25/11/2013 World News Today


25/11/2013

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This is BBC World News Today with me Zeinab Badawi. The biggest protest

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in Ukraine in ten years over the government's snub to the European

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Union. Opposition figures accused Russia of bullying the government

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into backing down on a trade deal with the EU. We ask the president of

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a former Soviet republic if that is the choice between the West or

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Moscow. He wrote's welcome for Iran's

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nuclear negotiators after I deal is signed that will see crippling

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sanctions eased within weeks. We look at the carrot and stick behind

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the diplomacy. 50 years on we hear how one

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photographer managed to capture the moment President Kennedy's assassin

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was himself shot dead. Protesters remain outside the

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primaries to's office in Ukraine tonight following the largest

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anti-government demonstrations since the Orange Revolution in 2004. They

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are angry at the government's decision to drop a trade and

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cooperation deal with the European Union, and within the past hour

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Ukraine's imprisoned opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko says she is

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going on hunger strike until the president signed the deal. Ukraine

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is torn between its old Northern Master, Russia, and its western

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neighbours in Europe. Ukraine's government has come under intense

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recent pressure from Moscow which has been threatening economic

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sanctions if Kiev signs the trade pact with the EU. Russia has its own

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customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus, and once other former

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Soviet republics like Ukraine to sign up. More than 100,000

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Ukrainians have been making their voices heard over the past two

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days, numbers not seen since 2004 and 2005 during the pro-democracy

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Orange Revolution. Once again the anger in the

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Ukrainian capital of Kiev spilled over into scuffles and minor

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violence. The protesters here feel they are fighting for the future of

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the country, a European future, not a Russian future. They have been

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shocked into action by their government's decision to postpone an

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agreement to build closer ties with the European Union.

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TRANSLATION: We came to the streets to show them we're not afraid. If

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they do not sign it will be a catastrophe for this government. It

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will not be a catastrophe for the Ukraine because it will be signed

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eventually by this president or the next. You will get what we want.

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The country is divided on whether Ukraine's future should be with the

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European Union Russia. Those who favour Europe, like the heavyweight

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boxing champion turned politician, are certainly the most vocal at the

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moment. Yesterday's much bigger rally also ended in clashes between

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protesters and the police. At one point the crowd swelled to 100,000,

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and in scenes reminiscent of the Orange Revolution nine years ago,

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the demonstrators started setting up permanent encampments in the city

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centre, and attempts to secure a foothold for much bigger protests in

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the days ahead. No one knows whether the people of Ukraine have the

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desire or the energy to rise up again.

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We're joined now from Kiev by Lesya Orobets an opposition MP from the

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Batkivshchyna Party in Ukraine. Lesya Orobets, do you think these

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protests will be able to get the government to change its mind and

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signed that trade deal with the EU? We can pray and hope for that.

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Thousands of Ukrainians gather, peaceful right now, but I have

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breaking news. Right now the fight between 20,000 people who gathered

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in the centre of the capital and militia, special forces, are beating

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each other. We are informed about dozens of people beaten severely,

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and gas and batons were used against peaceful civilians.

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This is going on right now? We do use social networks like

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Facebook to coordinate our reactions, so I am informed right

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now that people are being suppressed. What was the

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official... It was the provocation of special services agents in the

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headquarters of these for gathering, and they were surrounded

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by people, and police attacks people.

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Thank you very much for giving us that update. And Yulia Tymoshenko,

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one of your party leaders, we have heard she has gone on strike. Tell

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us about that. The Ukrainian nation does support

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the position of Yulia Tymoshenko. We should bear in mind the

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responsibility for not signing the agreement lies upon a single person,

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the president to stop. Why do you not try to see your aim

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is achieved through Parliament and not on the street? There has been a

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democratic election in Ukraine. For months we have been trying to

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push hard the pro-European laws. There was a disaster as

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parliamentary majority failed to support any rule which was known to

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be a European one. The parliamentary session ended up with nothing. The

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thing that we need is the extraordinary session of the

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Parliament this Wednesday. But I do not know what will happen after

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these extraordinary events when police are beating peaceful

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civilians. And a former president of the

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Ukraine says he wants the European Union to speak up much more.

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Yes, and right now we have had the president who has made a public

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statement and our goal to stop. -- one hour ago. From his political

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language, he says, give us money. European money are known to be

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allocated for certain reforms, and for the Ukrainian government,

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rushing money is more welcome because it can be used for corrupt

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purposes. The only thing that can solve the situation is the threat of

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sanctions. Such as blocking the foreign accounts with money stolen

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from planning project by state officials.

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We cannot go down with corruption allegations which I'm sure the

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president would refute strongly. Lesya Orobets, thank you very much

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for talking to us. The demonstrations going on in Ukraine

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over the country's possible closer ties with the EU have exposed

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difficulties for some former sovereign republics with how they

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pursue their foreign relations. Do they look westwards towards possible

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EU membership and links with 1991 was when you got your

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independence will stop. I would say that looking at this

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excess of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania becoming among the most

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liberal democracies in Europe having left, and doing it through a process

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of integration, we have been in the EU and NATO for almost ten years,

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something as minor as an association agreement... We signed our agreement

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in 1995, but this is seen as a threat, a first step towards moving

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towards the West. Following fairly closely, I get a feeling that the

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Russian government is taking Samuel Huntington's clash of civilisations

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not as a description but rather as a prescriptive way of doing things,

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and looking at this in civilisation of terms which I think is all wrong.

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There were no objections to the three countries, are three countries

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signing an association agreement on was 20 years ago. There was a little

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bit of opposition to our joining the EU, but nothing of the sort.

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Why has it got to the stage where the Chancellor of Germany has had to

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say, it is not an either or relationship full stop it is not

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Russia or the West. But for some countries, it seems to be precisely

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that. In the technical side of trade

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relations, it is either or. You are open completely to one side or the

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other. That is the nature of trade agreements. But clearly there is no

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pressure at all from the European Union to break off cultural ties to

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any other country, that is an absurd allegation.

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Do you think that the EU, as I said to the former president in the

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Ukraine, he might want the EU to speak up more loudly. Do you think

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the EU should be speaking up more? I think that the European Union

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leadership has to figure out exactly how to respond. This is just a

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matter of days. We have been negotiating this agreement for two

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years. It is all done in good faith, and suddenly they say, we're not

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going to do this. Promised only a's point of view, it is clear that we

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do not stop our relations. On the other hand, we have put a lot of

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work into this whole issue. It is a negotiation process, and at the last

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moment someone says we are not going to do it.

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Briefly, what do you think will happen now? How do you think events

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will unfold? It is hard to predict. Firstly, it

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is important we continue the process with two countries that are well

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along, that is Moldova and Georgia stop. They cannot fall into the

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shadow of these events. Then we should see how Ukraine will approach

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these issues, because their problems are not going to Galway simply by

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giving into the kinds of pressure they have been under. It is quite

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clear from these demonstrations and public attitudes that a substantial

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percentage of Ukrainians would like to develop the kind of relationship

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with the EU that the others will get. They will want these free

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travel to the European Union. It is clear from this reaction people are

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far more upset than many of us thought they would be.

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Thank you very much indeed. And you alluded to the fact that Estonia is

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driving within the EU. Like you very much.

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Thailand has been rocked by anti-government sentiment. In the

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last few hours, the Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has

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invoked special powers after demonstrators forced their way into

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key ministries. Tens of thousands have been calling for her government

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to resign, accusing her of being a puppet for her brother, the former

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Prime Minister, Taksin Shinawatra. The street protests that began a

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month ago here burst out into new areas of the city, targeting

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ministries, television stations and the police headquarters. The goal

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this time is to force the government to resign. So often in

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Thailandrecent past, the police try to avoid confrontation. Once again

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the mood is heated and unpredictable. Elsewhere the crowds

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converged on various ministries, I'm into disrupt the government's work

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as much as possible. This was the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day.

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Later it was stormed and occupied. The first apartment to fall into the

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demonstrators' cans was this, the finance ministry, really argue the

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government Miss uses the budget. The police were conspicuous by their

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absence and the mood was almost festive, but there are still at a

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two Taksin Shinawatra was intense elsewhere.

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TRANSLATION: They have to get out. They are traitors who do nothing for

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the little people. No reflection here of the genuine

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popularity that Mr Taksin Shinawatra enjoys in much of the rest of the

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country. This man is a traditional power broker for the Democrats had

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no stranger to corruption scandals. He has now abandoned Parliament and

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is calling for what he sounds like an all-out insurrection.

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TRANSLATION: Rise up and sees all government places in a civilised way

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so that the regime can't work any more.

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Not for the first time we are seeing government departments occupied and

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the business of government paralysed. There is no end to this

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long-running crisis because so many people have lost faith in their

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institutions and their system of democracy. How this will end is

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anybody's guess. But it is hard to see it ending well.

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EU sanctions on Iran could be lifted as early as next month, as part of a

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nuclear deal with world powers. The six-month interim deal agreed in

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Geneva has prompted a fall in oil prices on markets. But Israel's

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prime minister has warned the agreement is an "historic mistake".

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Emily Buchanan has more. Whatever the international verdict

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on the deal, in Iran there was jubilation. Greetings to the

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Ambassador of peace, said the posters, as the country's Foreign

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Minister arrived home. Amongst the crowd, there was no sense of Iran

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bowing to pressure. In Geneva, all sides appeared relieved after days

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of intense negotiations. For Iran, the hope that crippling sanctions

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can at last be lifted. For the international community, a vital

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step forward in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions. Under the

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preliminary agreement, Iran would neutralise its stockpile of 20%

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enriched uranium, and would halt the enrichment of uranium John 5%, which

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is well low the threshold needed for nuclear weapon is -- beyond 5%. The

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Israelis are calling it an historic mistake, making the world a more

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dangerous place. The key will be detailed verification that Iran

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sticks to its promises. The British foreign secretary said the deal was

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bound to have its critics but it was a necessary first step. We are right

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to test to the full Iran's readiness to act in good faith, to work with

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the international community and enter into international agreements.

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If they do not abide by those commitments, they will bear a heavy

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responsibility. If we did not take the opportunity to attempt such an

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agreement, we ourselves would be guilty of a grave error. The French

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say sanctions could be partially lifted as soon as next month. All

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sides have taken a big political risk with this deal, and it will be

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months before the real outcome is clear.

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With me now to examine the dynamics behind the diplomacy that unlocked

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this deal, we are joined by the former Iranian Diplomat and analyst

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Mehrdad Khonsari. And also here is the veteran foreign and diplomatic

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commentator Edward Mortimer, who was Communications Director for the UN

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Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Was it the stick of sanctions that

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essentially unblocked this deal? I think there is no question, it was

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the pressure that the Iranian regime could not bear any more. And the

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fact that contrary to conventional wisdom, people say that sanctions

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don't work, they have in fact worked in the case of Iran. It is the

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Iranian economy being on the verge of a knock-down, really, that has

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forced the government to seek a different alternative -- the verge

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of a meltdown. When you are looking at diplomatic endeavours, you have

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to have a bit of carrot and stick? Of course, but if the stick takes

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the form of sanctions, it gives you a carrot in the form of partially

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lifting sanctions. So this becomes an incentive and this is how the

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dynamics have worked in this case. The Iranians are suffering from

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sanctions, clearly, so the idea of these being lifted, or an escape

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from sanctions becomes a very powerful carrot. I just want to look

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at the personalities and how they worked this time. I know the EU

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foreign policy chief, Baroness Cathy Ashton, says, I have a style that is

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not very much out when it comes to diplomacy, very patient, speak

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softly but firmly and had a very good rapport with the Iranians. How

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important is this nullity? -- important is personality? It is very

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important. In the case of the Iranian negotiators, he came to the

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meetings with a different agenda, a different demeanour, looking to

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solve the problem and work towards it. His predecessor, who has a very

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important job as the head of the atomic energy agency in Mr Rohani's

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government, he was working under a different set of instructions. So

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the fact that Rohani was elected, the agenda changed and the agenda

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was to try to come with a different demeanour, a different approach,

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look to resolve this solution, this situation, as opposed to prolonging

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it. And that is what made this work. The personality of resident Hassan

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Rouhani, you are saying it is more westward looking, he studied in

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Scotland, that kind of thing -- president Hassan Rouhani. I think

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the necessity that the government Iran felt, that they could no longer

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pursue antagonism as a poster showing goodwill and a wants to

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resolve this. - as opposed to showing goodwill. Personalities can

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only have an effect within a given framework. Hassan Rouhani is an

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interesting personality but one wonders whether he would have been

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allowed it to -- allowed to stand had come any not decided they needed

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to change tack at the cars sanctions are too strong and affecting them

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too badly. Looking at the Americans, you have John Kerry, a lot of people

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speak of him as a one term Secretary of State, Barack Obama can't be

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elected again boast they might be looking at some kind of for

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themselves. To what extent the factors like that help? It is very

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important. President Obama, from the very beginning, he was looking for a

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way of trying to initiate some kind of ongoing relationship with the

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Iranian regime, to try to resolve things. Obviously he was turned

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back. The hand of friendship was turned back. I think Mr Kerry is

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lucky that he has emerged on the scene at a time when the Iranian

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government has, for absolutely practical reasons... He sees the

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need for that and is moving in that direction. With your textbook look

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at diplomatic breakthroughs, how does this fit in? I think it is a

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case where, the political stars were aligned and then the skilled

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diplomacy, the big virtue that comes through in this case is patience.

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Catherine Ashton and the people representing President Obama, Bill

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Burns and Sullivan, and the Iranian working in the White House, all

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these people have been at this for five years. And they had to wait

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until the ducks came into a row. It is no good being in too much of a

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hurry if you want to achieve results.

:23:32.:23:36.

Thank you very much for your insights on that diplomacy.

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Two days after President John F Kennedy was killed, the man arrested

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on suspicion of carrying out the assassination was himself shot dead.

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This image of Jack Ruby firing a gun at Lee Harvey Oswald is one of the

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most famous of the 20th century. This image of Jack Ruby firing a gun

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at Lee It was taken by the photographer for the Dallas

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Times-Herald, Bob Jackson, and won him the Pulitzer Prize for

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Photography. Times-Herald, Bob Jackson, and won

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him the Pulitzer He now lives in Denver, Colorado, and he spoke to

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the BBC about taking the shot of a lifetime - and why being a

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split-second slower than a competitor made all the difference.

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-- it won him the Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

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The police said, we are going to bring him down. You have about five

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minutes to get into position. I pre-focused my camera. All of a

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sudden somebody comes out to my right. Two steps, real fast. The

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police stepped out, Ruby went that were, fired and I punched the

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shutter. It was almost two o'clock by the time I got back to the paper.

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They called me over and they said, do you have anything as good as

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this? And it was Jack B's picture, which was already on The Wire. Jack

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always like to get a pie. He was standing on this little concrete

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wall behind us. I really think that is why he fired his camera when he

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did. Because he saw it happening first. I went in, I ran my film, the

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chief photographer is right outside the door. I remember letting out

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some sort -- him letting out some sort of a yell and that is when we

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realised we had beaten competition. We had rearranged for me to unload

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my cameras. -- we had prearranged. As we turned the corner onto

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Houston, we heard the first shot. It appears as though something has

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happened in the motorcade route. After the first shot, there were two

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more closer together. I looked right up at the depositary. I saw two men

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looking up above them and there was a rifle resting on the ledge, and he

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drew it in. I just thought, I missed the picture there. And it was pretty

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depressing. Even if I had had film in the camera, I don't think I could

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have sworn it up, focused and shot fast enough.

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After the assassination, I continued on as a news photographer. I had

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always had dreams of working for a big magazine and covering world

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events. Photographer Bob Jackson. That's all

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from the programme. Next, the weather. But for now, from me and

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the rest of the team, goodbye. Expect frost and some folk tonight.

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Where the skies stay clear for any length of time. -- and some

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