:00:00. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi.
:00:11. > :00:13.Increasing pressure on the Ukrainian president to resign, as protesters
:00:14. > :00:17.begin sealing off parts of the capital, Kiev. They have barricaded
:00:18. > :00:20.Independence Square and government buildings in anger at a decision to
:00:21. > :00:26.back away from the trade deal with the EU.
:00:27. > :00:30.Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, is for the first time directly
:00:31. > :00:36.accused of war crimes by the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.
:00:37. > :00:40.But will the evidence against him ever go to trial?
:00:41. > :00:47.Also coming up: British Olympic hero Tom Daley says he is in a
:00:48. > :00:54.relationship with another man. What impact will this have on his career?
:00:55. > :01:03.I think people will make a big deal of this. Is it a big deal? I don't
:01:04. > :01:06.think so. And we will hear from Ivorian
:01:07. > :01:13.midfielder Yaya Tour, this year's winner of the BBC African footballer
:01:14. > :01:23.of the year. Hello and welcome. A tense standoff
:01:24. > :01:27.is underway over Ukraine's future in the capital, Kiev. Thousands of
:01:28. > :01:30.demonstrators have gathered for fresh protests, while other
:01:31. > :01:36.activists are barricaded inside city hall. The unrest was triggered at
:01:37. > :01:42.Ukraine's 11th hour decision to back away from a deal which would ensure
:01:43. > :01:51.closer ties with the European Union. This is the scene in the capital,
:01:52. > :01:59.Kiev. Protesters are entrenched inside City Hall and have put up
:02:00. > :02:03.barricades. Protesters now want President Viktor Yanukovich to
:02:04. > :02:09.resign. People power on display in Kiev.
:02:10. > :02:12.Protesters took to the streets to paralyse their government. They set
:02:13. > :02:17.up roadblocks to stop officials getting to work. At government
:02:18. > :02:26.headquarters, no door was left unguarded. It will be our victory if
:02:27. > :02:30.they don't come inside. Protesters occupy Independence Square. They're
:02:31. > :02:36.demanding closer links with Europe instead of Russia. Thousands spent
:02:37. > :02:41.the night here. They spent all might building barricades using large
:02:42. > :02:48.pieces of wood and metal. This is to stop police moving onto the square.
:02:49. > :02:55.Yesterday, there are violent clashes between riot police and protesters.
:02:56. > :02:58.More than 100 were injured. The opposition is demanding that the
:02:59. > :03:02.president resign. But these demonstrators told me they are not
:03:03. > :03:09.surprised. TRANSLATION: Whenever people take to the streets, our
:03:10. > :03:13.president runs away. He is a coward. Not everyone in this country wants
:03:14. > :03:19.closer links with the European Union. But these people believe that
:03:20. > :03:27.the future of Ukraine lies to the west, and they blame their president
:03:28. > :03:32.for holding them back. Our reporter joins us now live. I
:03:33. > :03:39.hope you can hear me. People still out in force. Give us an account of
:03:40. > :03:43.what is going on. That is correct. It is bitterly
:03:44. > :03:49.cold, but despite that there are thousands of people here on
:03:50. > :03:56.Independence Square. They have been listening to music and political
:03:57. > :04:00.speeches. They are determined to keep in this square as the focal
:04:01. > :04:06.point of their protest. Some people here will probably spend the night.
:04:07. > :04:11.Last night, people lit fires to keep themselves warm. It is bitterly
:04:12. > :04:17.cold, but this is the centre of the protest. There were attempts to
:04:18. > :04:22.surround the government building today to make sure that no
:04:23. > :04:36.government officials could get inside the building. The protesters
:04:37. > :04:41.feel their demands should be met. The president seems to be taking a
:04:42. > :04:46.relaxed view of this? He is going ahead with a visit abroad?
:04:47. > :04:54.That is correct. Had speculation that perhaps Viktor Yanukovich would
:04:55. > :05:01.cancel his trip to China, but he is due to leave tomorrow. That would
:05:02. > :05:10.suggest that he is confident about his position here. He gave an
:05:11. > :05:13.interview to a number of Ukrainian television channels earlier today
:05:14. > :05:18.and said that everyone had the right to express their own opinion, as
:05:19. > :05:25.long as that was done peacefully. He said the opposition, the authorities
:05:26. > :05:29.and police all had to abide by the law of the state. He called on the
:05:30. > :05:34.opposition to work with the authorities to identify people whom
:05:35. > :05:39.he said had provoked Coble during the recent mass protests.
:05:40. > :05:44.How far do you get the impression that these protests are being
:05:45. > :05:51.managed and directed by the opposition? Or is this real people
:05:52. > :05:55.power we are witnessing? There is a degree of management
:05:56. > :06:00.year, but I think there is also deep disappointment amongst people who
:06:01. > :06:05.are gathering on the square at the disillusionment when it became clear
:06:06. > :06:17.that there are president was not going to signed this historic deal
:06:18. > :06:23.with the European Union to move Ukraine politically closer to
:06:24. > :06:30.Europe. Some people in the east of the country are upset, but many
:06:31. > :06:36.people in Kiev and in the West are very angry. This country is deeply
:06:37. > :06:47.divided and not everyone wants closer ties with the US. Many people
:06:48. > :06:51.-- with the European Union. Many people in the east of the country
:06:52. > :07:02.feel closer to Russia. They are worried about breaking important
:07:03. > :07:10.economic ties with Moscow. Thank you. The atmosphere slightly
:07:11. > :07:16.reminds you of a rock concert at the moment, seeming fairly peaceful.
:07:17. > :07:19.Thailand's Prime Minister has rejected a demand from protesters
:07:20. > :07:23.that she should resign and hand over power to an unelected people's
:07:24. > :07:32.council. Yingluck Shinawatra says that would be unconstitutional. The
:07:33. > :07:36.premier says she's still open to talks but on the streets there is an
:07:37. > :07:47.uglier mood, with security forces using rubber bullets and tear gas
:07:48. > :07:51.against demonstrators. Bangkok's battle grounds. Year in
:07:52. > :07:56.the streets of the old Royal Quarter, two sides are slugging it
:07:57. > :08:00.out in a conflict which keeps coming back to the city. On one side, a
:08:01. > :08:05.government that cannot be beaten in elections. On the other, a movement
:08:06. > :08:11.set on bringing it down through the power of protest. Every so often,
:08:12. > :08:17.they think there is a breakthrough. They are trying to take the Prime
:08:18. > :08:24.Minister's office. A symbolic privacy is not actually there. But
:08:25. > :08:38.the gate as well fortified. Every surge is met by clouds of tear gas.
:08:39. > :08:42.Undeterred, they began ringing up an assortment of improvised weapons,
:08:43. > :09:00.hoping to score a hit or at least unnerve the watching police. This is
:09:01. > :09:06.their final attempt to push back these lines. They're hoping they can
:09:07. > :09:12.push their way through. So far they have not managed to push through
:09:13. > :09:22.police lines. After nine days of this, you have two ask, what is the
:09:23. > :09:26.point? The government will not resign. Was a big majority in
:09:27. > :09:35.parliament, it doesn't have to. But such is the Prime Minister -- such
:09:36. > :09:47.is the animosity towards the Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, and
:09:48. > :09:52.her family, some people believe they have to take to the streets. Towards
:09:53. > :10:07.the end of the day, they brought in a new weapon. Things really kicked
:10:08. > :10:17.off. Rockets, home-made bombs, tear gas, lighting up the sky. The fight
:10:18. > :10:24.is being led by hard-line student groups now. Perhaps this time, they
:10:25. > :10:42.will breakthrough. And if they do, then what?
:10:43. > :10:57.We are joined by a former American ambassador to Ukraine. Can street
:10:58. > :11:05.power be effective in deciding what the political outcome is? Well, yes
:11:06. > :11:09.it can, and it can in Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovich has seen this
:11:10. > :11:18.before. In 2004, the Orange Revolution basically call the
:11:19. > :11:26.government to schedule a new election after a fraudulent
:11:27. > :11:33.election. Argues suggesting that when we look at this debate of
:11:34. > :11:41.Moscow against the European Union and their offerings for Ukraine,
:11:42. > :11:46.this is a street battle? Hopefully this is not a fight and it stays
:11:47. > :11:51.peaceful between Viktor Yanukovich, the opposition and the protest is on
:11:52. > :11:55.the street. They are there for two reasons. One is because there is
:11:56. > :12:00.this desire on a significant part of Ukrainian population to align
:12:01. > :12:07.themselves closer to Europe. They were unhappy when Viktor Yanukovich
:12:08. > :12:15.said he would suspend preparations for signing a deal with the EU.
:12:16. > :12:24.Second play, more blood was spilled this weekend and people are not
:12:25. > :12:27.happy. The Ukrainians took pride in 2004 that they could do this
:12:28. > :12:36.peacefully. People have come out in a backlash against that use of force
:12:37. > :12:44.on Saturday morning. In Thailand, the military is taking a back-seat.
:12:45. > :12:51.What is your assessment of any violence potential in Ukraine? The
:12:52. > :13:03.military in Ukraine is largely conscript. The action was taken by
:13:04. > :13:11.the ministry of interior specialist units provoked a special reaction.
:13:12. > :13:16.At the police has been largely absence today. It might be an
:13:17. > :13:22.acknowledgement from Viktor Yanukovich that the use of force
:13:23. > :13:29.will be counter-productive. His options are becoming more narrow. If
:13:30. > :13:33.he cannot risk a harsh crackdown, as you are suggesting, he also cannot
:13:34. > :13:39.be seen to be caving in to the opposition, can he? We will have to
:13:40. > :13:45.see. He has had a phone conversation earlier today with the president of
:13:46. > :13:57.the European Commission were he has asked about engaging in negotiation.
:13:58. > :14:03.The questionnaires, can he get into some sort of dialogue that begins to
:14:04. > :14:07.answer some of the concerns you see from the protesters on the street.
:14:08. > :14:17.How far can the opposition capitalise on this? The opposition
:14:18. > :14:24.is trying to take advantage of the people on the street who just want
:14:25. > :14:30.Europe. They will have to work together for a coherent message. The
:14:31. > :14:37.question is, can they get in to some sort of dialogue with the President.
:14:38. > :14:40.That is his best way out. At least 100,000 dead in the Syrian
:14:41. > :14:44.conflict, many of them innocent civilians, and many others injured,
:14:45. > :14:47.raped and abused. There can be no impunity for such crimes, says the
:14:48. > :14:49.international community. Now the United Nations Human Rights
:14:50. > :14:52.Commissioner Navi Pillay has for the first time directly implicated
:14:53. > :14:54.President Bashar al-Assad in alleged war crimes and crimes against
:14:55. > :14:57.humanity in Syria. She said investigations by her staff had
:14:58. > :15:03.uncovered evidence leading all the way to the top of the Syrian
:15:04. > :15:12.government. They have produced massive evidence.
:15:13. > :15:15.They find the facts. Based on that, in their report, they have outlined
:15:16. > :15:22.their view that the facts point to the commission of very serious war
:15:23. > :15:27.crimes, crimes against humanity. They point to the fact that the
:15:28. > :15:34.evidence indicates responsibility at the highest level of government,
:15:35. > :15:36.including the head of state. That was Navi Pillay. We