.legalising same-sex weddings. As protest continue on the streets
:01:17. > :01:18.of Kiev, the European Union's top diplomat says she's still hopeful
:01:19. > :01:23.Ukraine will sign a far reaching agreement to strengthen its ties
:01:24. > :01:28.with EU. Ukraine seems to have come under heavy pressure from Moscow not
:01:29. > :01:31.to sign up to a deal which could bring Europe's influence right into
:01:32. > :01:34.Russia's back yard. But the EU's foreign policy chief, who's just
:01:35. > :01:36.been holding talks with Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich says he
:01:37. > :01:47.still wants to sign the association agreement.
:01:48. > :01:50.He made it clear to me he intends to sign the association agreement. He
:01:51. > :01:55.talked about the short-term, economic issues the country faces.
:01:56. > :02:00.It is my view those challenges, which are real, can be addressed by
:02:01. > :02:06.the support that not only comes from the European Union institutions, but
:02:07. > :02:12.by showing he has a serious economic plan in signing the associating --
:02:13. > :02:17.association agreement. The Deputy Prime Minister is coming today or
:02:18. > :02:22.tomorrow. That is Catherine Ashton and
:02:23. > :02:28.Vladimir Putin has been talking about the Ukraine. He's used his
:02:29. > :02:31.annual State of the Nation address to say he's counting on the
:02:32. > :02:35.Ukrainian government and opposition to find a political solution to the
:02:36. > :02:38.current crisis. But he also stressed the benefits to Ukraine of a customs
:02:39. > :02:42.union with Russia. So, the offer of a customs union
:02:43. > :02:44.with Russia and an association agreement with the European Union.
:02:45. > :02:47.The former editor of the BBC's Ukrainian Service and news editor of
:02:48. > :02:54.BBC language services, Olexiy Soluhubenko, says the two deals are
:02:55. > :02:59.not necessarily mutually exclusive. They basically indicate the
:03:00. > :03:06.precarious position in which the Ukraine is, and which the President
:03:07. > :03:10.is. He wants to sign the deal with Europe because it is good for him,
:03:11. > :03:15.good for the country and they have been working on this association
:03:16. > :03:20.agreement for eight years. Then he has the real pressure from Russia.
:03:21. > :03:24.Customs union is not the equivalent of what the European Union
:03:25. > :03:30.association agreement is. It is more technical, but in terms of immediate
:03:31. > :03:35.economic rashers, it will be easier to strike a deal with President
:03:36. > :03:40.Putin. There is a possibility of striking that deal on the 17th when
:03:41. > :03:45.they have a summit. Viktor Yanukovich will meet President Putin
:03:46. > :03:50.again. In terms of internal pressures, a small majority of
:03:51. > :03:57.favouring the European Union association. But the way the
:03:58. > :04:03.protests are panning out, the pressure to sign the agreement with
:04:04. > :04:08.Europe is mounting. Those economic pressures he is under, and has been
:04:09. > :04:11.spoken about being put under pressure by Russia, it was suggested
:04:12. > :04:16.a few days ago that he has been put under personal pressure has well.
:04:17. > :04:20.His family have a certain amount of wealth and Russia may have
:04:21. > :04:26.threatened that well. Will there be any truth in that? It is difficult
:04:27. > :04:33.to see how Russia can control the money flows that are allegedly part
:04:34. > :04:39.of his family. It is murky business and we are not in the business of
:04:40. > :04:44.speculation. What is more real is the talk in the United States, when
:04:45. > :04:48.yesterday a spokesperson from the State Department said sanctions
:04:49. > :04:52.against the Ukraine are on the table from the United States. That is a
:04:53. > :04:57.more serious and specific threat. But he is under more pressure inside
:04:58. > :05:02.the country because not everybody supports the crackdown. His chief of
:05:03. > :05:09.staff tendered his resignation. It was not accepted but it does
:05:10. > :05:14.indicate the mood among his closest entourage who want to find a
:05:15. > :05:18.dialogue. So far it is not forthcoming and they are sticking to
:05:19. > :05:25.their demands for the Cabinet to go, which is unlikely so therefore we
:05:26. > :05:29.are still in a deadlock. The highest court in Australia has overturned a
:05:30. > :05:31.law allowing same-sex marriage in the capital Canberra.
:05:32. > :05:35.The ruling shatters the dreams of more than two dozen same sex couples
:05:36. > :05:38.who were married in the state over the past week. Just a warning, this
:05:39. > :05:40.report by Emily Thomas contains flash photography.
:05:41. > :05:45.They tied the knot as soon as they could. The Australian MP, Stephen
:05:46. > :05:52.Dawson and his partner got married on Saturday. Stephen and Dennis are
:05:53. > :05:57.now married. It was the first opportunity to do so since the law
:05:58. > :06:00.was passed allowing gay marriage in Canberra and its surrounding area.
:06:01. > :06:05.Around 30 ceremonies have taken place, but the High Court as
:06:06. > :06:10.overturn the law and all of the unions will be declared invalid.
:06:11. > :06:17.This is personally devastating. In less than a week, we have been
:06:18. > :06:22.married and we have been unmarried. At least on a legal level. As one of
:06:23. > :06:28.the act jewel use for couples behind me said, we are still married. I
:06:29. > :06:34.have made a commitment to Chris, to spend the rest of my life with him.
:06:35. > :06:39.Polls suggest around a third of Australians oppose gay marriage. The
:06:40. > :06:43.Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, is one of them and his government oppose
:06:44. > :06:49.the new law. He said it contravenes federal law which defines marriage
:06:50. > :06:52.between a man and a woman. The court agreed and said same-sex marriage is
:06:53. > :06:57.a matter for Parliament. Last year Parliament voted against a bill to
:06:58. > :07:02.make gay marriage legal. Some campaigners say this case represents
:07:03. > :07:06.progress. Although this is a defeat in the High Court today, this week
:07:07. > :07:13.we have seen a much greater victory. And that victory was that the nation
:07:14. > :07:19.saw for the first time, I believe, what is really at the core of this
:07:20. > :07:24.issue. We have seen that marriage equality is not about protests or
:07:25. > :07:29.politics, or even about laws and the Constitution, marriage equality is
:07:30. > :07:36.about love, commitment, family and fairness. But, for those who took
:07:37. > :07:43.advantage of the brief window when gay marriage was legal in Canberra,
:07:44. > :07:46.the honeymoon has been short lived. Bangladesh's supreme court has
:07:47. > :07:49.cleared the way for the execution of a senior Islamist leader who was
:07:50. > :07:53.convicted of carrying out war crimes more than 40 years ago. The court
:07:54. > :07:56.has rejected an appeal by Abdel Quader Mullah, who was convicted of
:07:57. > :07:59.crimes against humanity during the country's war of independence from
:08:00. > :08:03.Pakistan in 1971. If it goes ahead, it will be the first death sentence
:08:04. > :08:07.to be carried out following a special war crimes tribunal earlier
:08:08. > :08:15.this year. Counsel for the accused, Abdel
:08:16. > :08:29.Quader Mullah, has filed for a review. That has been dismissed by
:08:30. > :08:36.the Supreme Court. Now, the education -- execution can proceed
:08:37. > :08:40.according to the rules. Let's get more on this with the
:08:41. > :08:42.BBC's Mahfuz Sadique who's in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Is this
:08:43. > :08:50.now the end, no more legal avenues left? The Attorney General of
:08:51. > :08:55.Bangladesh has told us in terms of legal proceedings, this is the end
:08:56. > :09:02.of the road. There are no legal vase for executing Abdel Quader Mullah
:09:03. > :09:06.for his crimes in 1971. There has been a high level Law Ministry
:09:07. > :09:12.meeting where government officials have been discussing whether Abdel
:09:13. > :09:17.Quader Mullah's jail proceedings, whether he will get a chance to
:09:18. > :09:21.apply for clemency from the President, in terms of commuting his
:09:22. > :09:29.sentence from a death sentence to life. His lawyers have argued in
:09:30. > :09:34.court today at the Supreme Court, as well as later on as well saying,
:09:35. > :09:40.Abdel Quader Mullah did not get a full hearing and he deserved a
:09:41. > :09:45.better trial. At the same time they also pointed out that despite this
:09:46. > :09:53.order, he should still get certain privileges according to the rules of
:09:54. > :09:59.the jail, where he can request for the president to commute his
:10:00. > :10:03.sentence. The trial proceedings have come under criticism from
:10:04. > :10:08.international rights groups, despite the public support for some form of
:10:09. > :10:13.justice for the atrocities committed in 1971. Human rights watch and
:10:14. > :10:19.others have come out strongly against the decision that has been
:10:20. > :10:27.handed down by the court here. Overall, there has been sporadic
:10:28. > :10:30.protest we have heard have, but not been able to confirm any other
:10:31. > :10:35.violence throughout the country. Since January, when verdicts by this
:10:36. > :10:40.special war crimes tribunal were being handed down, there have been
:10:41. > :10:46.violent protests and scores have died. In the coming days, Bangladesh
:10:47. > :10:52.will be tense, anticipating and fearing what will happen. Thank you
:10:53. > :10:56.very much for the update. South Africans have been queuing in their
:10:57. > :10:58.thousands to pay their respects to the country's first black President,
:10:59. > :11:07.Nelson Mandela. His body is lying in state for a
:11:08. > :11:11.second day in the capital Pretoria. Mr Mandela's coffin left the
:11:12. > :11:14.Military Hospital at about 7.00am local time has been lying in state
:11:15. > :11:18.at the Union Buildings where he was sworn in as president in 1994. My
:11:19. > :11:22.colleague, Jon Sopel, has been out with the crowds of people waiting to
:11:23. > :11:24.see the casket of man they call "Tata Madiba".
:11:25. > :11:29.The queue is moving but it is very long. About 80 or 90 bosses have
:11:30. > :11:33.just arrived to score many people who will be waiting for several
:11:34. > :11:36.hours to see the body of Nelson Mandela. Thousands of people are
:11:37. > :11:42.trying to pay their last respects. There goes another bus packed with
:11:43. > :11:52.people. You can see these people who have been singing and dancing.
:11:53. > :11:58.Hello. What does it mean to you to come here to be in this long line to
:11:59. > :12:05.pay your last respects to Nelson Mandela? It has been a great, great
:12:06. > :12:11.day for me to see people queueing. To see Mandela for the first and the
:12:12. > :12:21.last time. What does he mean to you? He means a lot. He is our
:12:22. > :12:35.everything. It will never happen again. Mandela means everything to
:12:36. > :12:39.the world. Keep moving, you will lose your place in the queue.
:12:40. > :12:46.Obviously these people have been queueing for many hours. They have
:12:47. > :12:51.still got a very long way to go. You can understand talking to me is not
:12:52. > :12:54.part of their agenda today, when they will have a long time in the
:12:55. > :13:01.sunshine waiting to get to where they want to be. One other story to
:13:02. > :13:10.tell you about which is the fake sign language man at the FNB Stadium
:13:11. > :13:14.making those aren't signs around the world. He has given an interview
:13:15. > :13:19.where he said he was suffering from a schizophrenic episode. He said
:13:20. > :13:23.there was nothing he could do one was alone in a dangerous situation.
:13:24. > :13:28.He tried to control himself and not show the world what was going on. He
:13:29. > :13:36.has given a media interview. What happened that day, it was very
:13:37. > :13:44.much... I don't know what I could call it. IC engines come into the
:13:45. > :13:53.stadium. I started to realise the problem is here. And the problem,
:13:54. > :14:02.sometimes I will react violently in that place. Sometimes I will see
:14:03. > :14:09.things chasing me. I was in a very, very difficult position. Obviously
:14:10. > :14:12.that is his explanation but there are big questions for the South
:14:13. > :14:18.African authorities about how this particular person got this signing
:14:19. > :14:23.job at such an important event. It does seem he was not part of any
:14:24. > :14:28.registered body for the death and signing Association of South Africa.
:14:29. > :14:33.But for these people, does that matter? Probably not. Thousands of
:14:34. > :14:39.people in the queue lining up, waving, carrying flags and banners
:14:40. > :14:48.and they are wearing Mandela and Madiba that ooze. They want to save
:14:49. > :14:54.their goodbyes to Nelson Mandela. In the past few minutes, the deputy
:14:55. > :14:59.minister has given a statement with some background on the sign language
:15:00. > :15:04.interpreter. He could speak sign language with his peers, but is not
:15:05. > :15:13.a professional sign language interpreter. That we want to put on
:15:14. > :15:20.the table. As a person with a disability we have the honour to
:15:21. > :15:26.picking up some sign language. The language, also for you to be able to
:15:27. > :15:30.translate to sign language for debt people, you must understand the sign
:15:31. > :15:41.language being spoken in the podium and English was a bit too much for
:15:42. > :15:48.him. Some 90 people died when the Prime Minister Tallon ordered the
:15:49. > :15:56.army to clear central Bangkok. His deputy at the time, he is leading
:15:57. > :16:05.the current wave of anti-government protests.
:16:06. > :16:07.Still to come: The people of Kenya are celebrating 50 years since
:16:08. > :16:19.colonial rule came to an end. Since the death of Nelson Mandela,
:16:20. > :16:23.people across South Africa have been expressing their sorrow and
:16:24. > :16:30.commemorating him. The BBC has caught up with three South Africans
:16:31. > :16:42.coming to terms with the death. The main thing is to keep his legacy
:16:43. > :16:50.alive. His name will live for ever. He taught me to grow up. He taught
:16:51. > :17:10.me to become what I have bee came. He is Madiba. Long live Nelson
:17:11. > :17:19.Mandela. We love him. It could take 1000 years to find another Nelson
:17:20. > :17:26.Mandela. Our reasons for coming today is to pay respects to Madiba.
:17:27. > :17:34.To lay flowers and say thank you for everything he has done for South
:17:35. > :17:44.Africa. When I am putting the flowers down I just want to cry. I
:17:45. > :17:51.love Nelson Mandela. It is quite emotional to be here. When we were
:17:52. > :17:56.leaving the flowers it felt like we did not want to go. We wanted to
:17:57. > :18:01.stay in the spirit and celebrate his life. It is hard to think he is
:18:02. > :18:12.gone, but his legacy will live on for many, many years. I decided to
:18:13. > :18:23.make a number plate for him. I am mourning. May he rest in peace.
:18:24. > :18:32.When I am driving around the neighbourhood, people like what I am
:18:33. > :18:38.doing. My favourite memory is when he did his dance, that shows he was
:18:39. > :18:50.a happy man. He always smiled when he did this dance. Rest in peace.
:18:51. > :18:58.You are watching BBC world News. The latest headlines: As protests
:18:59. > :19:03.continue in Kiev, the Ukraine president tells the EU he still
:19:04. > :19:12.intends to sign a trade deal which sparked the demonstrations.
:19:13. > :19:19.The United States and Britain have suspended some of the help they give
:19:20. > :19:24.to Syria's opposition over fears the equipment could end up in the hands
:19:25. > :19:30.of jihadist. They had been providing support for the Free Syrian Army.
:19:31. > :19:37.The USA they are over reports Islamist sub seized some rebel
:19:38. > :19:43.bases. How serious is this decision to suspend certain types of aid for
:19:44. > :19:50.the Free Syrian Army? That is a question I put to the BBC's
:19:51. > :19:59.correspondent in the back of Valley. It is very serious for the
:20:00. > :20:03.opposition and its military wing. The pro-Western, pro-democracy
:20:04. > :20:07.fighting forces, the supreme military Council and the Free Syrian
:20:08. > :20:12.Army. They have seen their position steadily eroded by the rise of
:20:13. > :20:17.Islamist groups which are seen as more focused, better financed and so
:20:18. > :20:22.on. They suffered the physical humiliation of having their
:20:23. > :20:26.positions on the border and their warehouses taken over by Islamist
:20:27. > :20:32.groups. Now they have had this double whammy as it were, the
:20:33. > :20:36.Americans and British cutting off the non-lethal equipment and age to
:20:37. > :20:44.them which was quite important, and certainly gave a boost. It has
:20:45. > :20:47.further -- it has further marginalise those moderate forces
:20:48. > :20:53.which the west was trying to encourage. In the run-up for the
:20:54. > :20:59.Geneva conference, although it is not 100% sure it will go ahead, it
:21:00. > :21:03.is making the opposition look even more in disarray. The task of
:21:04. > :21:10.assembling a credible delegation is looking even more difficult. Kenyan
:21:11. > :21:17.'s have begun a week of celebrations to mark 50 years of independence
:21:18. > :21:23.from Britain, therefore mile -- their former colonial ruler. Kenya
:21:24. > :21:29.is a beautiful country, abundant wildlife and has become one of
:21:30. > :21:35.Africa's major safari destinations. Nairobi has grown into east
:21:36. > :21:39.Africa's biggest city. Kenya also has ethnic diversity producing a
:21:40. > :21:43.vibrant culture, but also diversity which has been a source of
:21:44. > :21:51.conflict. Other challenges include corruption. It is estimated up to $1
:21:52. > :21:56.billion was lost between 2002 - 2005. There is high unemployment,
:21:57. > :22:01.and the young are the hardest hit by the lack of jobs. In the last year
:22:02. > :22:06.crime levels have risen dramatically, and poverty continues
:22:07. > :22:14.to be a problem. Right now thousands are watching singers and dancers at
:22:15. > :22:21.an event at a stadium in Nairobi. President -- President Uhuru
:22:22. > :22:34.Kenyatta is speaking. This is a growing democracy. The country has
:22:35. > :22:39.come a long way since 1992. Before that people were still queueing to
:22:40. > :22:43.go and vote, but now we have moved on to secret ballots. There are
:22:44. > :22:48.still challenges with elections. Every five years there are reports
:22:49. > :22:55.of rigging in elections. This year, for the first time in a long time,
:22:56. > :22:58.there were very peaceful elections. This is where people came for the
:22:59. > :23:07.inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta. He is the son of Kenya's
:23:08. > :23:13.founding father who was the person who led the celebrations of
:23:14. > :23:19.independence. He hoisted Kenya's flag at the stroke of midnight in
:23:20. > :23:28.1963. Last night, on the stroke of midnight it was his son. Let's
:23:29. > :23:39.return to Nelson Mandela. For many years, cartoons have been appearing
:23:40. > :23:46.on a daily basis in a number of South African newspapers. Nelson
:23:47. > :23:51.Mandela, in particular, has been one of his targets, his favourite
:23:52. > :23:58.subjects we should say. Here are his thoughts on Madiba. He actually
:23:59. > :24:06.understood criticism and the need for satire. The most amazing thing
:24:07. > :24:11.happened to me, I was sitting at my desk on an ordinary day doing a
:24:12. > :24:16.drawing. My wife said the President's office is on the line. I
:24:17. > :24:24.took the phone, and the voice said, hold on for the president. He said,
:24:25. > :24:32.hello. This is President Nelson Mandela. I am very upset with you. I
:24:33. > :24:42.thought, here it comes. He is upset with the cartoons. He said, I just
:24:43. > :24:46.saw that the cartoons would not be appearing in the Cape Town
:24:47. > :24:53.newspaper. He wanted to phone me himself. I was over the moon. I said
:24:54. > :24:59.to him, I want to say one more thing. Not only did you phone me
:25:00. > :25:07.yourself, and I cannot believe that, but you must have seen in the three
:25:08. > :25:11.and a half years since I have met you, you must have seen the cartoons
:25:12. > :25:21.getting more and more critical of government. And he said, that is
:25:22. > :25:30.your job. And for me, that is the mark of a great, great man. They
:25:31. > :25:33.were once owned by a royal couple, a selection of jewellery belonging to
:25:34. > :25:42.the Duke and Dutch is of Windsor goes up for sale by auction today.
:25:43. > :25:47.Her clothes, her jewellery, her style made the news. The scandal of
:25:48. > :25:53.the abdication fuelled public interest in the Duke and Duchess of
:25:54. > :25:58.Windsor. Even today, that sense of Curiosity rover main. The jewellery
:25:59. > :26:03.and personal belongings being auctioned reflect the likes and
:26:04. > :26:10.tastes of the couple. They include this bracelet by Cartier. The
:26:11. > :26:17.Duchess of Windsor wore it in 1972 to meet the Queen. It was the last
:26:18. > :26:22.time the Queen would see her Uncle David before his death. There is
:26:23. > :26:27.nothing understated about the Duchess's jewellery collection. Bids
:26:28. > :26:35.for this necklace will start at ?40,000. Also up for auction, items
:26:36. > :26:41.belonging to the Duke of Windsor reflecting the Royal life he left
:26:42. > :26:45.behind. The engraved photo frame, a gift from his great-grandmother. The
:26:46. > :26:53.sale has attracted global interest from those wanting to invest in a
:26:54. > :26:57.piece of royal history. You are watching BBC world News, for the
:26:58. > :26:59.moment, thank you very much indeed for your company.