:00:00. > :00:09.This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas. The struggle
:00:10. > :00:11.for control of eastern Ukraine intensifies, focussed on the armed
:00:12. > :00:20.separatists whom Moscow calls protestors and Kiev calls
:00:21. > :00:23.terrorists. Are events beginning to spin out of control? Today,
:00:24. > :00:24.Ukrainian military vehicles have been seized by pro-Russian militia,
:00:25. > :00:38.and the head of NATO has warned that he's stepping up deployments. We
:00:39. > :00:46.will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more
:00:47. > :00:50.readiness on the land. A frantic search effort in the seas
:00:51. > :00:54.off South Korea, with around 300 still missing after a ferry being
:00:55. > :00:58.used for a school trip goes down. And coming up: A special report on
:00:59. > :01:08.the lengths African migrants will go to, to jump a Spanish wall. Angry
:01:09. > :01:13.and desperate to enter a tiny piece of Europe they can see down below.
:01:14. > :01:18.And how much of a style statement do beards make? They've been getting
:01:19. > :01:20.more and more popular but a new study says they may be falling out
:01:21. > :01:35.of fashion. Hello and welcome. A day before top
:01:36. > :01:38.level talks on Ukraine, military activity in the east has stepped up
:01:39. > :01:46.again from both Ukrainian government troops and pro Russian forces. The
:01:47. > :01:48.defence ministry in Kiev says six Ukrainian armoured personnel
:01:49. > :01:52.carriers have been seized in the town of Kramatorsk. And pro-Russian
:01:53. > :01:56.protestors demanding greater regional autonomy still occupy many
:01:57. > :02:00.official buildings. The escalating crisis led the head of NATO, Anders
:02:01. > :02:09.Fogh Rasmussen, to announce a state of greater military readiness. Today
:02:10. > :02:12.we agreed on a package of further military measures to reinforce our
:02:13. > :02:20.collective defence and demonstrate the strength of allied solidarity.
:02:21. > :02:23.So what does this mean for those NATO members affected, especially
:02:24. > :02:27.those which existed for decades behind the Iron Curtain? Mr
:02:28. > :02:32.Rasmussen says the alliance will now reinforce its eastern borders. He
:02:33. > :02:34.said allied ships will deploy to the Baltic Sea, the Eastern
:02:35. > :02:39.Mediterranean and elsewhere, as needed. And the air-policing and
:02:40. > :02:54.surveillance sorties which already happen over the Baltic region, will
:02:55. > :02:58.be stepped up. Since first light armed vehicles
:02:59. > :03:03.loyal to the government in Kiev have been manoeuvring through eastern
:03:04. > :03:07.Ukraine. But time and again they were foiled by rebellious
:03:08. > :03:13.villagers. These vehicles tried to get to a local airfields but were
:03:14. > :03:17.stopped by people who were upset by what had been branded an
:03:18. > :03:23.anti-terrorism operation. Do I look bigger terrorist? This man said. I
:03:24. > :03:29.have just been planting onions. The villagers were passed by attack
:03:30. > :03:35.helicopters. And even fighter jets. But in the end the soldiers had to
:03:36. > :03:38.give up. And so blockaded by the villagers the armoured personnel
:03:39. > :03:42.carriers are having to turn round and find another way through what is
:03:43. > :03:53.becoming increasingly hostile territory. In some places there were
:03:54. > :04:00.scuffles and even the occasional gunshot. It was largely peaceful.
:04:01. > :04:04.These are found themselves blocked in and were forced to surrender.
:04:05. > :04:12.They vehicles now under a Russian flag were driven in triumph to an
:04:13. > :04:18.anti-government stronghold. The captured armoured personnel carriers
:04:19. > :04:23.are now on display as trophies in the centre of the most rebellious
:04:24. > :04:29.town in Ukraine. Around the corner we found one of the captors who
:04:30. > :04:35.described the surrender. TRANSLATION: It was peaceful without
:04:36. > :04:38.any shooting. Now they will have a food and wash because they were
:04:39. > :04:49.angry and dirty. 20 yards away in the Park we found this woman playing
:04:50. > :04:54.with her son. After weeks of being bombarded by Russian propaganda,
:04:55. > :04:59.many people there their own troops. TRANSLATION: I am worried about the
:05:00. > :05:07.helicopters flying overhead. I am worried the Kiev government send
:05:08. > :05:10.them against peaceful citizens. As government troops reinforce the
:05:11. > :05:13.airfield NATO said it was strengthening its forces in eastern
:05:14. > :05:17.Europe well the Ukrainian Promina state claimed Russia was erecting a
:05:18. > :05:23.new bill wall. Tomorrow's talks in Geneva take laced with relations
:05:24. > :05:38.between Russia and the West at their worst since the end of the Cold War.
:05:39. > :05:42.So what is the nature of the threat on the ground? Let's go to the scene
:05:43. > :05:51.now in Donetsk and talk to the BBC's David Stern. The tensions and the
:05:52. > :05:56.setbacks in the villages and towns, we've heard about that, but we've
:05:57. > :06:00.also had some develop once here. Some gunmen have taken over the maze
:06:01. > :06:06.building today. It is just down the road from here, about a colour
:06:07. > :06:11.matter. I went there and saw they were men in scheme asks, well
:06:12. > :06:17.armed, who had taken over the city administration building. They are
:06:18. > :06:19.occupying it but they are still allowing business to go on there.
:06:20. > :06:24.They say they will remain there until the government accepts they
:06:25. > :06:29.demand that there be a referendum for political status whether or not
:06:30. > :06:33.to grant more autonomy or independence to the eastern regions.
:06:34. > :06:37.The question is now, what will be the government 's next action? The
:06:38. > :06:43.soldiers are very uncomfortable with their role in moving against
:06:44. > :06:45.civilians and nobody quite knows what the government 's decision will
:06:46. > :06:57.be tomorrow. More importantly, nobody knows what their reaction
:06:58. > :07:00.will be in the rest of the Ukraine. Joining me from Washington is a
:07:01. > :07:03.former US Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker. He's now Executive Director
:07:04. > :07:08.of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona
:07:09. > :07:17.State University. What you think Russia is doing here? They are
:07:18. > :07:24.laying the groundwork for doing what they did in Crimea. The armed groups
:07:25. > :07:27.are Russian Special Forces. We have seen the propaganda and how it is
:07:28. > :07:34.influencing the views of the local population and their intention is to
:07:35. > :07:40.either create a situation where they can force a referendum or if not
:07:41. > :07:45.with Ukrainian armed forces trying to fight that at the special
:07:46. > :07:53.operatives will create disorder and conflict which would justify a
:07:54. > :07:59.Russian troop intervention. Either way, I think Russia is playing a
:08:00. > :08:03.very hard game to break away this territory from the rest of you the
:08:04. > :08:10.Ukraine. What if anything can be done to stop that sequence of events
:08:11. > :08:15.unfolding? I am pleased to see the steps by NATO today that a
:08:16. > :08:18.reinforcing security allies but of course that applies only to those
:08:19. > :08:24.allies and we need to be doing more with respect to the Ukraine as well.
:08:25. > :08:28.We could be providing some arms and I think we should be providing
:08:29. > :08:31.advisors and trainers because it is a very difficult operation
:08:32. > :08:42.tactically for the Ukrainians to re-establish control without
:08:43. > :08:47.escalating the -- violence. I do think we also need to put immediate
:08:48. > :08:52.sanctions on Russia to get them to want to negotiate a way out. Right
:08:53. > :08:58.now, they do not take what has been put in place in the form of
:08:59. > :09:01.sanctions very seriously. But aren't they are genuine Russian interests
:09:02. > :09:13.at stake here especially when you look at what is happening in the
:09:14. > :09:17.west of Ukraine and Kiev? Russia is not losing the Ukraine because
:09:18. > :09:24.Ukraine is an independent country. The people they ought to be left in
:09:25. > :09:31.peace. Russia is playing an active role here. I am not sure what
:09:32. > :09:35.legitimate interest Russia has over the affairs of its neighbours. This
:09:36. > :09:39.is something for the Ukrainians themselves to work out but they are
:09:40. > :09:44.not being given a chance to do that. Thank you for your time.
:09:45. > :09:47.Now to the latest news about the ferry which has sunk off South Korea
:09:48. > :09:52.while carrying many teenage students on a school trip. Four people have
:09:53. > :09:55.been confirmed dead, a number that's expected to rise. Almost 300 are
:09:56. > :09:59.still missing. The country's Prime Minister urged those involved in the
:10:00. > :10:03.search not to give up. But as he visited some of the families, he was
:10:04. > :10:06.heckled and shouted at by relatives understandably desperate to hear
:10:07. > :10:12.from the rescue mission which is going on through the night. The
:10:13. > :10:19.boat, the "Sewol", was travelling from Incheon to Jeju island, a
:10:20. > :10:21.popular tourist destination. It ran into trouble about 20 kilometres
:10:22. > :10:25.from Byungpoong island. Survivors say they heard a loud 'thud' just
:10:26. > :10:35.before the ferry began to tip on its side. Lucy Williamson reports.
:10:36. > :10:40.12 miles off the South Korean coast the first glimpse of this disaster.
:10:41. > :10:47.A ferry full of schoolchildren slowly sinking in the sea. By the
:10:48. > :10:56.time rescue boats arrived several floors were already underwater. One
:10:57. > :11:01.by one they climbed out of cabin windows, each rescue a small victory
:11:02. > :11:05.against the rising sea. Down below others waited in the water for
:11:06. > :11:11.rescue. They jumped into the sea to survive. They were the lucky ones.
:11:12. > :11:17.The speed and scale of this disaster was no match for rescuers. Hundreds
:11:18. > :11:24.of passengers were still trapped inside when the ship began to sink.
:11:25. > :11:30.An hour later, only this remained. Dry land brought comfort for
:11:31. > :11:36.survivors and the first stories of what had happened. The
:11:37. > :11:41.schoolchildren said they did exactly as they were told. The announcement
:11:42. > :11:47.told us we should stay still but this -- ship was sinking -- was
:11:48. > :11:51.sinking. This video apparently filmed by a survivor shows the
:11:52. > :11:59.passenger in life jackets waiting patiently on board. For those now
:12:00. > :12:06.reunited with their families, the horror of what might have been is
:12:07. > :12:09.already fading. For others, it is the hope that is ebbing away.
:12:10. > :12:15.Tonight this list of survivors is what divides families. Hundreds of
:12:16. > :12:18.parents have been scanning these boards searching for their
:12:19. > :12:28.children's names. Most of them are not here. Here in the town 's
:12:29. > :12:33.gymnasium, people are still waiting. Family say they want more
:12:34. > :12:39.information and fewer mistakes. TRANSLATION: Nobody is organising
:12:40. > :12:44.the information being given to us and not knowing what's happening is
:12:45. > :12:50.increasing the pain of the families. Tonight, divers have been searching
:12:51. > :12:54.the ghostly corridors of the -- of the sunken ship. Until they find the
:12:55. > :12:59.missing children flew in the town will sleep.
:13:00. > :13:01.Now a look at some of the day's other news.
:13:02. > :13:04.A robotic mini-submarine, which is helping with the search for the
:13:05. > :13:07.missing Malaysian airliner in the Indian Ocean, has been forced to
:13:08. > :13:10.resurface for a second time. Australian officials coordinating
:13:11. > :13:14.the search haven't said why its mission was cut short, but they do
:13:15. > :13:20.expect to redeploy it. Flight MH370 vanished from radar screens on March
:13:21. > :13:23.the 8th, with 239 people onboard. Britain's biggest provider of food
:13:24. > :13:26.banks says an alarming number of people are now receiving emergency
:13:27. > :13:29.help. The Trussell Trust, a Christian organisation, said more
:13:30. > :13:32.than 900,000 people received a free food parcel, containing three days
:13:33. > :13:39.supply of food, in the 12 months to March, compared with 350,000 the
:13:40. > :13:43.year before. Clashes have again broken out near
:13:44. > :13:46.the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. It's believed that the violence
:13:47. > :13:48.started after the compound was opened to Jewish visitors.
:13:49. > :13:51.Palestinian protesters began throwing stones, and the police
:13:52. > :13:56.responded by firing stun grenades and rubber bullets. 30 protesters
:13:57. > :14:01.are said to have been injured. On Monday, several people were arrested
:14:02. > :14:04.following similar clashes. Spain says it needs more help from
:14:05. > :14:08.the European Union to control one of Europe's most southern borders. In
:14:09. > :14:11.recent weeks, hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have scaled
:14:12. > :14:16.the border fence separating Morocco from the neighbouring Spanish
:14:17. > :14:19.enclave territory of Melilla. Thousands more migrants live in the
:14:20. > :14:29.hills near Melilla, from where our Spain correspondent Tom Burridge
:14:30. > :14:35.reports. A home in a wood. In the mountains of North Africa. They
:14:36. > :14:42.wait. Hungry and desperate to enter a tiny piece of Europe which they
:14:43. > :14:47.can see down below. This man has been living in a forest for years.
:14:48. > :14:50.11 of you living here. He travelled from Cameroon but now he is trapped,
:14:51. > :14:57.an illegal immigrant in Morocco hiding from the police. I am a
:14:58. > :15:06.prisoner because I can't go in the street, I can't walk in the street.
:15:07. > :15:16.I am a prisoner. That is why I decided to come in a forest. There
:15:17. > :15:18.are thousands living here. An unwelcome community within touching
:15:19. > :15:29.distance of their ultimate goal, Europe. The mountains is hell. This
:15:30. > :15:33.is what stands in their way. On this side of the border, a fence which
:15:34. > :15:45.stretches for 11.5 km, we are in Spain. On the other side is Morocco,
:15:46. > :15:48.Africa. The tallest of the three fences is eight metres high but the
:15:49. > :15:51.migrants have developed techniques which have proved effective. In
:15:52. > :15:55.recent weeks, hundreds at a time have scaled the fence, filmed by the
:15:56. > :16:02.police who call it a human avalanche. Spain is spending more on
:16:03. > :16:05.policing its border but the Spanish government's representative says the
:16:06. > :16:07.European Union needs to take action to help the country control one of
:16:08. > :16:23.Europe's both southern borders. For those that cross, there is
:16:24. > :16:31.little work but there is somewhere to sleep. This is the overcrowded
:16:32. > :16:34.immigration centre. They dream of life in Britain but the authorities
:16:35. > :16:40.plan to send most back to the country where their journey began.
:16:41. > :16:46.It manages tens of thousands of crossings from Morocco every day. It
:16:47. > :16:58.is now calling on its European partners for help. They want to stop
:16:59. > :17:07.those on the mountain who are planning their illegal attempt
:17:08. > :17:10.toenter Europe and Spain. John Springford joins me. A massive
:17:11. > :17:21.issue. What can be done? The EU can supply
:17:22. > :17:28.more funds to help with investment in terms of the board protection for
:17:29. > :17:32.a lot of these countries which face very large numbers of immigrants
:17:33. > :17:39.coming. That is probably the main thing that the EU can do to help.
:17:40. > :17:44.That just means build taller walls. It doesn't say anything about the
:17:45. > :17:53.numbers who wants to get to Europe. Stronger protection is the one thing
:17:54. > :17:58.that will come out of it. The EU can do more in terms of development aid
:17:59. > :18:03.in a lot of these regions to help prevent the flows from coming in the
:18:04. > :18:09.first place, given the fact that they are pretty poor places. They
:18:10. > :18:15.are struggling with high unemployment and there is a lot of
:18:16. > :18:22.push factors which are driving a lot of these people into the EU. When
:18:23. > :18:26.they come through, not just Spain but Italy in particular, what are
:18:27. > :18:34.the main issues that are created? What issues do governments have to
:18:35. > :18:38.tackle the most? The biggest problem is people don't have the papers that
:18:39. > :18:41.they need in order to be able to work. They are driven into the
:18:42. > :18:49.underground economy and there is a lot of crime. They can quite often
:18:50. > :18:53.end up in prostitution. It is a big problem. Also governments to receive
:18:54. > :19:01.the tax money which they would if they were proper, irregular
:19:02. > :19:05.migrants. Where do you stand on recognising this situation and
:19:06. > :19:11.legalising them so you can get tax revenue from them? We are quite a
:19:12. > :19:16.long way away from this. Some others are likely to do this. Some have
:19:17. > :19:22.done amnesties in the past. In Britain where we are the land of the
:19:23. > :19:30.go home fan, it seems unlikely that this is going to happen. -- go home
:19:31. > :19:38.fan. You don't have people involved in so much crime and prostitution
:19:39. > :19:45.and also it means if these people can move into jobs, you can generate
:19:46. > :19:49.quite a lot of tax revenue from them as well. I am sure we will hear more
:19:50. > :19:55.about this in the run-up to the elections.
:19:56. > :20:00.Controversial surveillance programme targeting Muslim communities has
:20:01. > :20:02.been abandoned by the New York police Department. The programme
:20:03. > :20:05.involved a special police unit used to monitor everyday activities. Nick
:20:06. > :20:14.Bryant has more on that secret operation. The secretive 's wired
:20:15. > :20:18.and sent plain offices -- plainclothed officers in to
:20:19. > :20:24.eavesdrop on Muslim communities. They wanted to know where they ate,
:20:25. > :20:27.where they were shipped, where they shop and played cricket. The New
:20:28. > :20:32.York Police Department believe it would help them identify what they
:20:33. > :20:38.called hotspots of radicalisation. The secret programme never lead to
:20:39. > :20:41.any terror related prosecutions. Some law enforcement officials even
:20:42. > :20:45.thought it was counter-productive because it bred so much mistrust
:20:46. > :20:49.within Muslim communities. The disbandment of the unit has been
:20:50. > :20:56.welcomed by those community groups and also by civil liberties groups
:20:57. > :21:09.who always believed it could -- it curtailed freedoms. The New York
:21:10. > :21:12.Police Department have to mend some relations and this all came in after
:21:13. > :21:16.the September 11 attacks. Let's get more now from Linda Sarsour who is
:21:17. > :21:22.the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York.
:21:23. > :21:35.This is an attempt to repair damage done. What kind of damage has been
:21:36. > :21:38.done? The intelligence division created psychological warfare in the
:21:39. > :21:45.American Muslim community. It creates paranoia and missed/--
:21:46. > :21:49.mistrust within our own community and the closing of the unit is the
:21:50. > :21:54.first step in mending the relationships between the American
:21:55. > :22:02.Muslim community and the NYPD. It will take many years to roll back
:22:03. > :22:11.the trauma because of these discriminatory police practices.
:22:12. > :22:16.What can be done to bring trust? They need to bring substantial
:22:17. > :22:21.change within the New York Police Department. They need to amend their
:22:22. > :22:27.guidelines to create mechanisms so that the public understand when an
:22:28. > :22:31.informant or undercover goes to an open investigation into a mosque. We
:22:32. > :22:38.need to understand why it happens, what the steps we are taking and
:22:39. > :22:42.what type of suspicious activity was gathered for them to open that
:22:43. > :22:46.investigation. If the community understands the process and it
:22:47. > :22:51.becomes more transparent, that will put us on a path to building or
:22:52. > :22:56.rebuilding that relationship. Sometimes these operations do have
:22:57. > :23:03.to happen, there is a process of radicalisation of a few and security
:23:04. > :23:13.still matters. Absolutely. We are not an anti-law force meant
:23:14. > :23:20.committee. We have to counter-terrorism. Faith is not a
:23:21. > :23:27.predicate to crime or terrorism and that is the point we are making. We
:23:28. > :23:32.want the NYPD to keep us solve but uphold our civil freedoms. Is this
:23:33. > :23:39.part of a cultural shift another management of New York City, the new
:23:40. > :23:53.mayor has changed Western Mark I hope so. -- the new mayor has
:23:54. > :24:03.changed? They are bringing their harshest critics to the table. I
:24:04. > :24:06.welcome more meaningful change in the New York Police Department.
:24:07. > :24:10.Thank you. The end of the beard is nigh - not
:24:11. > :24:12.according to fashion stylists, but to evolutionary biologists.
:24:13. > :24:15.Australian scientists have found that as facial hair grows more
:24:16. > :24:21.common it gets less attractive and the clean shaven look becomes more
:24:22. > :24:25.desirable to potential mates. To find out if they're right, we sent
:24:26. > :24:26.our science reporter James Morgan to one of the beard capitals of
:24:27. > :24:38.Britain. A wave of beards has swept across
:24:39. > :24:43.the manly chins of Britain but according to a study published
:24:44. > :24:46.today, these hairy humans could be doomed by evolution. Scientists have
:24:47. > :24:51.found the more beards there are, the less attractive baby, and that is
:24:52. > :24:56.because in evolution, traits which are rare or noble such as
:24:57. > :25:01.clean-shaven nurse in this area of London can become sexually
:25:02. > :25:05.attractive to potential mates. To see if the tide is really turning,
:25:06. > :25:15.we came to Shoreditch in east London, home of the hipster, to ask
:25:16. > :25:22.the female of the species. The amount of beards needs to go. It is
:25:23. > :25:29.like tatties, they become common. IMA -- I am not a big fan of beards
:25:30. > :25:35.as they hide the face. When they share -- shave their face, are they
:25:36. > :25:45.going to be ugly? Could barbers like this become an endangered species? I
:25:46. > :25:53.get people who want their partners to grow beards. Maybe we will see a
:25:54. > :25:58.decline. Gent's barbers like this may go out of business but the peak
:25:59. > :26:01.beard in a row of fashion isn't going to go away any time soon. I
:26:02. > :26:20.don't want to lose my beard. Let us remind you of the menus. In
:26:21. > :26:25.UK and, -- Ukraine, the head of NATO has warned that he is stepping up
:26:26. > :26:29.deployment of ships, warplanes and troops in eastern Europe. You can
:26:30. > :26:31.get in touch with me as some of the team on Twitter. Thanks very much
:26:32. > :27:01.for being with us. The Easter weekend weather will get
:27:02. > :27:07.off to a fine start. Before then, tomorrow, there is a bit of a blip.
:27:08. > :27:10.It will bring cloud to weather has been plenty sunshine today.