:00:11. > :00:17.This is BBC World News. The top stories: Ukraine's politically
:00:18. > :00:22.divided Crimea region will vote on whether to become part of Russia in
:00:23. > :00:27.just ten days time. The move has been called unconstitutional.
:00:28. > :00:32.Russian troops continue to surround military bases in Crimea. We are on
:00:33. > :00:38.board one of the blockaded ships for first-hand experience there. Down
:00:39. > :00:41.here is the Russian patrol boat. We have sneaked onto this boat right
:00:42. > :00:45.under the noses of the Russians. They would not have let us do it if
:00:46. > :00:50.they had seen us. The European Union meets in an
:00:51. > :00:52.emergency session. They hear the Ukrainian interim Prime Minister
:00:53. > :01:00.tell Russia to respect his country's sovereignty. There is a
:01:01. > :01:05.blockade of Ukrainian naval forces so they are still provoking the
:01:06. > :01:18.clashes and attention. -- the tension.
:01:19. > :01:26.Their years, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister appealing to the European
:01:27. > :01:28.Union for support in Brussels with another morning of fast-moving
:01:29. > :01:34.elements in Crimea and Ukraine itself. -- there he is. Within the
:01:35. > :01:41.last hour, it has emerged that Russia could become part of Russia.
:01:42. > :01:44.In just ten days, there will be a referendum, which has just been
:01:45. > :01:49.brought forward, on whether to join Russia. The date will be March the
:01:50. > :01:52.16th. And the message from the Ukrainian Prime Minister to the EU
:01:53. > :01:57.leaders is that this is not just a crisis for Ukraine and Russia but
:01:58. > :02:02.Europe, too. The European Union must decide whether sanctions, diplomacy
:02:03. > :02:07.or other options can pressure Russia into reversing the armed action in
:02:08. > :02:12.Crimea. In Crimea, tense military stand-offs continue in several
:02:13. > :02:16.places. Russian troops still surround Ukrainian military bases.
:02:17. > :02:20.In eastern city of Donetsk, the Ukrainian flag has again been
:02:21. > :02:25.hoisted over a Government building, which has been contested the four
:02:26. > :02:32.days now. Reports from the extreme East of Crimea, including Kerch,
:02:33. > :02:35.another Ukrainian military base, say that several ships broke free from
:02:36. > :02:42.the Russian blockade, fearing that they would be sunk by the Russians.
:02:43. > :02:47.And this is Perevalnoye, in the East of Ukraine. Russian armed forces
:02:48. > :02:51.patrolling outside a military base, and there it is, the Russian flag
:02:52. > :03:02.flying. Let's go live to Ben Brown in Sevastopol in Crimea.
:03:03. > :03:06.Thank you. All those stand-offs continuing at various military
:03:07. > :03:10.installations in Crimea. It is the political development that is really
:03:11. > :03:14.crucial today, I think. That referendum that has been called by
:03:15. > :03:21.the Crimean Parliament today. It will be on March 16. The vote in
:03:22. > :03:26.favour of that was overwhelming, 78 to eight extensions. The question is
:03:27. > :03:31.very simple for the voters. Do you want to be part of Ukraine or Russia
:03:32. > :03:36.and the answer is likely to be Russia because the majority of the
:03:37. > :03:41.population here in Crimea, nearly 60%, are ethnic Russians. Vladimir
:03:42. > :03:45.Putin has been discussing that request to be part of Russia with
:03:46. > :03:48.his Security Council, because what happened was the Crimean Parliament
:03:49. > :03:55.voted to be part of Russia, but then they put it to a referendum as well.
:03:56. > :03:59.This all comes at a time when tensions are already high. It is
:04:00. > :04:04.likely to ratchet up the tension is even higher. And against a backdrop
:04:05. > :04:08.of that EU summit in Brussels, where they are discussing possible
:04:09. > :04:13.sanctions and measures against Moscow for its intervention in
:04:14. > :04:18.Crimea as we now report. In Brussels, an emergency gathering
:04:19. > :04:21.of European leaders and the unity of concern over Ukraine. But with no
:04:22. > :04:27.sign of headway on the diplomatic front so far, what next? We need to
:04:28. > :04:31.send a very clear message to the Russian Government that what has
:04:32. > :04:35.happened is unacceptable and should have consequences. And were further
:04:36. > :04:40.action to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable and would
:04:41. > :04:43.require even more consequences. But EU officials know there are
:04:44. > :04:48.differences here between EU member states over how tough line to take
:04:49. > :04:54.towards Moscow or whether to emphasise need for more mediation.
:04:55. > :04:58.The Ukrainian Prime Minister has also underlined his view of what is
:04:59. > :05:03.at stake as he also accused Russia of stoking tensions. This is not
:05:04. > :05:09.Ukrainian - Russian conflict. It is a conflict in Europe. And we need
:05:10. > :05:17.urgently, I would like to underline again, urgently to tackle this
:05:18. > :05:21.problem. We are ready to find a solution. We are ready to find an
:05:22. > :05:28.off ramp together with the US, the EU, with Russia, and clearly with
:05:29. > :05:35.Ukrainian participation. And we ask Russia to respond. Among the options
:05:36. > :05:40.on the table for EU leaders to consider, the suspension of talks on
:05:41. > :05:43.visa liberalisation, but some, particularly from Eastern Europe,
:05:44. > :05:49.are pushing for the threat at least if not the implementation for now
:05:50. > :05:53.further targeted sanctions. In Rome meanwhile, the US Secretary of State
:05:54. > :05:58.John Kerry has arrived to continue the diplomatic push to defuse the
:05:59. > :06:01.crisis. The Americans described his first face-to-face encounter with
:06:02. > :06:08.his Russian counterpart on Ukraine in Paris as tough. And as if to
:06:09. > :06:13.underline the continuing tensions, the UN special envoy is forced to
:06:14. > :06:18.flee Crimea and after being threatened by a group of
:06:19. > :06:22.unidentified armed men. And certainly no real sign in Crimea off
:06:23. > :06:33.Russian or pro-Russian forces relaxing their grip in what remains
:06:34. > :06:34.a high-stakes confrontation. The stand-offs at various Ukrainian
:06:35. > :06:43.military installations continue around Crimea. We went to an air
:06:44. > :06:47.defence missile site earlier today, where Russian troops came in about a
:06:48. > :06:51.week ago and surrounded the missile defence base. Actually when we went
:06:52. > :06:55.to talk to Ukrainian commanders there this morning, they said
:06:56. > :06:59.Russian troops had withdrawn last night, so that did appear to be an
:07:00. > :07:05.easing of tensions in one area at least. But the naval blockade which
:07:06. > :07:09.is going on behind me of Ukrainian ships, and you might be able to see
:07:10. > :07:14.a Russian minesweeper at seat behind me, that is part of the naval
:07:15. > :07:20.blockade keeping in the Ukrainian ships. That blockade continues.
:07:21. > :07:23.Christian Fraser has managed to get onto one of Ukrainian vessel that is
:07:24. > :07:27.blockaded. The first crew that has been allowed
:07:28. > :07:32.aboard this ship, the controlling command vessel which has been under
:07:33. > :07:36.blockade for a week, sitting next door to the Ukrainian Corvette also
:07:37. > :07:40.under blockade. You can imagine for the officers, forced to make the
:07:41. > :07:45.choice between the new authority in Crimea and the new Government in
:07:46. > :07:49.Kiev, they are really between a rock and a hard place. You can see the
:07:50. > :07:52.bridge behind me. They are watching the Russians who are watching the
:07:53. > :08:01.Ukrainians, out there with binoculars. Behind me, the deputy
:08:02. > :08:05.commander. I have checked the magazines of those rifles that they
:08:06. > :08:09.are holding and there are no rounds inside them, no bullets. The only
:08:10. > :08:15.thing they have to defend this ship, and this is a Navy warship remember,
:08:16. > :08:19.is this hose down here. There are basically trying to show the
:08:20. > :08:22.Russians that they want this to be a peaceful stand-off. They put
:08:23. > :08:26.mattresses along the railings of the ship over the course of the week to
:08:27. > :08:30.try and stop Russians fixing grappling hooks and ropes to the
:08:31. > :08:33.side of the ship. This man is standing guard, effectively on
:08:34. > :08:39.point, but without any arms to defend the ship. Let me show you the
:08:40. > :08:43.blockade because of here we get a better view than we did from
:08:44. > :08:49.dockside. If you look to the harbour wall, you can see the minesweeper
:08:50. > :08:54.heading out to Bay and the ship to its left. Two ships from the Black
:08:55. > :09:00.Sea fleet blocking the channel. Beyond it is a minesweeper which has
:09:01. > :09:04.been patrolling back and forth. Down here is the Russian patrol boat. We
:09:05. > :09:07.sneaked onto the boat under the noses of the Russians. They would
:09:08. > :09:11.not have let us do it if they had seen us, I can tell you. This is
:09:12. > :09:15.difficult because there is a lot of kit on board the boat but we are
:09:16. > :09:20.going to switch past the producers and the other camera crew, excuse
:09:21. > :09:26.me, to show you the Corvette on this side. This is the heavily armed
:09:27. > :09:34.gunboat. They have been swapping the decks. It might be a crisis but
:09:35. > :09:39.everything is shipshape. And at the channel, these are four Russian
:09:40. > :09:44.ships from the Black Sea fleet. These navies have lived cheek by
:09:45. > :09:47.jowl for so long. The commanders know their counterparts. The
:09:48. > :09:50.commander here cannot get through to his Russian colleague that they used
:09:51. > :09:57.to be so friendly with. They are not answering calls. On the dockside
:09:58. > :10:01.here, if I just squeeze past you, we are not seeing Russian soldiers. In
:10:02. > :10:05.these buildings at the back, when we were down here yesterday, there were
:10:06. > :10:10.snipers and machine guns on the side. They have allowed them to
:10:11. > :10:14.bring up some food, shipment of bread. So at least the crew will eat
:10:15. > :10:19.well tonight. But they are all worried about their families. A lot
:10:20. > :10:23.of them are from here. We have had word that the new pro-Russian Prime
:10:24. > :10:27.Minister in Crimea is bringing forward a referendum and it will be
:10:28. > :10:33.a straight choice for Crimea. Do they want to be with Crimea or
:10:34. > :10:38.Ukraine? The guys here are sticking with Kiev. They are going to hold
:10:39. > :10:41.their positions here. They will try to sail out of here and go back to
:10:42. > :10:48.Odessa if Crimea goes towards Russia.
:10:49. > :10:53.Christian Fraser reporting from on-board Ukrainian vessel. What is
:10:54. > :10:57.Moscow's next move in this crisis? Steve Rosenberg has been speaking to
:10:58. > :11:01.Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, asking him whether he thought this
:11:02. > :11:08.was the most serious crisis for Russia since the fall of the Berlin
:11:09. > :11:13.Wall. We have had a few crises before this one which were no less
:11:14. > :11:17.awful, I would say. We had the Yugoslavian crisis of the late 90s,
:11:18. > :11:25.for example, which was no less awful. I would not put this in these
:11:26. > :11:28.terms, as more awful, because we have not overcome a point of no
:11:29. > :11:36.return. So I would not say this. It is a political crisis, of course,
:11:37. > :11:40.but it can be resolved by political means. Do you hold the West
:11:41. > :11:44.responsible for this? Not responsible for this but it should
:11:45. > :11:48.bear some responsibility for what has happened. The West has neglected
:11:49. > :11:57.how close and important relations with Ukraine and Russia are. When we
:11:58. > :12:01.asked the West to involve us in discussing the future of Ukraine, at
:12:02. > :12:10.that time, and as you will remember, as you probably well know, we were
:12:11. > :12:18.held very responsible negotiations with Ukraine on the European Union.
:12:19. > :12:22.The West, the European Union, has rejected Russia's participation in
:12:23. > :12:34.this process. And what happened next, after the agreement on the
:12:35. > :12:38.cessation, it was suspended by the Ukrainian President. The events in
:12:39. > :12:43.Kiev started and I think the West should bear some responsibility.
:12:44. > :12:48.Responsibility for how the events developed. What is the way out of
:12:49. > :12:52.this? What does Russia want now? Negotiations and political dialogue
:12:53. > :12:56.of course. Diplomacy is a thing... Today you are the witness of a
:12:57. > :13:00.political debate here. It reflects the sentiment and the feelings of
:13:01. > :13:06.Russian society in general on the situation in Ukraine, a country
:13:07. > :13:15.which is not the distant and strange crisis for us. It holds many ties
:13:16. > :13:22.with Russia, personal, economic and political. We cannot stand idle. We
:13:23. > :13:30.cannot ignore what is happening there. This was a political debate.
:13:31. > :13:34.My profession is diplomacy, which is something that works behind the
:13:35. > :13:46.scenes. Behind the scenes we will continue to work for a political
:13:47. > :13:49.resolution to the crisis. The Ukrainian Prime Minister is meeting
:13:50. > :13:56.the NATO Secretary-General in Brussels. Are you not concerned that
:13:57. > :14:01.Moscow's actions will push Ukraine quicker towards NATO and the
:14:02. > :14:05.European Union, which Russia does not see as being in Russia's
:14:06. > :14:15.interests? We have always said this many times that Ukraine should be in
:14:16. > :14:19.NATO. That is a red line for us. The other thing is conditions on which
:14:20. > :14:25.Ukraine was invited to join, the cessation. That is a different
:14:26. > :14:34.story. In the West, responsible politicians understand that no less
:14:35. > :14:40.than us. I do not imagine Ukraine neither in the nearest future nor in
:14:41. > :14:44.the future at all... I think the best option for Ukraine is to stay
:14:45. > :14:48.neutral. That is the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister talking to Steve
:14:49. > :14:52.Rosenberg in Moscow. The main development of the day, and another
:14:53. > :14:55.fast-moving day of developments in Crimea, is the decision by the
:14:56. > :15:00.Crimean Parliament to bring forward the referendum and to have a
:15:01. > :15:08.referendum on March the 16th, said ten days time with a straight
:15:09. > :15:11.question. Do you want to be part of Russia or Ukraine? It is a
:15:12. > :15:21.referendum that will raise the stakes here and raised tensions as
:15:22. > :15:27.well. there are pictures coming in just to remind you of the political
:15:28. > :15:30.emphasis. That is the regional capital of Crimea. What is
:15:31. > :15:35.significant either flags. On the left is the Russian flag, on the
:15:36. > :15:40.right to the predominately white flag but with blue at the top and
:15:41. > :15:45.read at the bottom, underscoring this is a Crimean flag and these are
:15:46. > :15:51.Crimean people who are supporting the rejoining of Russia. Only a
:15:52. > :15:57.small crowd at the moment outside the parliament. The Deputy Prime
:15:58. > :16:07.Minister said the referendum will now take place in ten days from now.
:16:08. > :16:11.He said that referendum was legal. The Prime Minister currently in
:16:12. > :16:16.Brussels and his new Cabinet and Government are illegitimate in the
:16:17. > :16:27.view of the Crimean Government and as we have heard as well of the
:16:28. > :16:32.Russian Government. Pakistan's Prime Minister has been
:16:33. > :16:35.meeting with representatives of the Pakistani Taliban. The discussions
:16:36. > :16:43.were arranged by him and took place in Islamabad. Talks between the two
:16:44. > :16:49.sides had been resumed on Wednesday. They had been suspended because the
:16:50. > :16:52.Taliban said they killed 23 troops. Iran's Foreign Minister has
:16:53. > :16:56.dismissed as a lie that it was behind a shipment of weapons
:16:57. > :17:01.intended for Palestinian militants in Gaza. Israel said it seized ship
:17:02. > :17:09.in the red Sea carrying dozens of rockets. The report was described as
:17:10. > :17:16.a failed lie, just in time, they said of the annual anti-Iranian
:17:17. > :17:20.campaign. NATO says at least five Afghan National Army personnel have
:17:21. > :17:25.been accidentally killed during a NATO operation. NATO has not
:17:26. > :17:29.confirmed the details, but it is thought the fatalities came during
:17:30. > :17:35.an air strike in the east of the country. The Afghanistan Government
:17:36. > :17:41.has yet to comment. Still to come: The plight of Rohinga Muslims in
:17:42. > :17:47.Burma. We report on one group who cannot leave their compound without
:17:48. > :17:52.an armed escort. Libya's Government says Colonel Gaddafi's third son is
:17:53. > :17:57.in custody in Tripoli after two years on the sun. Saadi Gaddafi has
:17:58. > :18:04.been extradited from Niger. He claimed asylum. He had his beard and
:18:05. > :18:11.head shaved before being returned to Libya. He is accused of shooting
:18:12. > :18:17.protesters when he was head of Libya's special Armed Forces. I
:18:18. > :18:23.asked our correspondent in what circumstances he had returned from
:18:24. > :18:27.Niger. We know he was transferred by plane from Niger when he landed in
:18:28. > :18:36.Tripoli after midnight at around 2:15am local time. He has since been
:18:37. > :18:40.transferred to a prison in the capital which is also home to
:18:41. > :18:49.several other Libyan officials who served in the Gaddafi Government.
:18:50. > :18:56.Was this an agreement? Why did this happen? Why was he returned from
:18:57. > :18:59.Niger? We will have to wait for more details from the Government to
:19:00. > :19:06.understand how this came about exactly, but we do know generally
:19:07. > :19:09.speaking Libyan authorities have been seeking Saadi Gaddafi's
:19:10. > :19:16.extradition from Niger since he fled the country and that was in
:19:17. > :19:22.September 2011, a month before the end of the war that toppled his
:19:23. > :19:27.father's 42 year rule. For the past few months there have been rumours,
:19:28. > :19:32.especially on social media, every week with people saying Saadi
:19:33. > :19:39.Gaddafi is back in Libya and today it happens to be true. A lot of
:19:40. > :19:45.people were expecting this and because efforts had intensified in
:19:46. > :19:54.negotiating with the Niger Government on getting him back onto
:19:55. > :19:59.Libyan soil. This is BBC world News. The headlines: Crimea's politically
:20:00. > :20:04.divided region will vote in a referendum in ten days to decide
:20:05. > :20:08.whether to become part of the Russian Federation. Kiev has
:20:09. > :20:11.condemned the move as unconstitutional. Russian troops
:20:12. > :20:16.remain in the Crimean region continuing their blockade in the
:20:17. > :20:20.Black Sea. To Venezuelan where the president
:20:21. > :20:23.has said his country is breaking diplomatic relations and freezing
:20:24. > :20:32.economic ties with Panama. With a ceremony to mark the death of the
:20:33. > :20:40.former president Hugo Chas -- Hugo Chavez, the president accused Panama
:20:41. > :20:44.of being against his country. One month on, protests continue in
:20:45. > :20:49.Venezuelan. In some places they have turned violent. Protesters vowed
:20:50. > :20:56.they will not leave the streets and the President Nicolas Maduro
:20:57. > :21:02.resigns. Not even today, a special day, the anniversary of the death of
:21:03. > :21:05.Hugo Chavez. Celebrations included a military parade during which Nicolas
:21:06. > :21:11.Maduro was accompanied by some of his most important allies, such as
:21:12. > :21:18.Raul Castro of Cuba. Later in the day he made a show of force is
:21:19. > :21:23.breaking relations with Panama by meddling in interior affairs.
:21:24. > :21:26.TRANSLATION: We are breaking ties with the Government or Panama and to
:21:27. > :21:32.freeze all the economic relations at this time. Throughout the city the
:21:33. > :21:38.image of the late president was everywhere and the emotion was
:21:39. > :21:43.genuine. A year after his death, Hugo Chavez's figure remains very
:21:44. > :21:50.much alive. In this working-class area where his remains lie, he is
:21:51. > :21:56.worshipped like a saint. This call represents a call for the Government
:21:57. > :22:02.to push back and continue the original revolution. Today's
:22:03. > :22:07.supporters offered some respite for Nicolas Maduro. Protests have been
:22:08. > :22:12.going on since early February, but the president is minimising them.
:22:13. > :22:18.TRANSLATION: Today on March five, the remnants of the violent groups
:22:19. > :22:22.that threatened our country, the country is now living in
:22:23. > :22:27.tranquillity since this morning and for the days to come. And his
:22:28. > :22:34.supporters agree. We asked these people to reflect. There are very
:22:35. > :22:39.few people and abroad they are magnifying them. We believe the
:22:40. > :22:45.protests are pure sabotage. They think only about themselves and not
:22:46. > :22:51.about the poor people. So fired there is no end in sight for the
:22:52. > :22:55.protests. It is also too early to say whether Hugo Chavez's image will
:22:56. > :23:02.be enough of a support amidst this crisis for the Government.
:23:03. > :23:06.No to Myanmar following the Government decision to suspend the
:23:07. > :23:09.wake of the international charity medicine son frontiers. It is the
:23:10. > :23:15.biggest provider of health care to the Rohingas who live there and has
:23:16. > :23:18.been accused by the Government of being biased in their favour. Our
:23:19. > :23:21.correspondent Jonah Fisher went to visit the enclave of Aung Mingalar
:23:22. > :23:30.in the state capital Sittwe where Muslim Rohingas live surrounded by
:23:31. > :23:35.Buddhists. This is the main road. Whether you can use it depends on
:23:36. > :23:40.who you are. Foreigners need a permit, Buddhists are waved through
:23:41. > :23:45.and the Muslims who live here are blocked. The authorities say it is
:23:46. > :23:49.to protect the Muslims from the Buddhists outside. But the barbed
:23:50. > :24:00.wire, checkpoints and hostile neighbours have turned this into a
:24:01. > :24:04.prison. Two years ago this man was a successful Taylor running a shop in
:24:05. > :24:08.a Buddhist area. During the sectarian violence of 2012, his
:24:09. > :24:14.business was destroyed and he now does his sewing a friend's machine.
:24:15. > :24:21.He tells me he fled to avoid being hacked to death by a Buddhist mob.
:24:22. > :24:25.Like most of the 4000 Muslims here he is struggling to make ends meet
:24:26. > :24:32.and has sold most of his belongings to buy food for his family. My bike,
:24:33. > :24:38.my rickshaw, there is not much left for me to sell, he says, we are all
:24:39. > :24:43.becoming thin through lack of food. Twice a week the community here pays
:24:44. > :24:48.the police for a security escort and a small group is allowed to go to
:24:49. > :24:54.market to buy much-needed supplies. The life is slowly being squeezed
:24:55. > :24:58.out of this Muslim community. There is already no place for them to go
:24:59. > :25:02.to find work and now after the Government kicked out the medical
:25:03. > :25:09.aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres, there is no place for them to go to
:25:10. > :25:15.get treatment either. These were the scenes last week as Buddhist groups
:25:16. > :25:21.demonstrated outside the offices. The charity was one of the biggest
:25:22. > :25:25.aid agencies working here, but was accused of siding with the Rohinga
:25:26. > :25:30.community. TRANSLATION: If they were just doing their job, they would not
:25:31. > :25:34.have to leave, but they kept getting the wrong information about these
:25:35. > :25:41.Bengali is and giving it out to the international community. They have
:25:42. > :25:47.inflamed the conflict here. But this is what it all means. A
:25:48. > :25:53.sick baby and her even sicko mother unable to leave her bed. A father at
:25:54. > :25:59.his wits end, trapped and powerless as his family's health fades. I
:26:00. > :26:03.cannot do anything as there is no doctor here, he tells me. I spent
:26:04. > :26:10.all my time thinking about how I can get them to some care.
:26:11. > :26:17.The segregation has brought the town a degree of stability, but the event
:26:18. > :26:20.of the last two weeks are a reminder of how raw and reconcile the
:26:21. > :26:31.divisions here still are. As is so often the case, it is that week and
:26:32. > :26:37.vulnerable who will suffer the most. Let me give you the latest in
:26:38. > :26:42.Ukraine. Let's go live to the capital of Crimea. You can see both
:26:43. > :26:48.Russian flags and Crimean flags because Crimea could rejoin Russia
:26:49. > :26:52.within a matter of days. The regional parliament has just voted
:26:53. > :26:59.in favour of becoming part of Russia and will now ask the Crimean people
:27:00. > :27:02.to ratify the decision ten days from now on March 16.