12/05/2014 World News Today


12/05/2014

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This is BBC World News Today with me, Kasia Madera.

:00:09.:00:11.

Our top story - the first glimpse of Nigeria's abducted schoolgirls.

:00:12.:00:14.

A video which appears to show more than 100 of them is released

:00:15.:00:18.

Their leader says they will only be released

:00:19.:00:22.

The polls close in the world's biggest democracy.

:00:23.:00:37.

So is Narendra Modi about to become India's next Prime Minister ?

:00:38.:00:43.

Also coming up, Ukraine's separatist leaders reach out to Russia.

:00:44.:00:46.

But the government in Kiev calls their controversial

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Hello and welcome. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has

:00:50.:01:24.

released a new video which it says shows some of the more than 200

:01:25.:01:28.

girls who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria four weeks ago.

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In the recording, the group's leader says the girls would not be freed

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until its members had been released from prison.

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The girls were taken from their school in Chibok in the North

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Eastern state of Borno on the 14th of April.

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Our World Affairs Editor John Simpson sent this report from nearby

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136 girls, most Christian until a month ago, obediently chanting the

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first part of the Koran dressed in Islamic headscarves.

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If you look closely, not all of them are chancing. It is the first

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sighting of them, yet more than half of the girls are not here, maybe

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because they refused to convert or because of some other reason, we

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don't know. One of the girls is led to the front and told to give a

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Muslim name rather than her Christian one. She is clearly

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frightened. In the video, Boko Haram's leader,

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said to be Frank Bryant, clever and mocking, launches into a harangue.

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-- said to be flamboyant. Translation-macro These girls, we

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have liberated them. They have become Muslims, they are staying

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with us. This man is desperate for news of

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the girls. He has made the dangerous journey from Chibok, where they were

:03:22.:03:28.

kidnapped. No fewer than six of his relatives were taken but he can't

:03:29.:03:35.

spot in the video. This must be pretty shocking for you

:03:36.:03:40.

to see this. It is one of the most shocking moments I have ever found

:03:41.:03:46.

myself in. This is in human, it is not correct, it is unfair, there is

:03:47.:03:53.

no need for them to impose on them the Islamic religion. Everybody has

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the right to choose what religion to follow.

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Politicians here are furious with the federal government. They say

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that although Nigeria has one of Africa's biggest army is nothing

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serious is being done to get the girls back.

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They tell you they are doing their best but we as parents would only

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say the government have done very well if the girls are back safe and

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healthy. No politician travels anywhere here

:04:26.:04:30.

without a heavily armed escort. This is a silent and frightened city. The

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fact is, Boko Haram has the upper hand in Borno State as a whole and

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its influence of power even here in the capital city is certainly

:04:44.:04:48.

present. It looks as though the government down in Abuja simply does

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not care about any of this, any more than it has put any effort at all

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into searching for the missing girls. The question is, when Boko

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Haram suggest a swap, those Christian girls who have refused to

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convert in exchange for guerrillas captured by the government, could

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this be the beginning of negotiation or is it just talk?

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With me is the freelance journalist and academic Lizz Pearson, who's

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written about Boko Haram and the abduction of women. And also with us

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Zero Mackay look, this video appears to be genuine. Describe what we see.

:05:29.:05:44.

The Boko Haram leader made it clear that the reason he decided to

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release this video is because of the international outrage about the

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kidnapping of these girls. It is genuine as far as we understand and

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in this video he made it clear that he is ready, if the Nigerian

:05:59.:06:03.

government is willing, to release Boko Haram prisoners, he is ready to

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release the girls who have not converted to Islam. For those who,

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he says, have decided to convert, they have now become their sisters

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so he is not going to release them even if the government is releasing

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Boko Haram prisoners. This video does not show all of the girls, we

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believe it is just over a hundred of the over 200 kidnapped, and it seems

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they are in the process of being converted to Islam. Yes, we count

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about 130 girls in living the O. We had them reciting the first verse of

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the Koran. -- 130 girls in the video. It is clear that the Koran is

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trying to either force them or convince them to convert to Islam,

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that is why we saw them wearing hijab, the full Islamic dress for

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women, so I think Boko Haram is trying to force or convince those

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girls to convert to Islam, while others who have not converted are

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not in the video. The scale of what happened in Chibok is unprecedented

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but Boko Haram have four main kidnapping schoolgirls, kidnapping

:07:27.:07:36.

women. -- have form in kidnapping. Yes, this dates to 2011, 2012, when

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the Nigerian police began to arrest wives and members of Boko Haram. The

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leader says, you take are women, we will take your women, and he

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threatens retaliation. -- you take our women. He wants to use them as

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bartering chips to force the release of these women and other militants

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who have been arrested. The conditions in which these women are

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kept, how are they being treated? We have seen in other cases where women

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have been released by have been unharmed, they were not badly

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treated or injured, but we know that the Koran is also abducted women as

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they flee. -- Boko Haram. They are forcing girls to convert if they are

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Christian to Islam, they are raping them, forcing them into marriage,

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using them to entice soldiers into positions where they can be

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targeting. The women are not always well treated. -- they can be

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targeted. The Nigerian government is saying it is reviewing all of its

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options. It isn't -- under incredible treasure to do something.

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-- it is under. We have the interior minister saying he finds it absurd

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to talk to the organisation. What we understand is that minute -- the

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Nigerian government in the past tried to reach out to Boko Haram,

:09:26.:09:33.

they looked into ways of finding how to reach out to them, a report was

:09:34.:09:40.

submitted and it suggested the government should set up another

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committee that would work underground to reach out to

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officials of Boko Haram but what we don't know now is whether the

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government is doing something underground to reach out to them. I

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think everything is possible at the moment. It seems the Nigerian

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government's initial attempts to scare off Boko Haram by abducting

:10:04.:10:10.

their wives has completely backfired. Yes, the strategy has

:10:11.:10:20.

worked to some degree in the past, but the long-term security of women

:10:21.:10:24.

living in these affected areas of Nigeria has to be a priority,

:10:25.:10:28.

because they have been vulnerable, they have not been protected, and

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this can't go on. We are out of time but thank you both very much for

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coming in to speak to us. We will keep you updated when we hear no. --

:10:43.:10:47.

here more. Polls have closed in the final day

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of India's six-week long voting process, with exit polls indicating

:10:52.:10:54.

a victory for the opposition party BJP. Surveys also suggest the worst

:10:55.:10:57.

ever performance by the governing Congress Party, but it's important

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to remember that polls have been wrong in the past. Official results

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are due out on Friday. Many key Election Commission figures show

:11:04.:11:07.

that it was the highest ever turnout at 66%. Which means that just short

:11:08.:11:11.

of 550 million Indians voted in these landmark elections. It's worth

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remembering that a party or coalition needs a minimum of 272

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seats to form a majority government. So, what do we know so

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far from today's exit polls? Well, my colleague Sanjoy Majumder is in

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Delhi. It is important to stress that the

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exit polls have been wrong before. That is right. Many people in India

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don't take these polls seriously because they have been so inaccurate

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in the past. In the last two elections they got it completely

:11:53.:11:56.

wrong and they have often overestimated the BJP's performance.

:11:57.:12:03.

Nevertheless, in the last few hours we have seen several exit polls

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pointing to a dramatic victory for the BJP, suggesting that they will

:12:08.:12:16.

cross the magic figure -- magic figure of 272, one poll suggesting

:12:17.:12:22.

it will fall slightly short. It points to a massive defeat for the

:12:23.:12:25.

Congress Party. We will have to wait until Friday to see how these

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numbers stack up but one person who will be very pleased if it turns out

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how it is being projected is the BJP leader, Modi. Many people believe he

:12:36.:12:41.

is poised to take over the reins of the world's largest democracy. He

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was in one of the country's most holy cities, from where my colleague

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sent this report. The longest election in Indian

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history is finally over and the organisers say it has set an even

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more important record for turnout. I am happy to inform you that the

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National voter turnout in this election is 66.38%, the highest ever

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in the history of Indian national elections.

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This is the man now being tipped to become in the's next prime minister

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Modi the Hindu nationalist BJP. He is promising stronger leadership and

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faster growth. Exit polls put him ahead of his rivals but the actual

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results will not be counted until Friday. There was a record turnout

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in this holy city where he was running. Voters came early and in

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large numbers to beat the heat. Today even the city's holy men

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shared the same goal, to cast their vote.

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In villages and homes everybody has to come out and vote to make India

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stronger. By running in Varanasi, Mr Modi was

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hoping for a personal mandate in the spiritual capital of the Hindu

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religion. He has faced significant opposition, especially from

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minorities who fear he hopes to turn India away from its secular

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traditions but his vow to get the economy back on track seems to have

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struck a chord with millions of voters. Exit polls have often been

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wrong but record turnouts in elections usually mean big change

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and the BGP says that Modi is on course to be India's next prime

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minister. -- the BJP. We heard him say that it was the

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economy that really hurt -- struck a chord with voters. If you look at

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what voters have been saying throughout this election, it does

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not matter which part of the country you go to, largely the concerns are

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the same, the state of the economy, the cost of living, rising prices. A

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third of the voters is under the age of 30, so jobs are the big issue,

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and many look to Mr Modi's record in Gujarat, his home state, where he

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has managed to make the state a magnet for foreign investment,

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infrastructure is significantly better than other parts of the

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country, so many people hope he can bring that kind of administrative

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skill to Delhi and do what he did to Gujarat for the rest of India. Thank

:15:52.:16:00.

you very much. You can expect full results on Friday, we will bring

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that to you. Now a look at some

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of the day's other news. The Taliban have launched their

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summer offensive in Afghanistan Several locations across

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the country have been attacked. Two rockets hit

:16:11.:16:14.

Kabul International Airport There was also an attack on the US

:16:15.:16:16.

airbase in Bagram And at a courthouse in Jalalabad

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in the east of the country, The World Health Organisation says

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alcohol abuse kills more than three million people every year

:16:26.:16:32.

and it's called on governments to do The WHO says

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the excessive consumption of alcohol is linked to more than 200 diseases,

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and also leads to deaths through Europeans are the heaviest drinkers,

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but the UN body also says nearly half of all adults worldwide have

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never touched alcohol. Australian scientists say

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strengthening winds in the Southern Ocean are

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the reason why temperatures in Antarctica are not rising

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as much as in other continents. The researchers from the

:17:03.:17:05.

Australian National University say high levels of greenhouse gases have

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triggered the strongest storms in 1,000 years and these are

:17:08.:17:11.

trapping cold air over Antarctica. Pro-Russian militants

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in eastern Ukraine have said they want to become part of the

:17:19.:17:21.

Russian Federation following The government in Kiev has denounced

:17:22.:17:24.

the polls as illegal and EU foreign ministers have expanded sanctions

:17:25.:17:30.

imposed as a result of Russia's Sarah Rainsford reports

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from Donetsk. The morning after the rabble

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referendum. Slaviansk is astral cold. There were clashes overnight

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with troops on the outskirts. Now, it is calm. Across the region,

:17:55.:17:58.

activists have been collating the results of the vote. As expected,

:17:59.:18:01.

they declared a landslide victory for self-rule, claiming a record

:18:02.:18:06.

turnout. But this was no ordinary ballot. Held alongside the armed men

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now in control here. The rebels say this region has now spoken, and its

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destiny is decided. But away from the barricade, I found opinion

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deeply divided, even among Russian speakers. TRANSLATION: There are

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lots of nationalities in this region, not just brushing. Why

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should they become Russian citizens, just because some people speak

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Russian? They want to live in Ukraine. Slavic people should be

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together. I want to join Russia. After what has happened here, this

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country can no longer be united. On the streets here, life looks pretty

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normal. People are going about their business. But just a few metres away

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at City Hall, there are still pro-Russian rebels in control. There

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are armed men on checkpoints right around the city. And Russia, which

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has called on the rebels to postpone their referendum, now says that

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people here have spoken and there will must be respected. TRANSLATION:

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We respect the will of the population of the Donetsk and

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Luhansk regions. We hope that article in the mentation of the

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outcome of the referendums will proceed along civilised lines

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without further outbreaks of violence, and through dialogue.

:19:18.:19:20.

International leaders have condemned the vote as a farce. These

:19:21.:19:25.

referendums have zero credibility in the eyes of the world. They are

:19:26.:19:29.

illegal by anybody's standards. They don't meet any standard, not a

:19:30.:19:33.

single one, of objectivity, transparency, fairness. But events

:19:34.:19:42.

are moving very fast. In bold and buy their votes, the rebels are

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talking of a parallel government, even a military one. Stepping back

:19:46.:19:47.

is becoming increasingly difficult. A migrant boat believed to be

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carrying around 200 people has sunk south of

:19:51.:19:52.

the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The Sicilian Navy says vessels from

:19:53.:19:55.

the Mare Nostrum task force, set up after hundreds of people drowned in

:19:56.:19:59.

migrant boat disasters last year, Yet another tragedy in what is a

:20:00.:20:19.

very tragic set of historical situations with Lampedusa. And

:20:20.:20:30.

Italian navy ship gave quite a detailed account of what has been

:20:31.:20:33.

going on here. It seems this has been happening in an area very far

:20:34.:20:39.

south of Lampedusa, in fact, only about 45 miles from the Libyan

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coast. It seems that around late morning local time, a couple of tug

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boats working in the Libyan oil field noticed that there was a

:20:48.:20:52.

migrant vessel in trouble, and it was taking in water, and as those

:20:53.:20:55.

tug boats reported this to the Italian Navy, I saw that the boat

:20:56.:21:00.

actually sank, and it seems that passengers were plunged into the

:21:01.:21:04.

water. The tug boats did heroic work, it seems, picking up survivors

:21:05.:21:08.

from the sea and picking up some of the dad that we have heard about, at

:21:09.:21:13.

least 17 picked up so far. # the debt. The Italian Navy and Coast

:21:14.:21:19.

Guard raced to the scene, and they are on station at the moment.

:21:20.:21:29.

Apologies for the loss of sound. We appear to be having technical

:21:30.:21:32.

difficulties with our line, but just to let you know, at least 14 people

:21:33.:21:36.

have drowned following the sinking of a boat carrying migrants from

:21:37.:21:39.

Libya to Italy, the second such incident in one week. We will keep

:21:40.:21:43.

you updated when we get more details.

:21:44.:21:48.

The murder trial of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has heard

:21:49.:21:51.

a psychiatrist explain that an untreated anxiety order could

:21:52.:21:53.

have influenced his behaviour the night he shot

:21:54.:21:56.

Merryll Vorster was called as a defence witness and said

:21:57.:21:59.

Oscar Pistorius suffered from a life-long anxiety order

:22:00.:22:02.

because of his amputated legs and his mother's early death.

:22:03.:22:04.

He denies intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp.

:22:05.:22:06.

She said that his actions and should be seen in that context. Here is our

:22:07.:22:11.

correspondent with more. Today Wednesday 30 of the murder trial

:22:12.:22:14.

here in Pretoria. The court heard from a defence witness, who has a

:22:15.:22:23.

Ph.D. In forensic psychiatry. She told the court that when Oscar

:22:24.:22:27.

Pistorius was a young child, at the tender age of 11, when he had his

:22:28.:22:35.

legs amputated, he may have experienced that as a traumatic

:22:36.:22:39.

assault. She also said he may have grown up being told he must be like

:22:40.:22:42.

other kids, but he knew there was something wrong with him, he was a

:22:43.:22:47.

double-amputee. She also explained that when she interviewed him, she

:22:48.:22:50.

had diagnosed him with a condition called generalised anxiety

:22:51.:22:56.

disorder. The prosecution pounced on that, saying that if he had

:22:57.:22:59.

generalised anxiety disorder, could that be equal to a mental illness?

:23:00.:23:12.

He is now putting in an application to the courts for him to go for an

:23:13.:23:17.

evaluation. His "true and fearsome friend" -

:23:18.:23:21.

that's how internationally acclaimed photographer

:23:22.:23:24.

Stephen Dupont describes the Pacific For more than a decade, he has been

:23:25.:23:26.

taking portraits of the country's tribal traditions and capturing

:23:27.:23:31.

images that outsiders seldom see. Recently Dupont's diaries

:23:32.:23:33.

and pictures were published, Papua New Guinea is known as the

:23:34.:23:56.

land of the unexpected. You really feel like you are stepping back in

:23:57.:24:01.

time, in a way. You can be in the Highlanders and feel like there is

:24:02.:24:07.

first contact, it is that promotes and way off the beaten track. What

:24:08.:24:10.

is so fascinating about Papua New Guinea and the clash of

:24:11.:24:15.

modernisation of the West against the Stone Age, any sense, and that

:24:16.:24:18.

is what I have been drawn to the photographer, to covering society

:24:19.:24:24.

and looking at that clash of cultures. August 20 three, 2011.

:24:25.:24:32.

This is the heart and soul of TNG, along with the islands missing out

:24:33.:24:36.

on this would be like going to Brazzaville and not going up the

:24:37.:24:39.

Congo river. Ever since I picked up a camera, essentially, I wrote

:24:40.:24:46.

diaries. The diaries progressed in a way from handwritten diaries two

:24:47.:24:52.

more like art books, so I am now sketching, putting into things and

:24:53.:24:55.

making collages, and they become very much a part of my entire body

:24:56.:25:01.

of work. September 15, 2011. Heard of Paradise Hotel. Room 212. Every

:25:02.:25:06.

town in Papua New Guinea feels like a border town. They all seem to have

:25:07.:25:09.

this frontier feeling, transit places. People coming and going. An

:25:10.:25:18.

edgy kind of vibe life to it. The whole gang thing is quite new. It is

:25:19.:25:23.

not something that has been around for some time. It is something that

:25:24.:25:28.

grew out of urbanisation and 80% unemployment. I don't know anywhere

:25:29.:25:32.

in the world that has that kind of figure for unemployment. The

:25:33.:25:35.

conditions of that society, the poverty, the unemployment, has

:25:36.:25:38.

forced these people into crime, think. From here, we took the river.

:25:39.:25:45.

The water is so dark and chocolatey collard, it is almost black,

:25:46.:25:50.

reflecting the sky and clouds and the approaching foothills of the

:25:51.:25:55.

Highland mountains. The tribal gatherings in the

:25:56.:26:01.

Highlands are essentially cultural festivals. Thousands of different

:26:02.:26:05.

tribes coming together from all over to compete for fame and glory. It is

:26:06.:26:15.

Stone Age would start. It is wild. Dash-macro Woodstock. I feel

:26:16.:26:20.

grateful more than anything that I allowed to go and capture these

:26:21.:26:24.

moments, because you don't take pictures, you are given pictures. It

:26:25.:26:31.

is a gift. The acclaimed photographers Steven

:26:32.:26:36.

Dupont sharing some of his remarkable photos from Papua New

:26:37.:26:39.

Guinea. We have lots more as always on our website, but from me and the

:26:40.:26:44.

team, thanks very much for watching, and you can follow me on Twitter.

:26:45.:26:46.

For now, goodbye. Parts of the UK have been dealing

:26:47.:27:00.

with some intense thundery downpours again today, with showers in the

:27:01.:27:02.

forecast

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