this is al jazeera. welcome to the newshour. pushing ukraine's president to act. demonstrators march on parliament. >> pakistan's talks with the taliban are back on. we are live in islamabad. >> securing the games. pleas for peace amid growing concerns for the winter olympics.

>> cities under threats. looted artefacts are being smuggled to europe. >> so we begun in ukraine where pressure so piling on the president to sort out the country's political crisis. the e.u. foreign policy chief wrapped up her visit and the u.s. secretary of state is on her way to kiev. hundreds of anti-government protesters in ukraine marched on parliament. anti-government demonstrations began in november, after the ukrainian president viktor yanukovych backed off from on expected agreement to deepen economic relations with the european union. al jazeera's neve barker is in kiev and joins us from the capital. tell us about the protests that are happening. >> well, there have been groups of the security forces that have

been guarding the area, and gathering in front of of the stage in independence square. we gather some of the organizers on stage had been talking about leading groups of demonstrators up to the parliament building. there's frustration here that not enough is being done within the ukrainia to bring an end to the standoff. the opposition and the leadership remain in deadlock. the opposition are calling for there to be constitutional reforms that would hand ever some presidential powers back to the parliament, to essentially turn the clock back and reinstate the constitution of 2004. the leadership says that they are ready for negotiations, but have not said when, and people here are getting more and more frustrated. it looks as if they may well start to take things into their

own hands. there are riot police around the building. a tense truce lasted for a few days, we can see that there are tensions rising again. >> neve, stay with us, but i want to take us to the capital of lithuania, because the ukrainian protest leader dmytro bulatov, is holding a peace conference. he was the man beaten up and taken there for treatment. >> translation: i'm very thankful to many people who have helped me to get here. who are helping me here - medical. on my part, i want to tell you what has happened. and also if i have time to

communicate because at this time i don't read news because it's difficult for me, no. and i would be interested to find out what is going on in ukraine. i appreciate the help of many people, and those who helped me to get here. i very appreciate the medical support that i receive here. i would like to tell you of what has happened to me, and if there is time left, i'd like to talk to you. it is very difficult for me to talk, but i would like to know what is happening now in ukraine. i'm going to speak slowly because i don't feel very well.

sometimes i feel dizzy and my vision is blurred. so i'm asking everyone to be understanding and when you ask questions later, to take this into account. on 22 january, i went in my car on business to kiev. i spent several meetings. i was informed that the authorities are arresting all my accounts and my property when i learned about this i stopped my car, i got a taxi and i went to the cash machine, to withdraw

cash from my bankcard. i was worried that in my car i could be stopped by the police, and i could be arrested. i was worried that my card would be arrested and i wouldn't be able to withdraw the cash. when i came up to the cash machine i saw about 10 people, athletic build, athletic appearance, looking like tatushki. i was walking around, waiting for these people to leave. >> i will speak very slowly because i don't speak very well. sometimes my sight is blurred. please, whenever you want to ask a question, take this into

consideration, and i'm very grateful for your understanding. so i will tell you what happened. on the 22nd of january i took my car and went around kiev in trying to do all the businesses. after some meetings, i was told that the authorities arrested my property and my bank account. when i found out that, i decided to leave the car. i parked the car in the parking lot and took a taxi. i decided to go to the bank to take - to take my money from the bank account. but i was afraid that the militia will stop me and that it will arrest my bankcard, and i won't be able to withdraw money from the bank. when i came up to the bank i saw 10 people who looked very sporty, very fit, and i tried to walk around waiting until those

people left. everything was happenening in kiev. at the corner of two streets. while waiting near the road, i received a hard blow in my back of my head. i was grabbed and thrown in the mini bus. in the mini bus i was hit several times very hard on my head. i was laying face down, and they put a bag on my head after that. for about one hour, i can't tell you exactly, i was being driven

somewhere. >> everything was taking place in kiev, actually, very near the corner of two streets. i suddenly received a stroke on my head and i was taken to a mini van. in the mini van, i received a few strokes on to my head, very severe strokes. then they put a bag over my head and i was laying on the floor of the mini van, facing the ground of the mini van. i don't know for how long, but i guess approximately for one hour i was taken somewhere. >> after i was taken to some

place, i was taken to a room. there was only a wooden bed. and swimming goggles were put on my eyes. there was cotton wool put inside the goggles, and i was warned if i tried to take them off i would be bitten. when she is people left, i occasional by took the goggles off. it was quite warm in the room, and in the room there was just of the bed and a bucket to use as a toilet. >> after i was taken to some place i was taken to a room. that room contained a wooden bed. those people put on swimming goggles on my eyes, and they warned me that if i take the swimming goggles, they will start beating me.

but after the people left the room, i would take the swimming goggles. the room as warm, but as i said, the room contained only the bed and a bucket to do the toilet. >> every day these people were beating me on the head. the first day started from the fact that i was put on the floor, and my nose was blocked. on top of the goggles they put wet clothe, started to pour water on me and i started to have difficulty breathing. and they started interrogating me and it continued every day, and throughout these people were beating me on the head.

they didn't beat me much, but very hard and in a very professional way, like a person who was doing not and eastern martial arts. i was beaten very professionally, both at the moment when they took - kidnapped me, and throughout the time that i spend there. very occasionally and very hard. >> my abductors beat me every day on my head. on the first day my perpetrators put me on the floor, closed my nose, put a damp cloth on the goggles, and started pouring water into my mouth until i started coughing. they enter gated me every day and every day during the interrogations they beat me over

my head. they did not beat me much, but they beat me clearly. as a former sports maup, those who beat me were professionals. they beat me very heavily, and it was painful. >> after the first torture i started to tell them everything they wanted to know. most of all these people were interested by who was given the money for the automaidan, how much the american investors is giving, who is giving demands to us. whose orders we follow, which relations we have with the american ambassador and the americans, and how many money we pay the people.

they were blaming me of being the american spy. all our conversations were pimmed on the video camera, and this continued every day. apart from the question about who was financing us, they were asking - they were saying that the american ambassador was giving me big amounts of money. they are asking where i had hidden this money, and this happened every day. also these people were interested by our trips to many plac places. most of all they were asking me about the trips. they were asking who took the

decision why we were going. and the questions - there were much more questions than questions about trips to other places and the faction places. after the first interrogation i started telling what they wanted to hear. they ask me who gave us - who gave money for the automaidan, they asked how much money the american ambassador has given to us. they also asked who gave orders to us, and whose orders prepare listening to. they also asked about our relations with america, and with american ambassador. they blamed me that i am an american spy. they filmed every intergags on their camera, and these

interrogations lasted every day. apart from what was - who was financing us, and they blamed me that american ambassador gave me money, and they asked me where i hid the money. they also were interested in our trips to other places. they wanted to find out why we went and what reasons we had for going. these were the major questions we were interested in. i was asked who gave the order

to trips, these questions were not asked. all this was recorded on video camera. on the first day they tortured me with pouring water, then for the following several days they were beating me on the head. they interrogated me every day. the question they were asking was the same. they were asking them in different ways. they did not believe my answers, and they kept asking me on the same subjects, but in different questions. >> with regard to medvekchuk they asked who gave orders to break the fans, whereas with

regards to other places they didn't ask such questions. on the first day the perpetrators poured water on me. then, for a few days, they beat me on the head. they interrogated me every day, but they have always gisent the same questions, only those questions were given a different manner. the perpetrator did not believe me and the questions were always on the same topics. >> i was telling what days it was, according to the food they were giving me. it was sealed firm, sealed cheese and every day it was a bun and they were giving me water. it was some technical water, tap

water with some smell. it wasn't client. it had a smell of sewerage, and the premises i was staying smelt of some old rugs. it was an impression i was in some bailer room. >> i counted the cause. i tried to distinguish how many days past according to the food that they had given to me. they would give me a ham, cheese, bread. they also gave me water, but that water had a very bad smell. the room also smelt of some old damp cloth. i think that this room could have been a boiler room.

>> several days later they started to increase the torture. on one occasion i tried to lift the goggles and look at these people. they were always coming in two. i saw voices of other people behind the door, but i couldn't hear what they were talking about. there was much more of them. only two people were coming to me. when i tried to lift the goggles to see them, they beat me on the side and on the back of my head. after that i nef tried to look at them again. >> the interrogations became harsher every day. one more thing. whenever those people were with me, i tried to lift the swimming

goggles off my eyes. i once lifted them and in the room in respect always two people. i heard the voices of many more people behind the door, but i could not make out what they were speaking about. however, when i lifted the swimming goggles, they started beating me on the back of the head so that i did not try to do that once again. >> several days later the torrens became harder. the first they did, apart from the belows, they put back on my head. they handcuffed me at the back. they changed - they tied my legs with a rope and they died my hands and legs together, and they started to beat me with my

rods. they were not - they were softer than wood ep, it was not wooden. they started to beat me on the face. it was so frequent and so hard i had the impression that my bones get moved towards my brain, it was so painful. it was painful even to cry because they - they beat me on different parts of my face. this continued for how long i can't say, but i experienced anything worse than this in my life >> as i have said the interrogations after a few days have become even harsher. apart from beating me one day they put a bag over my head, they put handcuffs on my hands.

they tied my hands - legs with a roep and i was put on the ground. then they started beating me over my head with some sticks. those sticks were not wooden, they were a bit softer. however those beatings were very frequent and it seemed to me that my bones are mixing with my brains. it was painful even to scream. i receivedfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbf. (technical difficulties) ..such a nightmare before. >> i had an impression as if melted - metal was poured on my face. the only thing i wanted was for this to stop.

it was very high pain tlshhold, and after this torture they were making me to speak on the camera, that i was an american spy, that i was a c.i.a. spy, that the americans are giving me money, that automaidan is all paid for by the americans. that i was hired specifically in order to organise the automaidan and disorder against the current authorities. after the tort tours i was telling them whatever they wanted me, and they recorded all

this. >> when they beat me i felt like melting metal, very, very hot metal over my face, and they wanted everything to stop. after such an interrogation, they made me to speak in front of the camera, and they made me say everything they wanted. to say that i am an american spy and that i work for the central surveillance service, for the american surveillance service, that america gives money for the automaidan, and i was hired by americans in order to make the order against our authorities. and actually i said whatever they wanted in front of the camera and they recorded everything. >> they continued the interrogation every day. after this, torture. the following day they came and beat me several times on the

head and said that they would take my eye out. they said that they would pick out my eye and cut my left cheek. after the cut on my cheek, for several days afterwards the it kept bleeding without stopping. they put cello feign on the floor and i was laying and sleeping on the cellophane >> on the next day of this interrogation they came again and they beat me for several times over my head. they told me that they will stab my eye and they also cut my left check. after that my left cheek was bleeding for a few days and

after such interrogation my perpetrators put plastic on the ground and i had to sleep on that plastic. >> the next

..i was telling them the same as before. because it was very painful i told them that the american ambassador gave me $50,000, which i suicide to buy -- which i used to by petrol and repair our cars and bought video cameras. so i was telling lies just in order to make this torture a bit less harsh. >> whenever they interrogated me i felt that they did not believe me, and i told everything what i

had told previously. i told them that the american ambassador had given me $50,000, and on the money i bought petrol for the automaidan cars, i bought cars, video cameras to film our actions. i lied because i could not stand the pain that i had to endure. after the cut ear, the following day - i can be mistaken about the days because it was always dark for me because i was wearing goggles with closed eyes, so i only can guess approximately the days. the last thing was that they put the increase door, it was wood ep, and on the -- wooden, and on

the last day they put me on my knees, they told me to put my hands in front of me they said, "we are going to crucify you, to nail you they are going to nail you with nails. i don't know whether there were nails or not. they said we know how to nail. we are not going to arm your cartilages. they pinned me to the wood with something like nails. i was leaning down. at this point they took some stick and started to beat me on the back, on the legs on the

bones, in the same places. it was very painful and i couldn't jerk. at that time it felt so terrible and baneful that i was asking them to kill me because i could not - i was unable to stand this any more. >> when they cut off part of my ear they came on the next day and actually i can be mistaken about the days because, as you remember, i had the swimming goggles on, and i could barely distinguish what the day was, and finally those people told me to get on my knees and to put my hands forward. and they said that they will nail may hands. i don't know whether those were real nails but actually they nailed me to the wooden door,

and i was standing on my knees, and after that they took six and started beating me. they were beating me on the same part of the bod i. i could not even move. it was so scary, it was so painful that i asked them to kill me. >> after this some time passed. i even had some sleep. i was trying to get up, but i was dizzy. some time later i fete it was like... ..they came and put a bag on my head and took me somewhere. i was hoping that my suffering

will finish at that time. i was thrown in a mini have been. they were taking me somewhere for one hour, and threw me out near the place where they found me, where someone found me. smicial -- smicially my -- initially my vision was very bad. i was in the forest. it was a forest near the village >> so you've been listening to a very lengthy press conference with the ukrainian protest leader dmytro bulatov. he is in lithuania receiving treatment. he's describing how he was abducted and how his kidnappers

tortured him and accused him of beak being a u.s. and c.i.a. spy. this man, dmytro bulatov, is nowment symbol of the ukraine process. >> he certainly has, and the case of dmytro bulatov drew a tremendous amount of criticism, condemn nation of the ukrainian authorities, that something like this could happen. the ukrainian authorities have been left with little choice, but firstly to allow him to leave the country for treatment, and assure the protesters that remain here, that things like this won't happen again. it doesn't change the fact that there are around 30 people that are still missing. some of our teams went with the automaidan group to parts of the

forest where dmytro bulatov was found. the fear is, of course, that there may be more bodies that surface there. there may be clues that the opposition feel they need to collect, so that eventually some time down the line, they may well be able bring these people to justice. horrific details mentioned by dmytro bulatov. more information than we heard before, focussed on how organises the captors were. they were professional in the way in which we were beaten and interrogated. suspicions here immediately fell on ukraine's special services. regardless of assurances and denials. >> thank you so much. >> now, talks between representatives of the pakistani government and the taliban are back on. early talks were supposed to have taken place this week.

it didn't happen, with both sides accusing each other of stalling. more breaking news from islamabad. why are the talks back on? >> well, this is the first formal time that they are actually sitting down face to face. the seven members, a 4-member committee described of various members of government and a team nominated by the taliban. it's the first time they sat down. 48 hours ago it hooked as if deep divisions emerged between both sides regarding the talks, the government's side saying they should clarify the mandate of the taliban committee. the taliban came out with a statement saying she is three peeping the trustworthy people that the can represent the taliban. none are true representatives of either side.

the pakistani government had slizors -- advisors. both are meeting to draw a so-called roadmap. both will now peat, decide on what is going to be the agenda and they'll go back to both sides, the government and the taliban, and tell them what was discussed in the meeting. the taliban is banned in pakistan. this is an oud lawed organization. it cannot operate. the fully members of the taliban manufacture nominated committee will go to the taliban or speak via a message that has not been concerned. >> we will consider to cover and mon for closely. >> egypt's army denied a report. that quoted abdul fatah al-sisi as saying he will run for president. a spokesman for abdul fatah

al-sisi said the kuwaiti newspaper misinterpreted the remarksment the decision to run was personal, and if abdul fatah al-sisi chose to do so, he'd address the egyptian people. abdul fatah al-sisi led the cue that toppled mohamed morsi last year. >> al jazeera has been served with a list of 20 people pursued by the egyptian government. with a lift of 20 charges. eight al jazeera network staff are on the list, including three of the four journalists in detention. most of those names are not employees of al jazeera. al jazeera rejects the charms against its -- charges against its staff. the manager says:

. >> well, it has been 40 days since egyptian authorities detained three al jazeera english, mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr and peter greste have been held sips december the 19th. they are accused of having spread false news and being a member of the muslim brotherhood. another journalist, abdullah al-shami, has been in custody since july. a series of car bombs exploded in iraq's capital. six car bombs exploded in northern baghdad, two in the center of the capital. the parked car in the north-eastern neighbourhood exploded near some shots. >> it's been internationally criticised for its censorship

laws, but turkey has gone a step further with mps aapproving now legislation. the law is designed to silence the government's critics. but the government says it's protecting privacy. it is now due to be signed into law by the president. the telecommunications presidency will be able to shut down websites it doesn't approve of within hours. internet service providers will be forced to restore records for two years, on top of the fact that some websites have been temporarily blocked upped an existing law. >> we'll take you to russia where with a day to go before the opening ceremony security is taking center stage at the winter olympics. let's speak to paul brennan, joining us live from sochi.

the u.s. issuing security warnings. >> yes, in the last 24 hours i - it's difficult to know whether it's a new alert or a timely reminder of an old alert. for airports and some airlines, to watch out for toothpaste tubes, which may con tain ingredients which could be mixed to obtain explosive devices. the nature of the warning is that it might have happened on flights into russia. not strictly internal flights. it's curious timing. the opening ceremony to the games is tomorrow. the other thing is that, you know, the department for homeland security clarified by saying it was a routine communication. the national security council has not altered travel advice in the wake of this apparently new warning.

so i think the context we have to put on if is a timely reminder of existing warnings. security is tight, and anyone arriving into moscow and taking a flight to sochi, cannot carry gels, liquids or gels, it has to go into the hold. there's security, tight security on planes within russia, the homeland security work is relating to use of toothpaste tubes to disguise explosives on flights coming in to russia. >> india is working to improve its sanitation systems. part of that overhaul involves local governments trying to wipe out manual scavenging, a practice of collection of human waste by poor women. despite the success of rehabilitation programs, challenges remain. >> every day this woman sets out

to do a job that few anywhere would want to do. as a manual scavenger she clears human waste from toilet. 10 homes use her services. the government wants her to quit. >> how can i stop doing this work. i don't have land, i don't have a husband. i don't have skills, i have to feed my children. >> these women go door to door scraping night scoil or human -- soil or human faeces. they bevonning to a valicki community sitting at the bottom of the caste system. this work was outlawed in india. the government prescribed fines and gaol time for people that remove human waste from traditional toilets and those that employ them. these women say they have little

work to but to do this demoralizing work. thousands of others have learnt new skills and improved their lives. >> this is rahni, she is one of them. she and others have been fought new skills in the northern state of rajasthan. something as simple as learning to make snaps brought her respect. >> my life changed since i stopped scavenging, i can approach people, sit next to them. i have learnt to read and right. i feel good about myself. >> rehabilitation programs like this one, have given some manual scavengers a new lease on life and retaining people forces communities to update their outhouses. >> translation: through a recent survey we were able to confirm

there was 8,000 outhouses. we are working on a plan to hep those without access to toilets. >> they don't mean much. despite attempts to stop the practice, 750,000 families across india still do it. it's a miserable existence, and one that few here believe they'll escape. person

... outside their homes. >> is it all about finance? >> i think some of it is about finance. it's a lot about commitment and understanding the benefits of

investing in sanitation outweigh the cost. that's for the fingerprint minister or a household. if you look at the household benefit you think about what are the advantages of putting a toilet into your home. a clear benefit, if you are the male head of household you allow your doubters and your wife to not -- daughters and wife not to go to dangerous places at night. another thing that is interesting as far as finances is that there's the benefit of, you know, selling, essentially, safe excretion for agriculture, for biofuels. so this is really interesting. our study shows for every dollar you invest you get a $5 return. this is something the finance ministers took seriously in global discussions.

>> they are the possible economic reasons for the fact that the practice continues. what about culturally. are there cultural reasons why they don't have access to toilets. >> you have been talking about india. there's certainly cultural reasons. if you look at rural populations. i mean, at one point there may have been more space to go outside and to, you know defecate in an open field, but it's getting more crowded. so those behaviours that are entrenched in people's minds have to change. a lot of people say it's about technologies, but it has to be about changing the mind-set of communities. understanding the dangers and benefits of doing this. that means breaking long-held beliefs. chris gordon joining us from geneva. thank you for your time.

>> twitter's stock plummeted by a fifth after the numbers joining the side had slowed. they reported a net loss of $511 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 year on year due to decreased spending. the social networking site doubled revenue to $242 million. 9 million people signed up since the company went public in november, but that is less than expected. >> g wento line reg ooena is head of technology in singapore. >> in egypt there's a lot of competition. definitely there is a competition for users. it's about competing for business strategy. it's about growing as a company,

growing new space. there's potential there. so far they haven't been profitable. it looks like it is promising. the way you look at value that twitter as a social media company is bringing. there's a lot of long-term potential. yes, there'll be competition, bit companies do die, having the time in the lime light. it's a question mark with any company. it depends on whether the founders, the mr, innovates. >> russia is against moves for a u.n. resolution calling for better humanitarian access to syria. tens of thousands are trapped, many in homs. russia's yaegss ambassador -- united nations ambassador said it security council resolution

would not solve the crisis, just making it a political issue. >> the united nations is sounding an alarm over the heritage site. thieves are pilfering some ruins in the towns dating back to the ancient greeks. thousands of illegal diggings have let areas destroyed. most of the country's museums have been ransacked. unesco said most artefacts had been moved to a secure location. >> the structure of the archeological treasures is an ongoing concern. take a look. this is the mosque in 2012. unesco placed all six of syria's world heritage sites on the danger list. the assistant director-general of culture said steps are being

taken to stop the trafficking. >> we have raised the awareness in neighbouring countries on the situation of traffic, elicit trafficking. we have partners of unesco in the management of this issue, interpol, which is the official partner for international force, international police forces and so on. some results have been achieved. some objects retrieved in beirut. of course, there's a higher, say, awareness of this phenomenon. again, this is a fenn om now travelling through channels, it's not easy to control. it's not something that we can - that travels in the open air. we certainly have intercepted a

small amount of what has been pillaged. >> let's check out the latest sporting action. >> we start with football in spain. "real money" and his son have been subjected to racist -- real madrid footballer and his son have been subjected to racist after a copa del rey win. barcelona took a step closer to the final. richard nicholson reports. >> we are looking for a mash of revenge after a defeat to atletico. the 3-0 win will help. an open goal. the match between those two are feisty, this was no different the the only surprise was that no one was sent off. instead real uses goals.

they complete the scoring 3-0. the final result. atletico, the club holders to defend their title. the second semifinal saw 2012 winners barcelona taking on the team, looking for their seventh appearance in the final. the catalan giants took the lead. sergia got the goal. to make matters work socio dad's player was sent off for protecting the goal. >> the second goal was a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. sanchez's short length came off the post for the defendser to pass the ball to the goalie, who would only turn it into his own net. barcelona is still on course for the cup title, taking a 2-0 lead so socio dad.

>> in italy roma led napoli 3-2. they were given a slim advantage. >> former england captain david beckham announced he'll start a franchise in miami. david beckham who played for galaxy had the option to buy a franchise as part of his contracts. the name of the team is yet to be decided. beckham said it will be private enterprise, and will not use state funding. >> these things are going to take time, you know. the first decision we have to make, which will be made over the next few weeks, a couple of months is the right investors, we have a lot of good people that want to be part of this and want to be d investors

into this franchise. they are the decisions we have to make. when we make those ones we plan on paying sure we have the future going forward. >> miami heat foord lebron james is keen to be involved. james is making sure the n.b.a. champions get to the post season. he helped the heat take a 17-point lead into the third quarter over the l.a. clippers. the clippers came back. a 3-point game from blake griffin helped then to close to five in the fourth. heat winning 116 to 112. and the second in the eastern conference. >> the first competitive events at this year's winter games in sochi are under way. slope style made its debut on thursday. plenty of fans turned out

despite shaun white withdrawing sitting safety concerns. max parrot qualified top of eight riders that move into the time on saturday. >> the georgian team arrived in sochi. their 2008 war with russia is fresh in the memory. politicians. the 11-members beat them. snow the jamaican bobsleigh team have been reunited with their equipmentment. the team-mate's were unable to train tonne wednesday because their equipment was late. it's jamaica's first appearance in this event since 2002. >> i have done bobsleigh, and you really do need the sled. >> stay with us, another bulletin of news is coming straight up.

bye buy.

>> the latest winter storm leaving pennsylvania in the dark. half a million have no power. >> it could take days to turn the power and heat on. >> a terror threat warning a day before the olympic games in russia, why airlines are told it be on the look out for explosives