25/04/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Zeinab Badawi.

Russia is not doing enough to defuse the standoff in eastern Ukraine says

the west - and they are threatening to impose more sanctions against

Moscow. Regardless, Russia flexes its military muscles.

Dozens are reported dead after a series of bombings at a political

rally in Baghdad will stop And climbers begin leaving Everest base

camp, in the face of a strike by Sherpa guides, following a deadly

avalanche. Remembering the ground-breaking

events that played a role in ending apartheid in South Africa - we talk

to the impresario whose global spectaculars are the subject of a

new film. Hello and welcome. The war of words

between Ukraine and Russia is reflecting the continuing

hostilities between the two countries as the interim government

in Kiev accuses Moscow of stoking the tensions in the east of Ukraine.

Ukraine's prime minister says Russia seems to want to start world war

three. President Obama says the West is considering further sanctions

against Russia. But President Putin says it is the Ukrainian government

that is carrying out bloody crimes against its own people. The BBC's

Nick Childs has more. Smoke billows over an eastern Ukrainian airbase.

This is unverified footage. There have been reports of a military

helicopter being hit by a rocket propelled grenade. Whatever this is,

it's likely to add to the sudden, new escalation in tensions here. An

armed pro-Russian activist, seemingly very much back in charge

outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Sloviansk. A day after

short-lived Ukrainian army raids raised the political and diplomatic

temperature in this tense stand-off, another significant notch. The

Americans are laying the blame for images like these more squarely than

ever at Russia's door. This is a full throated effort to actively

sabotage the democratic process through gross, external

intimidation. Russia has put its faith in distraction, deception and

destabilisation. For seven days, Russia has refused to take a single,

concrete step in the right direction. But as the diplomatic war

intensifies, Russia's Foreign Minister has hit back with some

accusation of its own. TRANSLATION: The West, and this is

how it all began, wants to seize control of the Ukraine, because of

its own political ambitions, not the interests of the Ukrainian people.

Just what the Ukrainian military's raids have really achieved, is

unclear. They certainly angered Moscow enough for it to order new

military manoeuvres, according to one report, within a kilometre of

the Ukrainian border. The move prompted this from Ukraine's interim

Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Attempts at Russian military

aggression on the territory of Ukraine will cause military conflict

in the European area, he told a Cabinet meeting. And Russia already

wants to start the third World War, he said. With no apparent resolution

to the stand-off on the ground, does all this bring a direct

confrontation between Ukraine and Russia closer? And if so, what will

the international fallout be? In a separate development, Ukraine's

interior ministry has said armed separatists in the eastern city of

Sloviansk have seized a bus carrying international observers from the

OSCE, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The

Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, tweeted: Extremely concerned

with OSCE inspectors being abducted in Eastern Ukraine. Including one

Swede. They must be released immediately. Lets speak to the BBC's

David Stern - he's in the capital Kiev. Any word on these abducted

monitors? Apparently, according to Western news agencies, the local

pro-Russian activists have confirmed that they have taken or detained as

they put it, these observers. These are not political observers, they

are military observers. They are from OSCE member states as part of a

bilateral military inspection. Anything which involves the

detaining of international observers does add to the mix here and raises

the tension even more. Apparently there were seven members of OSCE

states and five Ukrainian military members as well. Local authorities

accuse them of having a spy among them and that is why they were

detained. That adds greatly to the tension in the eastern part of the

country. Who is actually in control of Sloviansk? The separatists or

Ukrainian forces? In the city itself it is definitely the separatists,

the pro-Russian gunmean. The Ukrainians would say it is the

Russian government who is in control, they are orchestrating the

seizure of government buildings. It seems clear that are now Ukrainian

forces there, they are on the outskirts of the town and are

creating a to cut off the town without bringing any danger to the

civilian population. This is a very sensitive pocket -- sensitive

operation. Thank you very much. A stream of climbers has been

leaving Mount Everest base camp over fears that the route is not safe.

This follows the avalanche last month -- last week. Sherpa guides

have also demanded better compensation for the work they do.

Climbers tackling Everest would normally be putting the skier or on,

but this year they will not get the chance. The avalanche last Friday

killed 13 Sherpa games and buried three others. The Mirror -- morale

is still low. No reports of fresh ice falls on the same path I raising

concerns about whether any climbers will go up here at all. Having been

there and seen the conditions myself and the repeated avalanches, not

snow avalanches but ice, graziers breaking off and coming down. I know

for certain that those conditions are not safe. The Sherpa is now it

is not safe. The government knows it is not safe. Anyone who crosses

those ice flows at this season are doing great risk to themselves as

climbers and to the Sherpas. The discussion over compensation to

Sherpas still remains. The government has said it will do all

to help. It has ushered climbers their permits will remain valid for

five years meaning those who do not want to take the risk can come

back. But not everyone has left. TRANSLATION: There are still many

smaller groups at the peace camp now. We have a new company and have

spent so much money already, who will bear the costs? If other groups

want to climb Mount Everest, we are ready to pursue the track. That is a

big if. It keeps getting bigger as more teams pull out.

To Iraq and now were a series of bomb attacks have hit a campaign

rally. We hope to hear from Baghdad first of all but let us show you

these pictures. I should warn you they are quite disturbing. This is

in the aftermath of the first explosion. There is gunfire and then

this happens... The bombs went off as thousands of supporters of Shia

political party had gathered in eastern Baghdad. The party is a

political wing of Shia group. The Prime Minister is seeking a third

term in office. In the late hours of this afternoon between four o'clock

and five o'clock, when the gathering of groups were leaving the stadium

were the leagues of the righteous, as Shi'ite group who not only are

directly backed by Iran, they make no secret of it. They also made

public statements about their collusion in the military campaign

in Syria. That was part of their electioneering tool. The display

pictures of their marchers, about 70 of them. How many were fighting in

the first place one has to ask? That is the question for a number of the

cine groups inside Iraq. Also the Muslim extremist groups. There is no

way to know who is responsible for these attacks but one would draw

conclusions. As soon as the supremely dirt of the group finished

his address, -- supreme leader of the group, finished his address and

left the first explosion went off. Then the second bomb went off. Both

were car bombs. The third one was also meant to create as much chaos

and havoc as possible which was an IED on the roadsides just on the

exit where people were getting out of the stadium. That was the latest

from Baghdad. From the moment it was founded in 2007, the Taliban have

proved to become a formidable force. At the height of their power in 2008

they can trolled to huge swathes of territory in the north-west

Pakistan. -- the controlled. Today it has been pushed back to just

tribal area. I will be joined in the studio by a world news presenter.

With the Prime Minister and are saying that he would not conduct any

military campaign against the Taliban, he only wants to have

talks, does that mean we will see the end of their pilot campaign? The

talks are on but the objective of the talks is unclear. Some people

say it is to split the Taliban. Others say they are trying to do a

deal. The Army, who have lost 5000 men over the last four years by

fighting the Taliban, are not in the mood for compromise. They do not

want to lose on the negotiating table what they have one the

battlefield. The army are determined they have made progress and will not

want to give it up. Looking at the Taliban in Afghanistan, how far are

the two Taliban is linked? It is very complicated. The militants can

move across borders at will and the armies of Pakistan and indeed

America are unable to do so. This has been exploited by both Taliban

movements. They are separate and have different agendas. They have

cooperated before and will do so in the future. How far will the

departure of foreign combat troops help them stop their campaign, have

they been principally fighting to remove the foreign presence or do

they want to introduce Sharia law to Afghanistan? The signs are they are

preparing to fight hard against whoever is in couple. No doubt that

will bolster the Pakistani Taliban on the other side of the border.

This last remaining area has probably 20,000 Pakistani Taliban is

in there. Is the Army going to move in there and cleared the area? It

would be extremely violent if the dead. There would be bombs in

Pakistani cities if the dead but that is talk of it happening. What

is it like there? The Army have sort of control. They have done a lot of

infrastructure work. The Taliban are there in some spots. But the Army

have done a huge amount of infrastructure work, roads and

electricity and people are returning. Their morale is strong,

they feel they have made a big success against the Taliban and are

consolidating their gains. Thank you. Divers in South Korea have

discovered the bodies of 48 girls in life jackets from the Sewol ferry

that sank earlier this month. Officials described how the girls

had all squeezed into a single room meant to hold 30 people. Divers said

the process is being slowed down by floating objects inside the

wreckage. They also have to break open windows to access the lower

levels of the ferry. President Obama is taken a tough stance on North

Korea in his tour of South Korea. Mr Obama said North Korea poses a

direct military threat to the United States and the concerns that it is

preparing to conduct another nuclear test. The underwater search for the

missing Malaysia Airlines plane could expand from its area it has

been focusing on in the Indian Ocean. A submersible has completed

95% of its search in the area where possible signals from the plane's

flight recorder were heard on eight April. -- eighth April. Delays

dogging World Cup preparations have been challenging for organisers but

the fever general secretary insists that the event is on track to stop

delays in stadium contract them at all venues have marred seven years

of preparations, causing FIFA to criticise the hosts. It is 20 years

this Sunday since the first multi-racial elections took place in

South Africa, and a new film marks how many countries around the world

united to celebrate the end of apartheid. The film, One Humanity,

will be premiered simulatenously in London and Johannesburg this

weekend. It focuses on two star-studded global television

broadcasts - the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium

in London and the International Tribute for a Free South Africa.

Hundreds of millions watched the shows worldwide, which included some

of the biggest names in popular music. Let's take a look at an

extract. This felt like a very special event. I felt emotionally

connected to it. So I wanted to be a part of it.

We, as individual musicians, are just musicians, but we were

endorsing something together, so it was very nice, because it had that

little twist. We knew that Mandela was inside and we knew that there

was apartheid. I was not very well versed on the political side of it,

but I knew how I felt. He was labelled as a terrorist by Margaret

Thatcher, so anybody that was supporting Mandela was supporting

terrorists. So, from that perspective, we were being

rebellious. That was Annie Lennox. We also help from Peter Gabriel and

Chrissie Hynde, talking about why they championed the anti-apartheid

cause. With me is the man behind those historic broadcasts, British

journalist Tony Hollingsworth. For those who do not remember, what did

the 70th birthday tribute to Norse Mandela involve? It was 100

countries on television, 600 million people watched it, 83 artists

involved, all demanding the release of Mandela from prison, in 1988, on

his 70th birthday. And within some 16 months of that, his lawyer asked

me to stage a second event which would be after his release, that he

would attend, and that was to celebrate his release but to give

him a platform to speak to the world, and remind the world that his

release was not the end of apartheid and that they should be pushing

until free elections, which of course are being celebrated this

Sunday, their 20th anniversary. It was a mammoth operation that you

undertook. What were your motives at the time? Why did you want to do

this? It was a terrible thing. It was an inhuman system, apartheid,

and it needed to be dismantled. I was given opportunities in the 80s,

so many other things had already been done, and the International

Solidarity movement have been built since 1946, since the 1946 United

Nations, when a motion was put down against racist South Africa, and

that was when it was put on the international agenda, that there was

this racist system in South Africa, and since then, boulder by boulder,

the International Solidarity movement was built that objected and

protested against apartheid. We were able to get on top of the mountain

and broadcast this appeal for him to be released, on his 70th birthday,

but so much had been done already that we were getting on top of the

mountain. We had briefly from some of the artists involved. Did they

all except very quickly and say, yes, we are going to take part in

this? It takes a long time. People talk about snowballs, but they do

not tell you that you have to push them up will. But there was a

snowball effect. -- uphill. This film that is being given its

premiere on Sunday, One Humanity, it is been done by a if African

director who has created a celluloid tapestry that weaves in the

performances we had in 1988 and 1990 with the real history of how the

international solidarity movement was built, and it is a wonderful,

dramatic way of telling the story. And we gave it its premiere in

Pretoria on April 27, the 20th anniversary, and simultaneously at

Bath that in London as well. It is a lovely story that he has created --

at BAFTA. Looking back but now looking forward, do you think all of

that hope and optimism has been vindicated, that there is a brighter

next 20 years for South Africa? Yes, absolutely. I think there is.

What people forget is that what was won 20 years ago, is enjoyed by here

every day. It is not something that you take on on day one and it goes

away, you enjoy every single day. Every time I am in South Africa, I

mix with a wonderful mature people, and those human rights and the

democracy that is here, it might be new and young, only 20 years old,

but it is a wonderful thing to behold, compared with what it was.

Did you get the sense that you are part of history? A little part. I

was part of a tipping point, that is all. Lots of work had been done,

well before we were doing that. It was a moment in history, an

important moment. In 1985, Gorbachev got in and started negotiating with

Ronald Reagan and by the time you got to 1987, the Cold War is ending

and as this film tells, with the Cold War ending, no longer could be

apartheid regime justifies itself as being fighting communism in southern

Africa, so the support went for the regime, and all of the protest

movements could then win through. Thank you very much for joining us

live. It is the best selling puzzle toy of all time and has confounded

many a generation. Including, it must be said, myself. Well now the

Rubik's cube is celebrating its 40th birthday. Symphonies, artwork, and

competitions have been inspired by the toy which has had global sales

of 350 million. A new exhibition celebrating the history of the Rubik

cube opens in New Jersey this weekend - to be followed by a

national tour of the US. From New York, here's the BBC's Neda Tawfik.

The Rubik's cube is as symbolic of the 80s as Pac-man or Madonna. For

some, this toy brings back a flood of memories. ?? YELLOW the Rubik's

cube. 25 million Americans have made it part of their lives. This exhibit

at the Liberty Science Centre just outside of New York celebrates 40

years of the Rubik's cube. From its humble beginnings to its renewed

fame. The puzzle became an addictive phenomenon. There are tutorials for

solving it. Even robots that work it out. But, for those doing it the

old-fashioned way, it is worth remembering that it took inventor

Erno Rubik a month to solve it, his first time. The best feeling if

you're doing well, if you succeed, it is the best feeling that you can

do something without any outside help. The cube has an astonishing 43

quintillion combinations. That is 43, with 18 zeros behind it. And

three generations later, it is still a test of patience, intelligence and

speed. Anthony, you are one of the world's fastest speed cubers. Can

you show me just how fast you can solve this? Absolutely. Ready, set,

go. Anthony solves the Rubik's cube in just ten seconds. You can even do

this blindfold, right? Can you show us how it's done? Yeah. After

studying the pattern for a minute, it takes him 32 seconds to complete

the puzzle. The Rubik's cube is the world's best selling puzzle toy. One

billion have been manufactured and and one out of seven people around

the world have tried it. All testament to the fact that whilst it

might be frustratingly complicated to solve, its appeal is simple. It

is tactile, it is fun to hold, you see people just having fun playing

with it even though they are not try to solve it. It appeals to the sense

of vision because of the popping colours. It appeals to something in

our brain that all of us want to restore order to chaos. This iconic

toy has had a fun ride, one that just keeps on going.

Celebrating 40 years of the Rubik 's cube. I am going to dig mine out and

have another go. That is all from the programme. From me and the team,

goodbye and enjoy your weekend. Now the weather.

Good evening. It is a wet end to the working week. As you start the

weekend, the wind will be picking up. Some blustery showers around as

well, but it is not all doom and gloom. Most of us should see some

sunshine at some stage. Pretty horrible on the roads across

northern England and Scotland tonight. Then the next batch of rain

is coming in