:00:00. > :00:08.This is BBC World News Today, with me, Zeinab Badawi. The new interim
:00:09. > :00:14.Ukrainian government has accused Russia of a military invasion and
:00:15. > :00:17.occupation. Men presumed to be Russian are armed and patrolling two
:00:18. > :00:26.airports in the Southern Crimea region. They have reportedly cut of
:00:27. > :00:28.phone lines with Ukraine and Russia denies a military takeover.
:00:29. > :00:32.Meanwhile, has Viktor Yanukovich lost his grip on reality? He turns
:00:33. > :00:36.up in Russia and holds a press conference insisting he's still
:00:37. > :00:42.president. TRANSLATION: I am eager and ready to
:00:43. > :00:45.fight for the future of Ukraine. Also coming up, Uganda faces a
:00:46. > :00:48.financial backlash to its new anti-gay law. And Nigeria marks the
:00:49. > :00:52.100th anniversary of its creation as a state - but with Sharia law in the
:00:53. > :00:56.north and killings by Boko Haram militants, what unity is there to
:00:57. > :01:00.celebrate? And rolling out the red carpet for the frocks and shocks -
:01:01. > :01:16.we take you behind the scenes as Hollywood gears up for Oscars night.
:01:17. > :01:23.Hello and welcome. The UN Security Council is about to hold crisis
:01:24. > :01:26.talks on Ukraine. This comes after its interim government accused
:01:27. > :01:33.Moscow of a military invasion and occupation. It's been reported that
:01:34. > :01:36.armed men seized buildings and are patrolling the streets in armoured
:01:37. > :01:39.vehicles in the Crimea region. Crimea is a Black Sea peninsula that
:01:40. > :01:42.belonged to Russia until 60 years ago, and most of its population are
:01:43. > :01:44.ethnic-Russian. Meanwhile, in Russia itself the ousted Ukrainian
:01:45. > :01:48.president, Viktor Yanukovych, has appeared in public for the first
:01:49. > :01:50.time since he fled Kiev, insisting he was still president. Daniel
:01:51. > :01:54.Sandford reports from Sevastopol in Crimea.
:01:55. > :02:01.Crimea's main connection to the outside world today in the hands of
:02:02. > :02:07.men with machine guns. The airport in south-east Ukraine controlled --
:02:08. > :02:12.patrolled by men without markings on their uniforms. Men in green
:02:13. > :02:16.military uniforms have taken over the building containing the control
:02:17. > :02:22.tower in Crimea's main civilian airport. All day military trucks
:02:23. > :02:27.were on the move through Crimea, although it is a region of Ukraine,
:02:28. > :02:31.the Black Sea fleet from Russia are based here. Troops loyal to Moscow
:02:32. > :02:42.were in control of the main military airport near Sevastopol to. -- near
:02:43. > :02:46.Sevastopol, too. But this woman is suspicious of the new Kiev
:02:47. > :02:48.government, like many in Sevastopol, and supported the
:02:49. > :02:56.Russian move. TRANSLATION: Who else can we turn
:02:57. > :03:06.to? Who else can defend us? Thank goodness the Russian fleet is here.
:03:07. > :03:08.This Russian naval ship appeared at Balaklava Bay, another show of
:03:09. > :03:13.strength by the Russian armed forces. Ukraine appears to have lost
:03:14. > :03:19.control of the Seas and the main airport in Crimea, a major strategic
:03:20. > :03:23.region. As the country fell apart, there were angry scenes in the
:03:24. > :03:26.national parliament. The new security chief pointed the finger
:03:27. > :03:32.directly at Moscow. TRANSLATION: Crimean sub nothing to
:03:33. > :03:37.do with the events in Crimea. These are extremists and separatist
:03:38. > :03:42.groups. In Russia, the ousted Ukrainian
:03:43. > :03:45.president, Viktor Yanukovych, appeared in public for the first
:03:46. > :03:50.time since he fled last week. He said he was ashamed he had not been
:03:51. > :03:55.able to hold onto power during the Kiev uprising, and apologised for
:03:56. > :04:04.failing to keep stability. TRANSLATION: I am eager and ready to
:04:05. > :04:08.fight for the future of Ukraine. I was forced to leave. There were
:04:09. > :04:18.threats to my life and to people close to me. The city was taken by
:04:19. > :04:22.fascist folks who are in the minority in Ukraine. Although
:04:23. > :04:27.Ukraine has lost control of Crimea, including the main TV station, no
:04:28. > :04:32.shots have been fired. This is not yet a war. Kiev has not moved to
:04:33. > :04:38.reassert control. And if it does, Moscow made it clear today that its
:04:39. > :04:46.troops are waiting. Now to David Stern in Kiev. David,
:04:47. > :04:52.there are reports coming in about troop movements and so on. What do
:04:53. > :04:56.you know? Well, we don't know much more than what is being reported.
:04:57. > :05:02.There are troop movements into one of the military airports in
:05:03. > :05:05.Sevastopol. It should be said there are regular troop movements into
:05:06. > :05:11.Crimea because this is where the Russian Black Sea Fleet has its main
:05:12. > :05:17.base. The question is, why add these troop movements taking place now?
:05:18. > :05:21.How large are they? What do they intend to do? We cannot answer these
:05:22. > :05:28.questions. It does raise tensions even further. As Daniel Sandford was
:05:29. > :05:34.saying, there is concern about these troops. Even though they do not have
:05:35. > :05:39.insignia, the Interior Minister has accused Russia of staging an
:05:40. > :05:43.invasion. It is not clear what is going to happen next. They are
:05:44. > :05:46.asking for roadside assistance. What about the reports about beating
:05:47. > :05:53.indications being intercepted and flights cancelled get -- etc? That
:05:54. > :05:57.is also something we're looking into. Difficult to say what is
:05:58. > :06:03.happening with the mobile phone connections. We do have landline
:06:04. > :06:05.connections with Crimea. We are also hearing from journalists here in
:06:06. > :06:11.Kiev that flights have been cancelled until half past six
:06:12. > :06:15.tomorrow evening, tentatively. There are difficulties. People are
:06:16. > :06:20.becoming very concerned about being able to get into the Crimean
:06:21. > :06:24.peninsula, which juts out into the Black Sea. What kind of reaction has
:06:25. > :06:29.there been to that appearance by Viktor Yanukovych and is rather long
:06:30. > :06:39.press conference from inside Russian territory? A bit of everything, you
:06:40. > :06:45.could say. Kiev, of course, is a Bastian of anti-Viktor Yanukovych
:06:46. > :06:48.feeling. This is where the protest movement has been based. Behind me
:06:49. > :06:55.is the heart of the protest movement. There was mostly disbelief
:06:56. > :06:58.and disdain, especially when Viktor Yanukovych said he was still
:06:59. > :07:03.president. He has disappeared for about a week now. This was his first
:07:04. > :07:08.public appearance. He said he was still president and he would fight
:07:09. > :07:15.for the future of Ukraine. But many people here, at least the ones I was
:07:16. > :07:19.speaking to, were very doubtful. David Stern. With me now is Anatol
:07:20. > :07:28.Lieven, a professor at King's College London and author of Ukraine
:07:29. > :07:34.and Russia: Fraternal Rivals. How far is the rivalry is -- how far
:07:35. > :07:43.is the rivalry going right now? By the Russians tried to take over
:07:44. > :07:47.Crimea? Yes, basically! Russia insuring Crimea against takeover by
:07:48. > :07:53.Kiev. Crimea is an outcome as part of the Ukraine. It has a degree of
:07:54. > :07:57.separation already. The vast majority of its population are
:07:58. > :08:03.ethnic Russians. Yes. And they are seriously worried. One of the first
:08:04. > :08:07.actions of the new parliament in Kiev was to abolish the official
:08:08. > :08:12.status of the Russian language. You think some of their fears are
:08:13. > :08:17.justified about Ukrainian nationalism? There is a very strong
:08:18. > :08:24.ultranationalist component in the protest in Kiev, and they hate
:08:25. > :08:26.Russians. So, yes. Do you think that particular aspect of this conflict
:08:27. > :08:34.is not being sufficiently considered, and that people accused
:08:35. > :08:37.Russia of sabre rattling? Yes, I do think that. This move by the
:08:38. > :08:41.Ukrainian parliament should have been immediately denounced by
:08:42. > :08:44.Western governments if they wish to maintain any credibility with
:08:45. > :08:48.Russian speakers in Ukraine and indeed with Moscow. And also, just
:08:49. > :08:54.in the interest of civic peace in Ukraine. So I do think that
:08:55. > :08:59.everybody needs to take a step back at the moment. It is clear that this
:09:00. > :09:04.is becoming a really dangerous situation. What do you think will
:09:05. > :09:08.happen? We do not really know who is patrolling the streets in Crimea.
:09:09. > :09:18.Who seized the buildings. Is there any doubt in your mind? Put it this
:09:19. > :09:21.way, if these are not Russian soldiers and if they are locals,
:09:22. > :09:25.they are certainly locals that have been encouraged and armed by
:09:26. > :09:30.Russians, I think. I don't think Russia is aiming at independence for
:09:31. > :09:36.Crimea, or breaking away Crimea. I think Russia is using Crimea as a
:09:37. > :09:40.bargaining counter to try to retain a measure of influence over the
:09:41. > :09:43.Ukraine as a whole. And to protect not just the Russians of Crimea but
:09:44. > :09:48.the Russians of eastern and southern Ukraine. At the moment this is only
:09:49. > :09:54.a game of manoeuvre. Of course, if the U -- new Ukrainian government
:09:55. > :09:59.were to take action in Crimea, then you would have war. Russia would
:10:00. > :10:04.fight. On that rather sombre note of what might possibly happen, thank
:10:05. > :10:13.you very much. Let's go to our correspondent in Crimea and who has
:10:14. > :10:17.travelled through Sevastopol. Christian Fraser. Christian, are you
:10:18. > :10:21.able to tell us more about these unconfirmed reports that four
:10:22. > :10:29.Russian transport planes have landed at an airport in Simferopol? We are
:10:30. > :10:39.trying to keep track of all these rumours at the moment. My hunch
:10:40. > :10:43.would be that we will not get near. We have seen all of the airports
:10:44. > :10:47.today, the presence of these undefined military units, highly
:10:48. > :10:53.trained. Well armed. When they deploy around the roads, they move
:10:54. > :10:56.in a professional manner. As your previous guest said, I think there
:10:57. > :11:00.is an enormous power play on the way here. I was interested in his
:11:01. > :11:05.comment is that if they need to move, they are in a good position to
:11:06. > :11:09.begin a war. I don't think they really need to do that. It is not
:11:10. > :11:16.really a war. They are already in place. They hold some key strategic
:11:17. > :11:22.points. Telecommunications companies saying they have taken over
:11:23. > :11:26.telecommunications. State TV says it has been surrounded. The airport has
:11:27. > :11:30.been secured. The local parliament building is under armed guard. And
:11:31. > :11:35.we have got this ship which is patrolling outside Balaklava Bay.
:11:36. > :11:39.All of the key areas our secure. If the Kremlin and President Putin
:11:40. > :11:43.wants to squeeze, he can do that very effectively. And it seems, it
:11:44. > :11:47.would appear, there is very little the new interim government in Kiev
:11:48. > :11:52.can do. What about these reports that all flights to the airport have
:11:53. > :12:04.been cancelled, post-boned or just held on the ground? -- postponed.
:12:05. > :12:07.Are you able to confirm that? I know the main Ukrainian airline flying in
:12:08. > :12:12.from Kiev tonight was stopped from doing that. I know a colleague was
:12:13. > :12:15.coming from Istanbul and he was -- that flight was stopped. And
:12:16. > :12:19.outbound flight to stumble was stopped. Russian colleagues went to
:12:20. > :12:24.the airport and asked what was going on. They were told the airspace was
:12:25. > :12:29.closed. We do not know if it is closed indefinitely. Is it closed
:12:30. > :12:34.because these four transport aircraft are coming in with troops
:12:35. > :12:39.on board? That is possible. Or they just trying to sabre rattle? We just
:12:40. > :12:47.don't know at this moment. What I can tell you is that the majority
:12:48. > :12:50.ethnic Russian population here are practically applauding what is going
:12:51. > :12:55.on. They are not dissatisfied with the fact that Russia is flexing its
:12:56. > :12:59.muscles here in the peninsular. In fact, they feel quite secure because
:13:00. > :13:03.it is doing that. They do not like what is going on in Kiev. Many of
:13:04. > :13:07.those we spoke to today said they were quite pleased with what was
:13:08. > :13:14.happening. Thank you very much, Christian
:13:15. > :13:18.Fraser. Adding to the background there. Tension building in Crimea.
:13:19. > :13:21.Moving to Africa now. Nigeria is marking a hundred years since two
:13:22. > :13:24.British territories were merged together to form what is now
:13:25. > :13:27.Africa's most populous country, with about 170 million people living
:13:28. > :13:30.there. Nigeria is a vibrant and energetic country, but the past
:13:31. > :13:33.hundred years have also seen much bloodshed - a bloody civil war,
:13:34. > :13:38.several coups and now a vicious terror campaign waged by Boko Haram
:13:39. > :13:48.in the north. Tomi Oladipo has this overview of Nigeria at 100.
:13:49. > :13:53.I found that the greater part of the country was under Muslim rulers.
:13:54. > :13:59.This man was the Governor general when the state of Nigeria was
:14:00. > :14:03.created. He oversaw a rocky transition. Even after
:14:04. > :14:10.independence, the divisions often showed along religious and ethnic
:14:11. > :14:14.lines. An Army officer protested the killing of Ebor people in northern
:14:15. > :14:22.Nigeria. In 1967 he led the breakaway of the poor state of by
:14:23. > :14:24.Afro. A bloody civil war ensued. The country has not experienced any
:14:25. > :14:29.bloodshed of that magnitude since but there have been ethnic and
:14:30. > :14:35.religious clashes in many parts, and an ongoing insurgency led by Boko
:14:36. > :14:40.Haram. The introduction of Sharia law in some northern states has been
:14:41. > :14:45.controversial. These people, like many others, are keen to live in
:14:46. > :14:50.peace. We are not affected by Sharia law. It is only those who practice
:14:51. > :14:52.Sharia law who are affected. We the Christians, we live within our
:14:53. > :15:03.domain and we continue with our lives peacefully. To nowadays the
:15:04. > :15:10.politicians are really out, you know, using the youth negatively for
:15:11. > :15:18.their own selfish interest. Otherwise, this is a place where you
:15:19. > :15:22.can practice your religion freely. This week, world leaders are in the
:15:23. > :15:25.capital to celebrate the anniversary. It is a chance to
:15:26. > :15:32.celebrate freedom despite the rest hurdles.
:15:33. > :15:39.I think the bringing together of what was once a disparate peoples
:15:40. > :15:46.has been an overwhelming success. There is a big prince even the last
:15:47. > :15:48.100 years, significant progress. There are clearly challenges. The
:15:49. > :15:56.significant problems around the country have led some to cast doubt
:15:57. > :16:05.over the future. You can't do anything about Boko
:16:06. > :16:10.Haram. The country will disintegrate if we do not seize the initiative.
:16:11. > :16:19.The suggestion of a break-up is contentious because of better
:16:20. > :16:22.feeling of past events. Nigeria is experiencing growth, largely because
:16:23. > :16:28.of its oil. The question is how long will this last?
:16:29. > :16:34.I am joined by Nick Wescott, the European Union's most senior member
:16:35. > :16:39.in charge of relations with West Africa. I know you are marking the
:16:40. > :16:44.100 year anniversary. Is there much to celebrate, where is the unity?
:16:45. > :16:51.There is much to celebrate. They took that fateful decision to keep
:16:52. > :17:00.the old borders and that was very smart. Anything else would have led
:17:01. > :17:03.to warfare. At those mean that all these enormously diverse societies
:17:04. > :17:13.have to find a way to live together. That is the point? They are not
:17:14. > :17:18.finding it a way to live together. I think it is still one country and
:17:19. > :17:25.justifies celebrating its achievement. It has had a war, in
:17:26. > :17:32.revolt in the North, violence in the States in the middle, and this is,
:17:33. > :17:37.not excusable, but often the reason why countries take a while to find
:17:38. > :17:47.the right balance. And to develop that all events that it is both to
:17:48. > :17:51.allow people to have their say. There is a particular problem in the
:17:52. > :17:59.north, it is terribly poor and that helps fuel the discontent.
:18:00. > :18:05.He said unless very active steps are taken the country could
:18:06. > :18:09.disintegrate. That is true. There has to be active
:18:10. > :18:16.and good government. The oil money won't last for ever and if it
:18:17. > :18:22.doesn't spread the benefits more smoothly, which it doesn't, it will
:18:23. > :18:26.lead to conflict. So the government have a big casque to do,
:18:27. > :18:31.particularly to develop agriculture and manufacturing.
:18:32. > :18:44.Is it going the right way? We have had very public splits.
:18:45. > :18:50.It is a good thing those issues are being raised. They now need to find
:18:51. > :18:55.a way to resolve them and do so transparently. By now it that -- I
:18:56. > :19:00.take it as encouraging the recent signs.
:19:01. > :19:03.Now let's turn our attention to Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni
:19:04. > :19:06.claims he's being blackmailed by the withdrawal of aid to his country in
:19:07. > :19:09.reaction to the draconian anti-gay legislation he signed into law on
:19:10. > :19:13.Monday. Uganda is heavily dependent on foreign aid. It is the world's
:19:14. > :19:16.twentieth largest recipient. The United States now says it is
:19:17. > :19:20.reviewing its relationship with Uganda, which could affect the $400
:19:21. > :19:23.million of aid it gives to Kampala. The Netherlands has already frozen a
:19:24. > :19:29.subsidy worth $9.5 million to Uganda's legal system. The Dutch
:19:30. > :19:33.government says it does not want to assist the process of enforcing the
:19:34. > :19:37.new anti-gay laws. Norway says it's withholding more than $8 million in
:19:38. > :19:41.development aid. And Denmark is diverting just over $9 million from
:19:42. > :19:46.the government and giving it to NGOs and human rights groups instead. And
:19:47. > :19:55.the World Bank has postponed its $90 million in funds that were earmarked
:19:56. > :20:05.for health services. When we look at this, the cuts in
:20:06. > :20:08.bilateral aid we have just heard about but is that you going to do
:20:09. > :20:17.something similar? We are looking at this because it is
:20:18. > :20:24.very serious. It is not just a cultural issue, it is discrimination
:20:25. > :20:39.against a minority. It is contrary to Uganda's international
:20:40. > :20:45.undertakings. I hope the court will stand by but it is a very worrying
:20:46. > :20:49.situation. Are you going to review the
:20:50. > :20:55.situation and possibly not get paid. We have an agreement with a number
:20:56. > :21:00.of agreements including respecting human rights. This may not be the
:21:01. > :21:08.only human rights issue we have two rays with Uganda and on the basis of
:21:09. > :21:21.that we go ahead. -- issue we have two rays raise.
:21:22. > :21:26.We have seen countries suspended because they don't like this or that
:21:27. > :21:33.policy. This is not a cultural issue, it is
:21:34. > :21:39.about fundamental human rights. It is because they are a minority who
:21:40. > :21:45.cannot help the way they are and so should be accepted and tolerated.
:21:46. > :21:56.For many years we discriminated against Thomas sexual is in the West
:21:57. > :22:07.and we learned from our mistakes. If you do as some countries have and
:22:08. > :22:10.diverts money, that can put them in a precarious situation in their own
:22:11. > :22:18.country. Our job is to help people in Uganda,
:22:19. > :22:24.people of every religion or minority, so we want to get our aid
:22:25. > :22:28.to those people. We do not want this to become a cultural war between
:22:29. > :22:31.Africa and the West, that's not what it is. Is there a danger of that
:22:32. > :22:38.happening? There should not be because this is
:22:39. > :22:42.a fundamental question. I would be worried about legislation of this
:22:43. > :22:54.kind that enables people to be arrested.
:22:55. > :22:57.Thank you very much. Now a look at some of the days other
:22:58. > :23:00.news. The online currency exchange Mount Gox has filed for bankruptcy
:23:01. > :23:03.protection in Japan, with debts totalling around $65 million. It
:23:04. > :23:06.went offline earlier this week. Its owner now says hundreds of thousands
:23:07. > :23:10.of Bitcoins worth several hundred million dollars are unaccounted for.
:23:11. > :23:13.A court in Russia has placed the opposition leader Alexei Navalny
:23:14. > :23:15.under house arrest for violating travel restrictions. He's being
:23:16. > :23:18.investigated for alleged corruption, charges which he says are
:23:19. > :23:21.politically motivated. Under the ruling, Alexei Navalny will no
:23:22. > :23:26.longer be allowed access to a phone or the internet, in effect blocking
:23:27. > :23:29.his online anti-government campaign. In Myanmar, the government has
:23:30. > :23:32.suspended the operations of Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the biggest
:23:33. > :23:36.aid agencies working in its troubled Rakhine State. A government
:23:37. > :23:39.spokesperson claimed that the charity had been biased in favour of
:23:40. > :23:50.the State's Muslim Rohingya minority.
:23:51. > :23:53.It is the annual highlight in the glittering Hollywood calendar: the
:23:54. > :23:55.Oscars when the stars on-screen and behind the scenes gather to
:23:56. > :23:58.celebrate, congratulate and commiserate with the winners and the
:23:59. > :24:02.losers. Quite a range of favourites this year - the science fiction
:24:03. > :24:05.movie Gravity, the emotion of Dallas Buyers Club and the brutal depiction
:24:06. > :24:09.of American slavery in 12 Years A Slave. In addition to the audience
:24:10. > :24:13.at the Oscars, tens of millions will be watching on televisions around
:24:14. > :24:16.the world this Sunday. A lot of attention will be on that red carpet
:24:17. > :24:26.outside the The Dolby Theatre. That's where Lizo Mzimba is now and
:24:27. > :24:30.joins me. All the preparation going on
:24:31. > :24:38.behind-the-scenes so take us what is going to happen -- take us through
:24:39. > :24:43.what is going to happen. There has been the organisation
:24:44. > :24:51.going on for months. The press are starting to camp out. It is being
:24:52. > :24:58.run like a military operation. Who is going to be triumphant on the
:24:59. > :25:05.night? Well, it is not going to be a year when one film sweeps the board
:25:06. > :25:10.but there are art films such as 12 Years A Slave, a film with a British
:25:11. > :25:15.director and star. That is the favourite for best film but there is
:25:16. > :25:23.also American Hustle which has ten nominations and Gravity which is
:25:24. > :25:31.expected to win lots of technical categories whereas American
:25:32. > :25:36.Hustle's best chance will probably be in the acting and screenplay
:25:37. > :25:43.categories. There are so many other films in the mix as well including
:25:44. > :25:52.Leonardo DiCaprio's film and Philomena with Dean Judi Dench. When
:25:53. > :25:57.I said this has all been months in the planning, it has not just been
:25:58. > :26:02.from an organisational point of view. The studios run a major
:26:03. > :26:11.campaign to try to get their stars more wins. It is so important
:26:12. > :26:20.because it can give even an established film a boost like no
:26:21. > :26:22.other can. It is something that can hit entertainment value and
:26:23. > :26:27.significance in film terms. That is why the ticket so seriously and that
:26:28. > :26:32.is why it is the biggest entertainment and showbiz event on
:26:33. > :26:41.the globe. Clearly, we're going to be watching
:26:42. > :26:50.what on Sunday. Tensions are rising in Crimea after
:26:51. > :26:50.four Russian planes have landed at the military base
:26:51. > :27:14.As the rain starts to clear, the windfalls lights, it is the perfect
:27:15. > :27:16.recipe for Frost and fog. We do have weather