28/02/2014 World News Today


28/02/2014

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This is BBC World News Today, with me, Zeinab Badawi. The new interim

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Ukrainian government has accused Russia of a military invasion and

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occupation. Men presumed to be Russian are armed and patrolling two

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airports in the Southern Crimea region. They have reportedly cut of

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phone lines with Ukraine and Russia denies a military takeover.

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Meanwhile, has Viktor Yanukovich lost his grip on reality? He turns

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up in Russia and holds a press conference insisting he's still

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president. TRANSLATION: I am eager and ready to

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fight for the future of Ukraine. Also coming up, Uganda faces a

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financial backlash to its new anti-gay law. And Nigeria marks the

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100th anniversary of its creation as a state - but with Sharia law in the

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north and killings by Boko Haram militants, what unity is there to

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celebrate? And rolling out the red carpet for the frocks and shocks -

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we take you behind the scenes as Hollywood gears up for Oscars night.

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Hello and welcome. The UN Security Council is about to hold crisis

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talks on Ukraine. This comes after its interim government accused

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Moscow of a military invasion and occupation. It's been reported that

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armed men seized buildings and are patrolling the streets in armoured

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vehicles in the Crimea region. Crimea is a Black Sea peninsula that

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belonged to Russia until 60 years ago, and most of its population are

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ethnic-Russian. Meanwhile, in Russia itself the ousted Ukrainian

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president, Viktor Yanukovych, has appeared in public for the first

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time since he fled Kiev, insisting he was still president. Daniel

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Sandford reports from Sevastopol in Crimea.

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Crimea's main connection to the outside world today in the hands of

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men with machine guns. The airport in south-east Ukraine controlled --

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patrolled by men without markings on their uniforms. Men in green

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military uniforms have taken over the building containing the control

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tower in Crimea's main civilian airport. All day military trucks

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were on the move through Crimea, although it is a region of Ukraine,

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the Black Sea fleet from Russia are based here. Troops loyal to Moscow

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were in control of the main military airport near Sevastopol to. -- near

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Sevastopol, too. But this woman is suspicious of the new Kiev

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government, like many in Sevastopol, and supported the

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Russian move. TRANSLATION: Who else can we turn

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to? Who else can defend us? Thank goodness the Russian fleet is here.

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This Russian naval ship appeared at Balaklava Bay, another show of

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strength by the Russian armed forces. Ukraine appears to have lost

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control of the Seas and the main airport in Crimea, a major strategic

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region. As the country fell apart, there were angry scenes in the

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national parliament. The new security chief pointed the finger

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directly at Moscow. TRANSLATION: Crimean sub nothing to

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do with the events in Crimea. These are extremists and separatist

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groups. In Russia, the ousted Ukrainian

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president, Viktor Yanukovych, appeared in public for the first

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time since he fled last week. He said he was ashamed he had not been

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able to hold onto power during the Kiev uprising, and apologised for

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failing to keep stability. TRANSLATION: I am eager and ready to

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fight for the future of Ukraine. I was forced to leave. There were

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threats to my life and to people close to me. The city was taken by

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fascist folks who are in the minority in Ukraine. Although

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Ukraine has lost control of Crimea, including the main TV station, no

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shots have been fired. This is not yet a war. Kiev has not moved to

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reassert control. And if it does, Moscow made it clear today that its

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troops are waiting. Now to David Stern in Kiev. David,

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there are reports coming in about troop movements and so on. What do

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you know? Well, we don't know much more than what is being reported.

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There are troop movements into one of the military airports in

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Sevastopol. It should be said there are regular troop movements into

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Crimea because this is where the Russian Black Sea Fleet has its main

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base. The question is, why add these troop movements taking place now?

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How large are they? What do they intend to do? We cannot answer these

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questions. It does raise tensions even further. As Daniel Sandford was

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saying, there is concern about these troops. Even though they do not have

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insignia, the Interior Minister has accused Russia of staging an

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invasion. It is not clear what is going to happen next. They are

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asking for roadside assistance. What about the reports about beating

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indications being intercepted and flights cancelled get -- etc? That

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is also something we're looking into. Difficult to say what is

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happening with the mobile phone connections. We do have landline

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connections with Crimea. We are also hearing from journalists here in

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Kiev that flights have been cancelled until half past six

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tomorrow evening, tentatively. There are difficulties. People are

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becoming very concerned about being able to get into the Crimean

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peninsula, which juts out into the Black Sea. What kind of reaction has

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there been to that appearance by Viktor Yanukovych and is rather long

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press conference from inside Russian territory? A bit of everything, you

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could say. Kiev, of course, is a Bastian of anti-Viktor Yanukovych

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feeling. This is where the protest movement has been based. Behind me

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is the heart of the protest movement. There was mostly disbelief

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and disdain, especially when Viktor Yanukovych said he was still

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president. He has disappeared for about a week now. This was his first

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public appearance. He said he was still president and he would fight

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for the future of Ukraine. But many people here, at least the ones I was

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speaking to, were very doubtful. David Stern. With me now is Anatol

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Lieven, a professor at King's College London and author of Ukraine

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and Russia: Fraternal Rivals. How far is the rivalry is -- how far

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is the rivalry going right now? By the Russians tried to take over

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Crimea? Yes, basically! Russia insuring Crimea against takeover by

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Kiev. Crimea is an outcome as part of the Ukraine. It has a degree of

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separation already. The vast majority of its population are

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ethnic Russians. Yes. And they are seriously worried. One of the first

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actions of the new parliament in Kiev was to abolish the official

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status of the Russian language. You think some of their fears are

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justified about Ukrainian nationalism? There is a very strong

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ultranationalist component in the protest in Kiev, and they hate

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Russians. So, yes. Do you think that particular aspect of this conflict

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is not being sufficiently considered, and that people accused

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Russia of sabre rattling? Yes, I do think that. This move by the

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Ukrainian parliament should have been immediately denounced by

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Western governments if they wish to maintain any credibility with

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Russian speakers in Ukraine and indeed with Moscow. And also, just

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in the interest of civic peace in Ukraine. So I do think that

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everybody needs to take a step back at the moment. It is clear that this

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is becoming a really dangerous situation. What do you think will

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happen? We do not really know who is patrolling the streets in Crimea.

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Who seized the buildings. Is there any doubt in your mind? Put it this

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way, if these are not Russian soldiers and if they are locals,

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they are certainly locals that have been encouraged and armed by

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Russians, I think. I don't think Russia is aiming at independence for

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Crimea, or breaking away Crimea. I think Russia is using Crimea as a

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bargaining counter to try to retain a measure of influence over the

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Ukraine as a whole. And to protect not just the Russians of Crimea but

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the Russians of eastern and southern Ukraine. At the moment this is only

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a game of manoeuvre. Of course, if the U -- new Ukrainian government

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were to take action in Crimea, then you would have war. Russia would

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fight. On that rather sombre note of what might possibly happen, thank

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you very much. Let's go to our correspondent in Crimea and who has

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travelled through Sevastopol. Christian Fraser. Christian, are you

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able to tell us more about these unconfirmed reports that four

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Russian transport planes have landed at an airport in Simferopol? We are

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trying to keep track of all these rumours at the moment. My hunch

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would be that we will not get near. We have seen all of the airports

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today, the presence of these undefined military units, highly

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trained. Well armed. When they deploy around the roads, they move

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in a professional manner. As your previous guest said, I think there

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is an enormous power play on the way here. I was interested in his

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comment is that if they need to move, they are in a good position to

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begin a war. I don't think they really need to do that. It is not

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really a war. They are already in place. They hold some key strategic

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points. Telecommunications companies saying they have taken over

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telecommunications. State TV says it has been surrounded. The airport has

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been secured. The local parliament building is under armed guard. And

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we have got this ship which is patrolling outside Balaklava Bay.

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All of the key areas our secure. If the Kremlin and President Putin

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wants to squeeze, he can do that very effectively. And it seems, it

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would appear, there is very little the new interim government in Kiev

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can do. What about these reports that all flights to the airport have

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been cancelled, post-boned or just held on the ground? -- postponed.

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Are you able to confirm that? I know the main Ukrainian airline flying in

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from Kiev tonight was stopped from doing that. I know a colleague was

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coming from Istanbul and he was -- that flight was stopped. And

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outbound flight to stumble was stopped. Russian colleagues went to

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the airport and asked what was going on. They were told the airspace was

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closed. We do not know if it is closed indefinitely. Is it closed

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because these four transport aircraft are coming in with troops

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on board? That is possible. Or they just trying to sabre rattle? We just

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don't know at this moment. What I can tell you is that the majority

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ethnic Russian population here are practically applauding what is going

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on. They are not dissatisfied with the fact that Russia is flexing its

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muscles here in the peninsular. In fact, they feel quite secure because

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it is doing that. They do not like what is going on in Kiev. Many of

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those we spoke to today said they were quite pleased with what was

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happening. Thank you very much, Christian

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Fraser. Adding to the background there. Tension building in Crimea.

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Moving to Africa now. Nigeria is marking a hundred years since two

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British territories were merged together to form what is now

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Africa's most populous country, with about 170 million people living

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there. Nigeria is a vibrant and energetic country, but the past

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hundred years have also seen much bloodshed - a bloody civil war,

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several coups and now a vicious terror campaign waged by Boko Haram

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in the north. Tomi Oladipo has this overview of Nigeria at 100.

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I found that the greater part of the country was under Muslim rulers.

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This man was the Governor general when the state of Nigeria was

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created. He oversaw a rocky transition. Even after

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independence, the divisions often showed along religious and ethnic

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lines. An Army officer protested the killing of Ebor people in northern

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Nigeria. In 1967 he led the breakaway of the poor state of by

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Afro. A bloody civil war ensued. The country has not experienced any

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bloodshed of that magnitude since but there have been ethnic and

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religious clashes in many parts, and an ongoing insurgency led by Boko

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Haram. The introduction of Sharia law in some northern states has been

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controversial. These people, like many others, are keen to live in

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peace. We are not affected by Sharia law. It is only those who practice

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Sharia law who are affected. We the Christians, we live within our

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domain and we continue with our lives peacefully. To nowadays the

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politicians are really out, you know, using the youth negatively for

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their own selfish interest. Otherwise, this is a place where you

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can practice your religion freely. This week, world leaders are in the

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capital to celebrate the anniversary. It is a chance to

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celebrate freedom despite the rest hurdles.

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I think the bringing together of what was once a disparate peoples

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has been an overwhelming success. There is a big prince even the last

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100 years, significant progress. There are clearly challenges. The

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significant problems around the country have led some to cast doubt

:15:49.:15:56.

over the future. You can't do anything about Boko

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Haram. The country will disintegrate if we do not seize the initiative.

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The suggestion of a break-up is contentious because of better

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feeling of past events. Nigeria is experiencing growth, largely because

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of its oil. The question is how long will this last?

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I am joined by Nick Wescott, the European Union's most senior member

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in charge of relations with West Africa. I know you are marking the

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100 year anniversary. Is there much to celebrate, where is the unity?

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There is much to celebrate. They took that fateful decision to keep

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the old borders and that was very smart. Anything else would have led

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to warfare. At those mean that all these enormously diverse societies

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have to find a way to live together. That is the point? They are not

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finding it a way to live together. I think it is still one country and

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justifies celebrating its achievement. It has had a war, in

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revolt in the North, violence in the States in the middle, and this is,

:17:26.:17:32.

not excusable, but often the reason why countries take a while to find

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the right balance. And to develop that all events that it is both to

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allow people to have their say. There is a particular problem in the

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north, it is terribly poor and that helps fuel the discontent.

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He said unless very active steps are taken the country could

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disintegrate. That is true. There has to be active

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and good government. The oil money won't last for ever and if it

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doesn't spread the benefits more smoothly, which it doesn't, it will

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lead to conflict. So the government have a big casque to do,

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particularly to develop agriculture and manufacturing.

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Is it going the right way? We have had very public splits.

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It is a good thing those issues are being raised. They now need to find

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a way to resolve them and do so transparently. By now it that -- I

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take it as encouraging the recent signs.

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Now let's turn our attention to Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni

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claims he's being blackmailed by the withdrawal of aid to his country in

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reaction to the draconian anti-gay legislation he signed into law on

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Monday. Uganda is heavily dependent on foreign aid. It is the world's

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twentieth largest recipient. The United States now says it is

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reviewing its relationship with Uganda, which could affect the $400

:19:17.:19:20.

million of aid it gives to Kampala. The Netherlands has already frozen a

:19:21.:19:23.

subsidy worth $9.5 million to Uganda's legal system. The Dutch

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government says it does not want to assist the process of enforcing the

:19:30.:19:33.

new anti-gay laws. Norway says it's withholding more than $8 million in

:19:34.:19:37.

development aid. And Denmark is diverting just over $9 million from

:19:38.:19:41.

the government and giving it to NGOs and human rights groups instead. And

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the World Bank has postponed its $90 million in funds that were earmarked

:19:47.:19:55.

for health services. When we look at this, the cuts in

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bilateral aid we have just heard about but is that you going to do

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something similar? We are looking at this because it is

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very serious. It is not just a cultural issue, it is discrimination

:20:18.:20:24.

against a minority. It is contrary to Uganda's international

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undertakings. I hope the court will stand by but it is a very worrying

:20:40.:20:45.

situation. Are you going to review the

:20:46.:20:49.

situation and possibly not get paid. We have an agreement with a number

:20:50.:20:55.

of agreements including respecting human rights. This may not be the

:20:56.:21:00.

only human rights issue we have two rays with Uganda and on the basis of

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that we go ahead. -- issue we have two rays raise.

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We have seen countries suspended because they don't like this or that

:21:22.:21:26.

policy. This is not a cultural issue, it is

:21:27.:21:33.

about fundamental human rights. It is because they are a minority who

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cannot help the way they are and so should be accepted and tolerated.

:21:40.:21:45.

For many years we discriminated against Thomas sexual is in the West

:21:46.:21:56.

and we learned from our mistakes. If you do as some countries have and

:21:57.:22:07.

diverts money, that can put them in a precarious situation in their own

:22:08.:22:10.

country. Our job is to help people in Uganda,

:22:11.:22:18.

people of every religion or minority, so we want to get our aid

:22:19.:22:24.

to those people. We do not want this to become a cultural war between

:22:25.:22:28.

Africa and the West, that's not what it is. Is there a danger of that

:22:29.:22:31.

happening? There should not be because this is

:22:32.:22:38.

a fundamental question. I would be worried about legislation of this

:22:39.:22:42.

kind that enables people to be arrested.

:22:43.:22:54.

Thank you very much. Now a look at some of the days other

:22:55.:22:57.

news. The online currency exchange Mount Gox has filed for bankruptcy

:22:58.:23:00.

protection in Japan, with debts totalling around $65 million. It

:23:01.:23:03.

went offline earlier this week. Its owner now says hundreds of thousands

:23:04.:23:06.

of Bitcoins worth several hundred million dollars are unaccounted for.

:23:07.:23:10.

A court in Russia has placed the opposition leader Alexei Navalny

:23:11.:23:13.

under house arrest for violating travel restrictions. He's being

:23:14.:23:15.

investigated for alleged corruption, charges which he says are

:23:16.:23:18.

politically motivated. Under the ruling, Alexei Navalny will no

:23:19.:23:21.

longer be allowed access to a phone or the internet, in effect blocking

:23:22.:23:26.

his online anti-government campaign. In Myanmar, the government has

:23:27.:23:29.

suspended the operations of Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the biggest

:23:30.:23:32.

aid agencies working in its troubled Rakhine State. A government

:23:33.:23:36.

spokesperson claimed that the charity had been biased in favour of

:23:37.:23:39.

the State's Muslim Rohingya minority.

:23:40.:23:50.

It is the annual highlight in the glittering Hollywood calendar: the

:23:51.:23:53.

Oscars when the stars on-screen and behind the scenes gather to

:23:54.:23:55.

celebrate, congratulate and commiserate with the winners and the

:23:56.:23:58.

losers. Quite a range of favourites this year - the science fiction

:23:59.:24:02.

movie Gravity, the emotion of Dallas Buyers Club and the brutal depiction

:24:03.:24:05.

of American slavery in 12 Years A Slave. In addition to the audience

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at the Oscars, tens of millions will be watching on televisions around

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the world this Sunday. A lot of attention will be on that red carpet

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outside the The Dolby Theatre. That's where Lizo Mzimba is now and

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joins me. All the preparation going on

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behind-the-scenes so take us what is going to happen -- take us through

:24:31.:24:38.

what is going to happen. There has been the organisation

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going on for months. The press are starting to camp out. It is being

:24:44.:24:51.

run like a military operation. Who is going to be triumphant on the

:24:52.:24:58.

night? Well, it is not going to be a year when one film sweeps the board

:24:59.:25:05.

but there are art films such as 12 Years A Slave, a film with a British

:25:06.:25:10.

director and star. That is the favourite for best film but there is

:25:11.:25:15.

also American Hustle which has ten nominations and Gravity which is

:25:16.:25:23.

expected to win lots of technical categories whereas American

:25:24.:25:31.

Hustle's best chance will probably be in the acting and screenplay

:25:32.:25:36.

categories. There are so many other films in the mix as well including

:25:37.:25:43.

Leonardo DiCaprio's film and Philomena with Dean Judi Dench. When

:25:44.:25:52.

I said this has all been months in the planning, it has not just been

:25:53.:25:57.

from an organisational point of view. The studios run a major

:25:58.:26:02.

campaign to try to get their stars more wins. It is so important

:26:03.:26:11.

because it can give even an established film a boost like no

:26:12.:26:20.

other can. It is something that can hit entertainment value and

:26:21.:26:22.

significance in film terms. That is why the ticket so seriously and that

:26:23.:26:27.

is why it is the biggest entertainment and showbiz event on

:26:28.:26:32.

the globe. Clearly, we're going to be watching

:26:33.:26:41.

what on Sunday. Tensions are rising in Crimea after

:26:42.:26:50.

four Russian planes have landed at the military base

:26:51.:26:50.

As the rain starts to clear, the windfalls lights, it is the perfect

:26:51.:27:14.

recipe for Frost and fog. We do have weather

:27:15.:27:16.

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