12/05/2014 BBC World News

Hello. Our top stories... Boko Haram releases a video showing some of the

girls kidnapped from their school in Borno state in northern Nigeria. EU

Foreign Ministers are in Brussels to discuss Eastern Ukraine. Russia says

the self-rule referendums there must be respected. It is the last day of

voting in the world's biggest democracy. Three key states in India

are voting. National exit polls will be released soon ahead of the

results, which are due on Friday. We meet the Egyptian barber who used to

do much more than trim his customers' hair and beards.

In the last hour, the militant Islamic group, Boko Haram, has

released a new video claiming to show the missing Nigerian

schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be

released until all militant prisoners were freed.

In the 17-minute video, the group claims to show what they say are

about 130 of the girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an

undisclosed rural location. It is not the whole group that was

abducted. They are saying the first few lines from the Koran. These are

the pictures we have just had in. There are also images of three of

the girls speaking. We are not yet showing those clips as yet. There is

also some footage of the leader of the Boko Haram group also speaking

within the video. These are the first images that have been released

of the girls. It is almost four weeks since the girls were abducted.

Let's go live to our correspondent. What do we know about the images and

can we verify them? We know that Boko Haram has released this video.

The video is actually 27 minutes long. The leader of the group spoke

for the first ten minutes in Arabic and then the rest of the seven

minutes in Hausa. He showed about 130 of the girls. The details we are

getting is that some of the girls, over 200 of them, have converted to

Islam. Presumably, it was these number of girls who have converted

to Islam we are showing. They are shown with citing the first chapter

of the Koran. They are raising their hands in prayer. Three of the girls

were shown. Two of the girls were Christians and had converted to

Islam and the third said she was already a Muslim. These details we

have gathered from the video. The leader of Boko Haram said for those

who have converted to Islam, they have now become their own sisters.

They are sisters of members of the group. For others who have

converted, they can only consider releasing them if the Government of

Nigeria decides to release some of the members of their group who are

held in captivity. These details have been gathered from the video at

the moment. Do we have any idea whether that negotiation has been

going on all will be possible? We have no idea. The Government of

Nigeria previously setup a committee to negotiate with Boko Haram. They

submitted a report without getting to the corner leaders of the group.

In a recent interview with the president of Nigeria, he has said

clearly he is not in negotiation with Boko Haram because it is a

faceless group. He has not been able to get in contact with any of their

leaders in order to enter into negotiations. On this recent video

we have not yet had any reaction from the Government because the

video was just released in the last hour. I do not know whether you have

managed to see the pictures yourself and whether the families have had a

chance to see these pictures. They being shown on television in Nigeria

or not? The pictures have not been shown on local television in

Nigeria. I think this will be good news to the parents of these girls

that at least they are now hopeful some of the girls that are shown are

alive. That is a hope for the families who have been waiting for

almost four weeks, waiting to hear news of these abducted girls. These

girls were abducted from their own school. Over 200 of them, 276, of

them. This is the first time we have seen the pictures of those that have

appeared in the video. I do not know whether you have seen the material

in terms of what the girls seem to be saying when they speak. One is

reciting from the Koran. Do we know if there is anything more that is

spoken by the girls themselves on the video? In the video, I have not

seen the details of this. The girls that have spoken, the three of them

have mentioned their names. They have mentioned where they have come

from. They are calling on their parents to become Muslims. This is

according to what these girls have been speaking in the video. Any

political reaction at all get on this? There has not yet been a

reaction. This video is just coming into light now. It was released...

We heard of the News of the release of the video in the last hour and we

have not had a reaction from any government or any opposition in

Nigeria. We will find out what the reaction of the Government is to the

video that has been released. Does this pattern of releasing of videos,

is it something that Boko Haram has done before? Would

is it something that Boko Haram has it? The route which has been used,

it is that previously used? They have released videos a number of

times. This video appears to have released videos a number of

come from the same source. We confirm previous videos and it would

seem that the content of this video is the same as the kinds of things

we have seen in previous years. We can confirm this video came from

Boko Haram because the leader has spoken. From the content of the

video, it does look like it is the same person that has spoken in

previous videos. The video came through the same source that we knew

-- that offer her and has been using in previous instances. -- Boko Haram

has been using. A little while ago, I spoke to our world affairs

correspondent. It seems to be genuine. It follows the pattern of

last videos by Boko Haram. The interesting thing about it, I am in

the capital of Borno state. It is like the besieged town. Boko Haram

have a lot of scope around it and in much of the state. We have not been

able to see the video at all yet. We can see it, just to let you know. We

are just showing... You are better off than I am. The key thing in it

is that what the Boko Haram leader is saying is that these girls,

presumably all the girls, will not be released until all the prisoners

held by the Government forces have been released. Although that sounds

very, very hard and pretty kind of brutal line, you have to take it, I

think, that this is the first step in a potential negotiation. They are

not refusing, they are not threatening the girls. They are just

saying they will not be released. Just a few days ago, they were

talking about selling them in to slavery. I suspect this is the

response by Boko Haram to the extreme pressure being placed on the

Nigerian federal government by the international countries, by

international figures. The president in the United States, the Prime

Minister of Britain, and so on and so on. They are all demanding that

Nigeria should do something about this and how long it would take to

get through some sort of negotiation, get to be negotiation,

I do not know. These things have happened in the past. Is the girls

are who they are purported to be, the families of the girls will be

relieved to see them alive, we do not know when this video was filmed,

of course. It is also true this is about over 100 girls apparently.

Double that were originally taken. Is there any explanation? I am not

really the person, I suppose, to ask about that. We would need to talk to

Boko Haram. It is about half the girls. We understand there are 130

shown in the video. We have been told, of course, by local officials

here in Borno state, as well as by government officials, that the girls

are likely to have been broken up into small groups and hidden in

different places. Bringing them together, or maybe this was early

on, we cannot know that. But, it is also an indication perhaps that they

have not been sold into slavery as the leader of Boko Haram was

threatening recently and perhaps it supports what the people of Borno

state said to us yesterday, that he does not think they have been sent

across the borders into Chad Cameroon but they are still here in

Nigeria. We saw the girls apparently reciting the first few lines from

the Koran. They are all dressed in full length he jabs. -- hijabs. It

is curious how little detail we have. My understanding is that there

are plenty of Muslim girls, as well as Christian girls, who were

kidnapped. It is one of the curiosities of this that an entire

month later, the Government in Nigeria simply has not been able to

establish some of the most basic facts about the thing. I have spoken

to the fathers of both Christian and Muslim girls and it is pretty clear

that they were a mixed bunch. If they are learning the first chapters

of the Koran, I think we can take it that that is part of the tuition

process for converts, rather than as seeing pictures of Muslim girls

going through their prayers. He is one of the very few journalists in

that part of the world. These are the pictures we have had into the

newsroom in the past hour or so. We gather there are about 136 to 138

faces we can count in the shots we have been sent so far. About three

girls speak, apparently one looks very scared. We have not yet

broadcast those images. We are working on that we will bring you

more coverage as soon as we can. These are the first images in almost

four weeks since the girls were taken. We are still working of

course to these images. -- to authenticate these images. Let's

move onto other news. EU foreign ministers are discussing further

sanctions against Russia. Separatists have claimed

overwhelming victory. The Kremlin says the results must be respected.

Within hours of the polls closing, the scene -- around 90% of voters

chose self-rule. A similar vote was held in a neighbouring region. The

Russian Foreign Minister says his country does respect the vote and he

has called for dialogue between the Government in Kiev and the

pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine. We respect the will of the

population. We believe the practical implementation for the outcomes will

be in a civilised manner without any outbreaks of violence. It means

representatives for those regions. The British Foreign Secretary has

condemned the referendums. Off They have zero credibility. They are

illegal by anybody's standards. They have no transparency, fairness or

being properly conducted as a public referendum. And indeed the people

organising them did not even pretend to meet any of those standards.

William Hague. Steve Rosenberg is in Moscow. He says that while President

Putin had called for the vote to be postponed, it will come as little

surprise that Russia has decided to respect the results. Moscow takes a

very different view from the view of William Hague. We heard from Sergei

Lavrov. He was actually quoting from a Kremlin statement issued earlier

today. A very short statement issued by the Kremlin. It basically said

that the referenda in Donetsk and Luhansk in the eyes of Moscow

represent the will of the people. Moscow noted the high turnout in

those votes and made it clear that it would respect the results. The

Kremlin also condemned what it described as attempts to sabotage

the vote, with the use of violence, including the use of heavy weaponry

against civilians. Those are the words of the Kremlin. There was also

a call for dialogue between Kiev and Donetsk. To try to implement the

results of the referendum. The suggestion that perhaps the

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe could be part

of such a dialogue. White mass -- Will Moscow be worried about more

sanctions? I don't think Moscow will like more sanctions. I don't think

it will be worried. So for the Kremlin hasn't shown it is so

concerned about the sanctions coming from the EU or the United States.

Not concerned enough to make a change course on Ukraine.

Steve Rosenberg. India's marathon five-week election - the longest in

the country's history - has entered its final day of polling. Many key

constituencies vote today in the states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh

and Bihar. The scale of the vote is immense. Here are the numbers. 814

million voters were registered to vote in the world's largest

democratic elections. That's 100 million more than the last election

in 2009. But a party or coalition needs a minimum of 272 seats to form

a majority government. Today, focus is on the fortunes of this man, the

main opposition BJP leader, Narendra Modi, who is standing in the Hindu

holy city of Varanasi. He's the man many believe will become India's

next Prime Minister. Voter turnout in Varanasi is expected to be high -

and, as you can see here, security is tight at polling stations across

the city. We're expecting the final results on Friday, but we should

know the outcome of exit polls shortly after voting finishes today

at 12:30 GMT. The BBC's Rahul Tandon is in Calcutta - earlier I asked him

how local issues are influencing voters. Calcutta is probably the

most political city. People stand on street corners and discuss politics.

This is a part of India where the two main parties have normally not

held sway. It is much more about the regional parties. It is a good place

to look at these so-called Narendra Modi wave. People are holding

stations we have been to this morning say they want change. They

may well vote for one of the national parties. Even here in

Calcutta, the ripples of the Narendra Modi effect are being felt.

India is a secular country. It has been very keenly aired in the last

few weeks and months. How much are people talking about that? Is it

really back to the economy and making living standards better? I

think development is uppermost in the minds of Indians, whether that

is urban India or rural India. I am speaking to you from a polling

booths at the Jewish school. There are no more Jewish students left in

Calcutta. It is mainly Muslim girls. Lots of Muslim parents have been

voting this morning. Many are worried about the BJP, what it means

for their status in India if they come to power. When you scratch the

surface of India, even though development has been the key issue,

religion is never very far away. This is a country that was born by

religion to some extent when the partition of India took place

between India, Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh. What are the Muslim

voters worried about if Narendra Modi is declared Prime Minister? I

think what they fear is that India will move away from its secular past

and become more of a Hindu nation. To be fair to Narendra Modi and his

campaign, there have not been many signs of that. He said that rather

than play religious card, you would prefer to lose the election. There

are some Muslims who may vote out to vote for him. For many people here

in India, with the economy slowing down, jobs are an issue. They worry

about their children's future. In rural India, they worry about

electricity and water. They want somebody who can deliver a whole

series of different things. Do stay with us. Much more to come.

We hear from our correspondent in Pretoria where another week of the

Oscar Pistorius murder trial has begun.

In the UK, there's been an increase of 57% in the number of Afghan

veterans seeking help from the mental health charity, Combat

Stress. The charity currently treats more than 660 veterans of the

campaign in Afghanistan. The number of veterans from the war in Iraq

needing help has also increased by nearly 20%. Caroline Wyatt reports.

For 13 years, British forces have been deployed to Afghanistan. In

that time, tens of thousands have served on the front lines and in

supporting roles. The war itself may soon be over but some veterans will

face new battles back at home. The veterans, like Stephen Coyle, the

fight goes on. The 28-year-old's three tours of Afghanistan have left

their mark. He has sought help from a therapist. I became very

emotionally numb and distance. -- distance. I was very sad. In a very

deep and dark place. I had to get over that. Now I try to get over

that myself and it did not work. I left at about 12 months. Is the UK

campaign in Helmand winds down, one charity says more than 600 men from

the conflict sought its help. The Government says it has invested more

than ?7 million to help with mental health services for the Armed

Forces, and will continue to make sure that support is there for who

needed. -- needed. For Steven and others, the psychological effects of

war can be as traumatic as the physical. This younger generation of

soldiers are seeking help sooner, according to Combat Stress, after 18

months rather than waiting for many years. Reflecting perhaps the

knowledge that help is there and having the courage to ask for it.

This is BBC World News. The latest headlines: Boko Haram releases a

video showing some of the girls kidnapped from their school in Borno

state in northern Nigeria. The Oscar Pistorius murder trial has

resumed in South Africa. The Olympic athlete denies intentionally killing

his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February last year. Our reporter,

Milton Nkosi, is following the trial in Pretoria. He explained that the

prosecuting lawyer, Gerrie Nel, is continuing to question a ballistics

expert called by the defence. He has been asking him about the

sequence of the bullets that pierced through the door, killing Reeva

Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. The point of contention here

is whether, after the first bullet hit her hip, when she was

collapsing, did she fall on the magazine rack in the toilet cubicle,

or not? I think what Gerrie Nel is trying to do is create some space.

That Reeva Steenkamp was hit on the right hip, and as she collapsed, and

as the expert is saying, she fell on the magazine rack, Gerrie Nel thinks

that perhaps would have created enough space for her to scream. He

has not said that but that is what he is building up to. The ballistics

expert is still on the stand. We expect the defence will still call a

few more witnesses. Psychologists and a sound expert to try to defend

Oscar Pistorius. He says it was a mistake when he shot and killed his

model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, last year.

Let me remind you of our breaking story this hour. We have obtained

pictures from Boko Haram. They say these are about half of the girls

who were abducted four weeks ago. We have counted about 136, possibly 138

girls, shown in these images. Over 200 were initially taken. As you can

see there, wearing full hijab. They are reciting the first few lines

from the Koran. Also in this video, which we are not showing at the

moment, three of the girls have spoken. One of them at least

reciting the Koran. We do not want to identify those girls in close-up

at the moment. But we are working to bring you more of this video as soon

as we can. The leader of Boko Haram has also spoken in the tape. It has

been released through the AFP news agency in the region. It is 17

minutes long. The leader of Boko Haram says the girls will not be

released until all of the militant prisoners are freed from jail in

Nigeria. It is alleged the girls have converted to Islam. One of the

girls who speaks apparently says she has converted and she wants her

family to convert. They will not be released until prisoners, militant

prisoners, members of Boko Haram, our freed from jail. We will

prisoners, members of Boko Haram, on BBC News. This is BBC World News.

Thank you for watching.