18/03/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas. President Putin

redraws the map, signing a bill to take Crimea from Ukraine back into

the hands of Russia. TRANSLATION: In the hearts and minds of our people,

Crimea has always been part of Russia.

In Red Square, thousands of Russians celebrate an historic day - as the

US vice-president declares the move to be "nothing more than a land

grab". As the search area for the missing

Malaysia Airlines plane widens, relatives of Chinese passengers

threaten a hunger strike, desperate for more accurate information.

It's called Operation Punch - but is the police crackdown on gangs in the

capital of Congo, Kinshasa, going too far?

And how safe is it to trade breast milk online - with more women

turning to the internet to sell their excess supplies?

Hello and welcome. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has

signed a treaty paving the way for Crimea to become part of Russia -

again. He won a standing ovation in the Russian Parliament, where he

declared that in the hearts and minds of the people, Crimea had

always been Russian. Although he said he had no plans to annex more

of Ukraine, he did describe Russia and Ukraine as "one nation" and

warned Western powers their sanctions would have no effect. From

Moscow, here's Daniel Sandford. In the imperial splendour, a defiant

President Putin entrance to a fanfare. Today, in the Kremlin, the

historic seat of power, he was expanding Russia's borders for the

first time in 70 years, welcoming back the former jewel in the crown

of the Russian Empire. TRANSLATION: In the hearts and minds

of our people, Crimea has always been an inalienable part of Russia.

This is an unshakeable conviction, transferred from generation to

generation, unshaken by time and by circumstance. Time and again, the

audience of MPs rose to applaud him. He accused the West of acting

irresponsibly, aggressively and the critically in Ukraine, but promised

he was not interested in annexing any more to a tree. TRANSLATION: I

want you to hear me, dear friends. Don't trust those who frighten you

about Russia, those who say that Crimea will be followed by other

regions. We don't want Ukraine to be split. Then, he signed a treaty with

the new Crimea leadership beginning the process of joining the strategic

peninsula to the Russian Federation. It could all be over by the end of

this week. The Russian national anthem brought to a close a ceremony

that went ahead despite the intense objections of Ukraine, American

accusations of a land grab and what is sure to be a period of

international isolation. And as the crowd on Red Square

shouted, Russia, Russia, President Putin told them that Crimea had

returned to its home port. The annexation of Crimea has moved with

breathtaking speed, three weeks, from start to finish. The world has

condemned it, but many Russians see it as an end to a historic mistake,

an end to a quarter of a century of decline. But as Ukrainian troops

massed on the border with Crimea, there are reports of a Ukrainian

soldier being shot dead in his base in the peninsula, which brought this

warning from the Prime Minister. TRANSLATION: Now, the conflict is

shifting from a political to a military phase. Russian soldiers

have started shooting at Ukrainian servicemen. But in Russia, the

annexation of Crimea is being hailed as a triumph. They know there will

be a price, but they have calculated it is a price worth paying.

Ukraine says that pro-Russian gunmen have today invaded one of its

military bases in Crimea, killing one serviceman and badly injuring

another. We'll have more on that later in the programme. But let's

bring you more now on President's Putin's intentions. A short time

ago, in an exclusive interview with the BBC's Hardtalk, his spokesman

Dmitry Peskov called for better protection for Russian speakers

living in the east of Ukraine. First of all, we do expect some measures

from those people who call themselves the Ukrainian government.

And we do expect the Western community to be begging those people

to take effective measures in order to protect those people living in

the Eastern regions of Ukraine. Because at the same time, we are

hearing reports about clashes in Kharkiv, an Eastern city of

Ukraine, and so, there are clashes and sounds of gunfire, and also,

some reports about one or two people being wounded. Those clashes between

military government, extremists, coming from Western regions. So, we

do expect the Ukrainian government to protect the Russian population,

otherwise Russia simply cannot stay without reaction. We will have to

react. We will have two protect Russians, and also Ukrainians,

living there. To discuss President Putin's

strategy, and international reaction, we're joined from

Washington by Cliff Kupchan, head of the Russia and Eurasia Team at the

consulting firm Eurasia Group. Thank you for being with us. Mr Putin

today looked pretty triumphant - do you think he is likely to stop here

or does he have ambitions to go further? This, for President Putin,

is it out Ukraine, it is not about Crimea. -- is about Ukraine. He will

insist upon Ukraine adopting a neutralised status, he will insist

upon the decentralisation of Ukraine, so that Ukraine -- so that

Russia can, as his spokesman said, protect the lives of ethnic Russians

in a decentralised Ukraine. Now, I do not think he is going to get a

decentralised Ukraine. On Thursday, the European Union will enter into

an agreement which will draw it ever closer to Ukraine. So, this is about

Ukraine. So, for those who might say, well, Crimea can be made out to

be a special case, perhaps Mr Putin will stop there, and perhaps he

would not have the support of the Russian publics to go any further,

that is too much wishful thinking for an easy life? Well, I am scared

that we are going to fall into the same Putin trap that we fell into

about 2.5 weeks ago. In my view, the US Government and the policy

community in the West thought that Putin would never use force to get

Crimea. Well, he did. I have met with this man many times. The roomy

ferocious in many senses, he is very bright, but he wants what he wants.

It is very clear that it does not want Ukraine to go into another

sphere of influence. It would be very dangerous to think that now

that he has got Crimea, he is fed, and it is over. That is just wrong.

So what in your view is the best way for Washington and the West to

approach Mr Putin now? Well, so far, I think we are doing pretty well. It

is not obvious to me that all that President Putin is doing what I

would call a rational cost benefit analysis of his game. I think he

wants influence over Ukraine. Whether that means the shedding of

blood or whether it means economic pain on Russia, he is willing to

absorb it. Over time, as the West makes clear that if he goes further,

he could be vulnerable to Iran-like sanctions, or even the annexation of

Ukraine, many of his closest associates could come under

sanction, as well as Russian companies. I think that would be a

significant push back and could deter him from further action. We

have heard very strong words from John Kerry, the Secretary of State,

over the last couple of weeks, and today from Vice President Joe Biden

is there a danger, though, in the level of their rhetoric, if they

cannot really follow through? There is always a danger of miscalculation

and action and we action, but look, what is the US supposed to do?

Russia just dismembered a nation state. Strong push back and

deterrent is what we need to do, in my view. And I do not think there is

nothing we can do. The US has tremendous financial diplomacy at

its disposal. The United States just took Iran off-line, its economy

contracted by 6%. Mr Putin had better read up on what US financial

sanctions can do if they are in plummeted. So, I do think the United

States is headed down the right path and I do think there is a great deal

we can do if this gets worse. Thank you very much.

11 days on, 239 people missing, and still we're all searching for clues

about Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Some of the relatives of

Chinese passengers are so angry at the lack of accurate information

that they're threatening a hunger strike. Meanwhile, the search has

expanded to cover a huge area of nearly 2.25 million square miles.

Malaysia's Transport Minister says all 26 countries along the search

zones need to co-operate closely if the search is to succeed. But as our

correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes discovered today, politics is

already getting in the way. Somewhere over the Indian Ocean, an

American search plane has just spotted an oil slick on the surface

of the water. The pilot sweeps loafer another pass. In the back,

the crewmember drops a sonar device which can detect a plane's emergency

transmitter deep beneath the water. In the hunt for Malaysia Airlines MH

370, planes like this can make a huge difference. The Malaysian

government today said the search area is now as big as Australia, and

it needs more help. The search area is now 2.24 million square nautical

miles. This is an enormous search area. It is something which Malaysia

cannot possibly search on its own. And therefore, we are pleased that

so many countries have come forward to offer assistance and support in

the search and rescue operation. But at this air base near Kuala Lumpur

today, much of that international support was sitting on the ground,

unable to fly. We were supposed to take off more than 7.5 hours ago, in

one of these Japanese search aircraft. By now we should have been

well out over the Indian Ocean, south of Java, flying a grid search

pattern, hunting for signs of Flight MH370. We are obviously not. That is

because we have been waiting here all day for the Indonesian

government to give permission for these foreign military aircraft to

overfly their territory. International politics could now be

the biggest obstacle to finding Flight MH370. The northern search

area straddles Burma, India, China and Pakistan. None of these

countries are likely to allow military overflights. Time to find

the Malaysian aircraft is rapidly ticking away. The plane's so-called

black box flight recorders will continue to put out a signal for

just 30 days. In 11 of those days are already gone. The search has

hardly got off the ground. Now a look at some of the day's

other news: On the 12th day of the trial of Oscar Pistorius in

Pretoria, the court was shown photographs of the bloody scene at

the athlete's home, and a police ballistics expert described how he

tried to reconstruct the angle of the gunfire on the night Pistorius

killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He denies her murder. New information on human rights

violations in Syria suggests civilians are increasingly being

targeted by both sides. United Nations investigators say they have

evidence that jihadist rebel groups have carried out mass executions of

civilian detainees. And they say government forces have increased the

use of barrel bombs, which the UN says are designed to spread terror

among the population. And the Rolling Stones have

cancelled the rest of their tour in Australia and New Zealand following

the death of Mick Jagger's partner L'Wren Scott. The US fashion

designer was found dead in her New York apartment on Monday - she'd

apparently committed suicide. In Kinshasa, the capital of the

Democratic Republic of Congo, the police are going after the city's

dangerous street gangs. The authorities say the operation has

already proved successful because many of the young men who used to

kill, loot, and rape are nowhere to be seen. But human rights groups

claim hundreds of young men have been arbitrarily executed by

policemen. The BBC's Maud Jullien sent us this report from Kinshasa.

It is place although that this was once a dangerous part of kin

Chasseur. For years residents were afraid to carry money or phones in

their pockets after dark, women worth afraid of getting rate. --

where afraid. TRANSLATION:. It was very difficult here at first, they

would through broken bottles and often we had to close shop and go

home. But in the past few months, life has become easier. Behind this

change operation is this man. This footage from local television shows

how the police target street gangs. Human rights organisations are

accusing policeman being behind the disappearance of over 100 young men.

I am standing on a football field where I am told a young man was

killed is. Apparently there was a police truck right here and the

young man was standing right next to that pull over there. He was shot

three times in the skull and I am told executions like these were not

rear during this operation. -- not rare. All his father has this

photograph of him which was taken after he had died. His father did

not want to be identified. He said his son was killed by policeman. We

did not know where our son was taken. We know he was killed by a

policeman who took issue with them for personal reasons. The Congolese

government has hailed the operation as a success and has decided to

continue with that. The head of the country's police admits there was

some abuse by his staff but he said there were no murders and that all

those responsible have been taken to court. Some policemen have been

sentenced to death, they are in prison for life for acts committed

in this operation. We cannot tolerate criminals within the police

service who remain. The operation may have helped clear the streets of

gangs, but it's brittle excesses have left heartbreak for many

families. Let's go back to top story, today

President Putin noted that no shots had been fired over the annexation

of Crimea. But within hours it seemed that shots had been fired to

deadly effect. The BBC's Ben Brown is at the base in Simferopol. What

do we know happened there? We do not know anything for at salute these --

for absolute certainty. The Ukrainian government has said this.

Let me run you through what they are saying, they are saying this base

behind me, not a high-profile military base, there were -- was

some sort of assault on the base by men in masks. We think perhaps

pro-Russian volunteers rather than conventional Russian army to its,

but we do not know that for sure. But one Ukrainian army officer

killed. He was shot dead. Another officer wounded in the neck and

arm. He was a captain. Another Ukrainian army officer or soldier at

least also wounded. He was attacked, said by the Ukrainian government, by

Iron Dome is. And the other troops there, they had their weapons and

their IDs, they were concentrated and taken away. -- confiscated.

People have seen that Crimea will be Russian again. You can sum up the

mood there. The mood here is, I think amongst

the Russian people here, it is very jubilant. There were not well

jubilation is here today. There were celebrations after the referendum.

People sang and danced and wave their flags. There is real concern

now, they will feel that they are in a foreign country, they are in

Russia effectively now, and they are nervous. Some have been packing up

and leaving Crimea altogether. Thank you very much.

A referendum on Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom

is now exactly six months away, and both the Independence and the

"Better Together" campaigers know that large numbers are still

undecided. On the 18th of September, they'll be

asked the "Yes/No" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Well, following What Scotland Thinks is John Curtice, Professor of

Politics at the University of Strathclyde, who joins me now from

Glasgow. How would you say that opinion is

divided right now? The truth is that the opinion polls show that the no

side, those people who want to stay inside United Kingdom, are head. But

they also suggest that there is no narrow lead before Christmas. If you

take the average of the opinion polls, once you take out the

dominoes and undecided, we're looking at a figure of around 58%

for the no side, do the same calculations for the second half of

last year, you were looking at 61% no, 39% yes. The yes side have made

and bands of around two to three points. It is giving them some hope

but -- that the opinion polls have started to move in their direction.

And in six months they could close the 8-point gap that stands between

them and the magic 50% figure. How much is this about where Scots will

be better off, outside or within the United Kingdom? Undoubtedly this is

a central issue in the campaign. It is the basics and the framework on

which people are looking at the campaign. It is about how Scottish

or British you feel. If you feel more Scottish, you feel more

sympathetic to the referendum. Given that many people in Scotland feel a

mix of Scottish and British, they are having to resolve the choice

between -- put in front of them. Out of all the consequences, the one

that seems to matter most to voters is whether or not they think

independence will be good for the country's economy and or bad. The

problem the yes side face is that although they may have some progress

and have persuaded some people in Scotland that independence would be

a good idea, there are still more people has a mystic about the

consequences of independence than optimistic. Certainly they will have

to change those numbers around if Scotland is going to vote in favour

of independence. -- optimistic. We have a referendum on whether a part

of a country should leave not. It is all being done by agreement. Spain

in particular is rather nervous about this because it faces its own

issues, particularly in Catalonia where there is a majority in the

Parliament of holding a referendum. In Spain, the view of the central

government is -- in Madrid, no individual party can hold a

referendum on leaving the country, therefore Madrid and Barcelona are

at logger heads. But here the process has been agreed. Thank you.

Breast milk is often called liquid gold because of its unmatched health

benefits for babies. But it's becoming gold in another sense as

well - as a growing number of women use the internet to sell their

excess milk. The demand is there, not just from mothers who can't

supply their own babies, but from fathers too. From New York, Nada

Tawfik reports. This couple raising their

seven-month-old son on one income. With times tough and expensive

growing, she found a creative way to earn extra money. Staying at home

takes away income from our home. I racked my brain for all the things I

could do from home and I stumbled on selling my breastmilk. So I figured

why not. This is the stash I have been building. At $2 an ounce, her

breastmilk gets the family an extra $100 a week. Money she says that she

can spend on groceries or meals. Her ad on this website is one of

hundreds from others who see an opportunity where there is demand.

And not just from women. Partners Mark and brain connected with women

on line Udine to their breast milk. Their twins were felt -- fed with

that milk from the day there were born. There was an appealing option

to be able to do this. It was something we never thought we were

able to do, having the boys. In the United States, 80% of pregnant women

come into hospital saying they will nurse their babies. That is proof

that baby -- people recognise the benefits of breastmilk. But when

that milk is obtained over the Internet, officials risk that the --

won the risks might outweigh the benefits. This woman says it is a

growing trend in period should be aware of potential risks. It can

contain viruses, such as aids or hypertensives -- hepatitis. You do

not know of this milk is drugs and, medications that the woman is taking

or illicit drugs in it. There is no way to know these things. Baby keys

losses mother's milk and she hopes that by selling online any -- many

other babies will benefit from it too. -- baby 's lives.

We've now found out who scooped one of Britain's biggest lottery

jackpots. A car mechanic from South London, Neil Trotter, who's 41, won

almost ?108 million in Friday's Euromillions draw. He now plans to

give up his job and focus on his passion for car racing. He said

today he's going to need a lot of garage space - as he's planning to

buy a fleet of supercars. Let's remind you of main headline.

Ukraine's defence ministry says one of its soldiers has been killed and

another injured in a raid on a military base in Crimea. You're

watching World News Today, thank you for being with us.

Mild-to-moderate, and staying pretty breezy. For most places it will be a

fine day tomorrow. Hazy sunshine developing,