i'm willing to put my life on the line for five points. then you're a fool. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is bbc america. and now, live from london, "bbc world news". hello. i'm nik gowing with "bbc world news". our top stories. ukraine's politically divided crimea region will vote on whether to become part of russia in 10 days from now. kiev says this is unconstitutional. russian troops continue to surround ukraine's military bases in crimea. we're on board one of the ukrainian ships blockaded in. >> reporter: down here is the russian patrol boat. we sneaked on this boat under the noses of the russians. they wouldn't have let us do it if they had seen us, i will tell you. the european union meets in

emergency session. they tell russia to respect sovereignty. >> they are still provoking the tension. oscar pistorius in court for day four of his murder trial. the parra olympian defense team starts with an intense cross-examination of witnesses. so, ukraine's interim prime minister is appealing to the eu for support in brussels with another fast moving developments in crimea. it could become part of russia in just 10 days. crimea's regional parliament has just voted to bring forward a

referendum to rejoin. and the message from ukraine's interim prime minister to the 28th european union leaders in brussels, this is not just a crisis for ukraine and russia, it is now a crisis for europe as well. the eu has now decided whether sanctions, diplomacy or other options can pressure into reversing its armed action in ukraine. in kwraoeupl ya, tense military standoffs continue across the whole peninsula. in the eastern city of donetsk, a flag has been hoisted over a government building which has been contested for four days. reports here at kerch say 12 ukrainian coast guard trips broke free. this is in the east of mainland ukraine, what appear to be

russian armed forces still patrolling outside a military base. there it is. the russian flag flying there. let's now go to crimea to ben brown who joins me from sevastopol. this news from the parliament, ben, what are the implications? >> reporter: well, i think it ratchets up the tension, doesn't it, nik? they essentially brought forward this referendum made in the end of march. it was originally going to be a question about autonomy. now it is straight question really when you boil it down. do you want crimea to be part of russia or part of ukraine? now, there's been a vote in the crimean parliament. the legislature is saying they want to be part of russia. that needs to be endorsed by this referendum which will be on march 16th. so 10 days time. my understanding is this was voted in favor of

overwhelmingly. 78 votes is in favor. eight extensions and one mp who took part in the vote was quoted as saying, this is our response to the disorder and lawlessness we have seen in kiev. we will decide our future ourselves. and the likelihood is, although you can't say with absolute certainty that in crimea there will be a vote in favor of this referendum, in favor of joining russia. because the majority of the population here, almost 60% are ethnic russians. >> ben brown, thanks for the update from sevastopol in crimea. let's get the latest developments from nick childs. >> reporter: in brussels, an emergency gathering of european leaders and the unity of concern over ukraine. but with no sign of headway on the diplomatic front so far. what's next? we need to send a clear message to the russian government that what has happened is

unacceptable and should have consequences and were further actions to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable and require any more consequences. >> eu officials know there are differences between member states towards moscow or whether to emphasize the need for more mediation. ukraine's new interim prime minister has been on hand to underline his view of what's at stake as he also accused russia of stoking tensions. >> this is the conflict in europe. and we need urgently, i would like to underline urgently, tackle this problem. we are ready to find a solution. we are ready to find an off-ramp together with the u.s., with the eu, with russia. and clearly with ukrainian participation. and we ask russia to respond.

on the table for eu leaders to consider, the suspension of talks with russia on threat of further sanctions. in rome, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrived to try to de-fuse the crisis. but the americans describe his first face-to-face encounter in paris as tough. and as if to underline the current tensions the special envoy is forced to flee crimea. and in eastern ukraine, a standoff has continued in what remains a high stakes confrontation. nick childs, bbc news. >> now, let's get a sense of the political and personal drama going on inside the military

deployment inside crimea. this is a ukrainian warship. it is alongside almost at the dock in sevastopol. our correspondent christian frazier managed to get rare access on board this ship, which is at the moment struggling to remain independent with a lot of russian pressure around it. >>reporter: the first crew that's been allowed this ship. it is the control and command vessel. it's been under blockade for a week. it is sitting next to a ukrainian corvette, which is also under blockade. they are forced to make a choice between a new authority in crimea or new government in kiev. they are really between a rock and a hard place. you can see behind me the bridge. they are watching the russians, who are watching the ukrainians. they are out with binoculars, or they have been. the deputy commander alongside the ma reaches. check the magazines of those

rifles that the marines are holding, matthew, and i can tell you there are no rounds in them, no bullets. we are on a navy warship. what they are basically trying to show the russians is that, you know, they want this to be a peaceful standoff. they put mattresses along the railings over the course of the week to try to stop russia's grappling hopes and ropes to the side of the ship. he is standing guard but without any arms to defend this ship. let me show you the blockade. from up here we get a much better view than from the dock side. if you look out to the harbor wall, the mine swede out to bay. two ships from the black sea fleet blocking the channel. beyond that is a mine sweeper patrolling back and forth. down here is the russian patrol boat.

we sneaked on to this boat under the noses of the russians. they wouldn't have let us do it if they had seen us, i'll tell you. we're going to switch over, switch past our producers and our other camera crew that's here, excuse me. this is the heavily armed gun boat. they have been cleaning all the decks today. it might be a crisis, but i can tell you everything is ship shape. and a look slightly more up the channel. these are the russian ships. four russian ships from the black sea fleet. these two navys have lived cheek by jowl for so long. they're not answering calls. at least on the dock side over here. sorry. i'll just squeeze past you. but at least on the dock side we're not seeing russian

soldiers. in the buildings, there were snipers. machine guns on the side. at least the crew, about 100 of them, will eat well tonight. a lot are worried about their families. a lot are from kiev. the new pro-russian prime minister here in crimea is bringing forward a referendum. it's going to be a straight choice to crimea. do they want to be with crimea or ukraine? the guys on this ship say they're sticking with kiev. they will stay and hold their positions. they will sail out to odetta if crimea goes to russia. >> microcosm of so many of crimea. these are live pictures from outside parliament. you will see them now. a mixture of those crimean

flags, the flags predominantly white with a red strip. a small crowd outside parliament this they just decided there will be a referendum whether crimea will be part of russia. let's go to moscow to the bbc's richard galpin. as we look at the pictures, the speed at which the crimeans will be asked to make a judgment. >> reporter: certainly, nik. the crimean parliament such as it is has voted that the crimea should become part of russia and sent a request to moscow to the kremlin. and it's been reported now that president putin has received that request. so everyone now is waiting to see what mr. putin will do. will he say yes or no?

meanwhile, the russian parliament is debating legislation which will make it possible quicker for russia to absorb new territory. we think that will take several days and therefore go into next week. it's certainly been sped through parliament so russia will be in a position to absorb new territory next week. >> it raises yet again the hand of moscow in this. yesterday in madrid, lavrov, the russian foreign minister, the soviet parliament in crimea, makes its own decision with no influence from moscow. >> nik, that is very, very difficult to believe. i think frankly what the parliament in crimea has done today it seems unimaginable that moscow had not been informed in advance and agreed to it. i think it's absolutely

impossible that that would have happened without moscow's consent. let me just look at the situation on the ground. the russian military has moved into that area, occupied the crimea enabling the new parliament to be informed and putting the russians in a very, very strong position. it must be this is coordinated with moscow. >> thank you. we'll be analyzing what's happening there in simferopol in crimea. technically still the semi autonomous recently of ukraine now given the chance of

>> yes, my lady. i'm confident that i heard a lady scream.

>> well, let's go to south africa. what's developing? >> well, nik, the court has adjourned for its lunch break in the last half hour before the court adjourns was a harrowing for everyone listening. the court has moved on from that witness you heard there in the clip. a radiologist who lives only 72 meters from oscar pistorius's house in direct line of sight of his bathroom. he said he was woken by gunshots, then screams, following by more banks, which he initially thought was more gunshots. but he went over to the house and found the scene with the deceased, reeva steenkamp, lying on the floor, with pistorius leading over her. being medically trained he thought he could try to revive

her and assess her injuries. he strikes the dreadful injuries reeva steenkamp sustained as a result of the shooting. and he graphically laid out how he had assessed her injuries and decided that she was way too badly injured to be revived. he was talking about what had happened. the court was shown a picture, exhibit a, of her injuries. at that point oscar pistorius covered his eyes. he describes the desperate state oscar pistorius was in, saying i shot her. i thought she was a burglar. i shot her. he then, oscar pistorius, bent his head and covered his ears for some time, for several minutes his head was bowed, ears were covered. he seemed to be crying. so a very harrowing and emotional day the last half

hour, at least in court. and the trial continues after lunch. >> thanks, karen. karen outside the court in pretoria. you can always follow andrew harding inside the cou court @andrewh. karen will keepey us updated throughout the day here on "bbc world news".". but it's our job. the answers. the solutions. the innovations. all waiting to help us build something better. something more amazing. a safer, cleaner, brighter future. at boeing, that's what building something better is all about. ♪ hi boys! i've made you campbell's chunky new england clam chowder. wow! this is incredible! i know. and now it has more clams! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. what? [ male announcer ] it fills you up right.

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still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. you're with "bbc world news" with me nik gowing. i have the latest headlines. crimea's divided region will go to the polls in 10 days's time for a referendum to decide whether it will become part of the russian federation. kiev says the move is unconstitutional. russian troops remain in the crimean region continuing their blockade in the black sea. libyan government says

gadhafi's third son has been extradited from niger where he claimed asylum following the revolution of 2011. you can see here that he had his head and beard shaved before being returned to libya. he is accused of shooting protesters and other crimes when he was head of libya's special forces. i asked in what circumstances he had returned from niger. >> reporter: well, we know he was transferred from niger. he landed in tripoli after midnight at around 2:50 a.m. local time. he had been transferred to a prison in the capital which is also home to several other libyan officials of gadhafi's government. >> was this an agreement? why did this happen? why was he returned from niger?

>> i think we'll have to wait for more details from the government to understand how this came about exactly. but we do know generally speaking that libyan authorities have been speaking toed extradition from niger sent he fled the country. that was september 2011, a month before the end of the war. and for the past two months now, there have been things on social media every week saying, oh, he has been extradited and back in libya. today it happened to be true. so a lot of people were expecting this. efforts had intensified in negotiating with the niger government and getting gadhafi back on libyan soil. how often should parents

talk to their children? children from poorer backgrounds hear million fewer words from their families than those from better off homes. that can have a impact by the time they reach school. now they are trying to close that so-called word gap. we visited the city to see how they are doing it. >> reporter: time for a snack and a chat. julia from guatemala serves yogurt and conversation. they are encouraging their parents to talk to them more. research shows the more words you have heard by the time you start school the better you do. she comes from a spanish speaking homes and ultimately will be educated in english. she faces the additional hurdle of becoming bilingual.

the city of providence is sending a home visitor to advise julia how to interact more with her daughter. a digital recorder counts the number of words spoken to her. >> on the first recording they only had 11,000 words. and now on the last four months after she's up to 99% percentile to 80,000 words. >>reporter: more than a third of children in providence live in poverty. kids from less well off homes heard 30,000 words fewer than those from well off homes.

it started with 75 families. >> there's still a lot more work to do. and i want to make sure that all our kids have an opportunity to succeed. >> some people could say this program is the government coming into your home and telling you what to do with your child. >> i would say that's absolutely opposite. it's you having a chance. if you choose to be part of it to help prepare your child for school. >> in providence, the tale of two cities. the poverty that more than 30% of hispanic households live in more affluent parts of town where the kids can attend nursery. an environment rich with new vocabulary. >> they use big words because we're talking with them, communicating about every part of their day. >> for parents like louie, the cost is well worth it.

>> we wanted to take money that we might have spent on other things and making an investment in their education. it's the socialization that it provides that i think ultimately really gets these kids ahead at a young age. >> back on the other side of town a world apart, they are doing dishes today. she has seen a change in her daughter since they started chatting more. >> translator: before i didn't give her a chance to express herself. i would do most of the talking. now i give her a chance so she doesn't get frustrated and angry. >> it's already helped in their daily lives. let's just catch up with the day of fast moving events in ukraine. live to simferopol, the regional capital. there you can see the white flags, red at the bottom, blue

at the top. that is the flag of the crimea. it could rejoin within a matter of days. the regional parliament just voted in favor of russia. a referendum just 10 days from now. the tense standoff continues. more to come in the next half hour on "bbc world news". [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® activia tummies, happy people campbell's healthy request. when you feel good inside. you live life with a smile. but when you feel bloated, with discomfort, gas, not to mention the rumbling... you feel totally knocked out. eat activia.

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i'm nik gowing with "bbc world news". our top stories. ukraine's politically divided crimea region will vote on whether to become part of russia in just 10 days's time. kiev calls the move unconstitutional. russian troops continue to surround ukraine's military bases in crimea. we're on board one of the blockaded ukrainian ships for a firsthand experience there. >> down here is the russian control boat. we sneaked on under the noses of the russians. they wouldn't have let us do it

if they had seen us, i'll tell you. >> european union meets in emergency session. they hear tinterim prime ministr to respect the sovereignty. >> they are still provoking the tension. well, there he is. ukraine's interim prime minister appealing to the european unit for support in brussells with another morning of fast-moving developments in crimea and ukraine itself. within the past hour, it's emerged that it could become part of russia in just 10 days. the regional parliament just voted to bring forward a referendum on rejoining russia.

the date march 16th. and the message from the prime minister in emergency session in brussels, this is not just a crisis for ukraine and russia, it is a crisis for europe too. the european union he said were diplomacy and other options in reversing its armed action in crimea. well, in crimea, tense military standoffs in several places. russian troops still surround ukraine's military bases here in the eastern city of donetsk. a government building has been contested for four days. kerch is another ukrainian military base. 12 coast guard ships broke free of the russian blockade. they fear they were going to be sunk by the russians. and this is the east of mainland ukraine.

it appears to be russian armed forces patrolling outside a military base. there it is, the russian flag flying there. well, let's go live to bbc's ben brown who joins me from sevastopol in crimea. ben? >> reporter: nik, thank you very much. it is the political development that's really crucial today. and i think the referendum that has been caused by the parliament today will be on march 16th. 78 votes in favor. just 8 abstentions. do you want to be part of ukraine or do you want to be part of russia? the answer is likely to be russia. because the majority of the population here in crimea, almost 60%, are ethnic russians. we're hearing vladimir putin, the russian president has been discussing that request to be part of russia with his security

council. what happened was the crimean parliament voted to be part of russia. they put it to a referendum as well. all of this comes at a time when tensions are already high. against a back drop of that eu summit in brussels where they are discussing possible measures against moscow for its intervention in cry ya. as nick childs now reports. in brussels, an emergency gathering of european leaders and the unity of concern over ukraine. with no sign of headway on the diplomatic front so far, what next? >> we need to second a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences. and for further actions that would be even more unacceptable and require even more consequences. >> eu officials know there are

differences. whether to emphasize the need for more mediation. ukraine's prime minister has also been on hand to underline his view of what's at stake as he accused russia of intentions. >> this is not the ukraine and russian conflict. this is the conflict in europe. and we need urgently i would like to underline again urgently, to tackle this problem. and we are rdz to find a solution. we are ready to find an off-ramp together with the u.s., with the eu, with russia. and clearly with ukrainian participation. and we ask russia to respond. >> among the options on the table for eu leaders to consider, the talks on stabilization. some from eastern europe are pushing for the threat at least,

although not the implementation of further tattered sanctions. in rome, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrived to try to de-fuse the crisis. the americans describe his first face-to-face encounter with his russian counterpart in paris as tough. and as if to underline the continuing tensions. u.n.'s special envoy flee crimea after being threatened by a group of unidentified armed men. and certainly no real sign of crimea, russian or pro russian forces relaxing their grip in what remains a high stakes confrontation. nick childs, bbc news. well, the standoffs at various military installations continue armed crimea. we went out to one as an air defense air missile site.

it came a week ago, surrounded the missile defense base there. but actually when we went to talked to ukrainian commanders they said the russian troops had withdrawn. it was easing of tension at least in one area at least. but the naval blockade, which is going on behind me of ukrainian ships. you might see a mine sweep, that is part of the ukraine keeping in the ships. that blockade continues. >> it has been under block aid for a week. it is sitting next to a ukrainian corvette. they are being forced to make a choice between the new authority in crimea.

they are really between a rock and a hard place. you can see behind me the bridge. they are watching the russians, who are watching the ukrainians. they are out with binoculars, or been. the deputy commander alongside the marines. i check the magazines, the rifles that the magazines are holding, matthew. there are no rounds inside them, no bullets. in fact, the only thing they have to defend this ship, remember we're on a army warship, is this post pipe down here. what they are trying to show the russians is they want this to be a peaceful standoff. they put mattresses all along the railings of the ship over the course of the week to try to stop the hooks and ropes to the side of the ship. this man is standing guard effectively on point without any arms to defend the the ship. now, let me show you the blockade. because from up here we get a much better view than dock side. if you look out to the harbor

wall, wine sweep heading out to bay. so two ships from the black sea fleet blocking the channel. beyond it is a mine sweeper out in the bay patrolling back and forth. down here is the russian patrol boat. we tphaoebged on this boat under the noses of the russians. they wouldn't have let us do it if they had seen us, i'll tell you. there's a lot of kit on this board. we're going to switch over, switch past our producers and other camera crew here and show you the corvette on this side. this is the heavily armed gun boat. they have been cleaning all the decks today. it might be a crisis, but i can tell you everything is ship shape. a look slightly more up the channel here are the russian ships. there's four from the black sea fleet. these two navys lived cheek by jowl for so long. these commanders know their

russian counterparts. the commander said he can't get through to the russian colleague he used to be so friendly with. they're not answering calls. at least on the dock side over here. sorry i'll just squeeze past you. at least on the dock side we're not seeing russian soldiers. there were machine guns on the side. they have allowed them to bring up some food today. a big shipment of bread. 100 of them aboard the ship will eat well tonight. all of them are worried about their families. a lot from kiev. the new prime minister, pro-russian prime minister here in crimea is bringing powered a referendum. it's going to be a straight khaoeus khoeus choice to crimea. they are sticking with kiev. they will stay and hold their

positions. >> that's christian frazier there reporting from on board that ukrainian vessel. well, what's moscow's next move in this crisis? steve rosenburg has been talking to the russian deputy foreign minister. we asked if this is the the biggest crisis since the fall of the berlin wall. >> we had the yugoslavian crisis of the late '90s, which was no less awful. i would not put it in these terms. i would not say this crisis is awful. it didn't overcome any point of no return, stokes. so i wouldn't say this. this is a political crisis. i hope it will be resolved by political means. >> do you hold the west responsible for? >> i think the west should bear some responsibility for what has happened.

because the worst has neglected how important the realizes are. in the time when we asked them to remove us into discussing the future of ukraine at that time and we, as you remember i'm sure perfectly well know, we were held very responsible on the negotiations of ukraine with the european union. european union has rejected russia's participation in this process. and what happened next after the agreement was suspended by the ukrainian president. you know these events in kiev started. and i think the west have some sort of responsibility how these develop. >> what is the way out of this,

do you think? what does russians want? >> negotiations of course and political dialogue. today you were witness of a political debate here, which reflected the sentiment and the feelings of the russian society in general on ukraine. a country which this is not some kind of a strange price for us. it is a country that holds millions of ties with russia. personal, economic, political. we cannot stand idle and -- we cannot ignore. but this is a political debate. my profession is diplomacy which is something that works behind the scenes. behind the scenes we will work with the crisis. lavrov has been doing this the whole past week and continues to

do that. >> the ukrainian prime minister is meeting the nato secretary-general in brussels. are you not concerned that moscow's actions will push ukraine quicker towards nato and towards the european union in which russia obviously does not see as being in russia's interest. >> we pose our presence many times and other officials. it is a red light for us. the other thing is conditions in which the ukraine was invited. but that's a different story. but mainly i think in the worst politicians understand that -- i do not -- i do not imagine ukraine in the near future nor in the future at all. i think for ukraine the best option is stay neutral as it is now. >> and that's russia's deputy

foreign minister speaking to our correspondent steve rosenburg. is that decision by the crimean parliament to bring forward the referendum and to have a referendum march 16th, so 10 days time with a straight question, do you want to be part of russia or part of ukraine? and i think it's a referendum that is going to raise the stakes here and raise tensions here as well. n can i, back to you. >> ben, thanks for the update from sevastopol. there are pictures just coming in just remind you of the political emphasis that's being put on what's happening in simferopol, the regional capital of crimea. what is significant here are the flags. on the left is the russian flag. on the right, the predominantly white flag with blue at the top, red at the bottom, underscoring this is a crimean flag, crimean

people supporting the rejoining of russia. this outside parliament. only a small crowd at the moment. this after the first deputy prime minister said the referendum which will take place 10 days from now. there is a lady in a russian flag. that is legal because of kiev authorities. in other words, the prime minister currently in brussels speaking to the european union and his cabinet are, quote, illegitimate in the view of the crimean government and as we heard as well the russian government. there's the regional capital of crimea. let's move on with other news at this hour. pakistan's prime minister shareef has been meeting with the pakistani taliban. discussions were raised by mr. shareef. they took place in islamabad. talks between the two sides had been resumed on wednesday. the taliban said it had killed

23 troops. iran's foreign minister dismissed as a lie. israel claims it was behind a shipment of weapons intended for palestinian militants in gaza. it seize issed a ship in the red sea carrying dozens of rockets. on a statement, he described the report as a failed lie. just in time he claimed for the annual anti-iran campaign by the american/israel public affairs committee. nato says at least five afghan national army personnel has been accidentally killed during the nato operation. nato has not confirmed the details of what happened. it is thought fatalities came during an air strike in the east of the country. the government has yet to comment. >> you're with "bbc world news". still to come, plight in myanmar. one group cannot leave their compound without an armed escort. how can you just stand there?

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you're with "bbc world news" with me nik gowing. i have the latest headlines. crimea's politically divided region will vote in a referendum in 10 days to decide whether to be part of the russian federation. kiev condemned the move as unconstitutional. russian troops remain in the crimean region continuing their blockade in the black sea. to venezuela. in a ceremony to mark the death of hugo chavez, nicolas maduro accused panama of a conspiracy against his country. we go to caracas. >> reporter: a month long protest continues in venezuela.

in some places, this turned violent. protesters now they won't leave the streets until president nicolas maduro resigns. today is the anniversary of the death of hugo chavez. celebrations included a military parade during which mr. maduro was accompanied by some of his most important allies such as raul castro of cuba. >> translator: diplomat theic ties with the current government of panama and to free the economic realizes at this time. >> reporter: throughout the city, the image of the late president was everywhere. and the emotion. yes, chavez's figure remains very much alive. here in the working class area

mr. chavez is worshipped like a saint. today's crowd of supporters offered some respite for mr. maduro. protests have been going on since early february, but the president is minimizing them. stphrt today on march 5th violent groups have threatened our people with holding the people back. that's how it will be during the whole day today. and days to come. >> reporter: and supporters agree. >> translator: we asked these people who are rise to go reflect. there are very few people. abroad they're magnifying them. we believe it is pure sabotage. they think only about

themselves, not the poor people. >> so far there is no end in sight for the protests. it is too the early to see whether mr. chavez's image will be enough amidst this crisis. bbc news, caracas. >> now to myanmar following the decision to suspend the work of the international charity. it is the biggest provider of health care to the muslims who live there and it is being accused of being biased in the rahinjas favor. they go to the state capital sittwe, where they live, surrounded by buddhists. >> this is the main road. whether you can use it depends on who you are. foreigners need a permit. buddists are waved through. and the muslims who live here are blocked. the authorities say it is to protect the muslims from the

buddists outside. but the barbed wire that turned it into myanmar's biggest prison. two years ago, he was a successful tailor. during the sectarian violence of 2012 his business was destroyed and he now sews on a friend's machine. he tells me he fled to avoid being hacked to death by a buddhist mob. he is struggling to make ends meet and sold most of his belongings to guy food for his family. my bike, my rickshaw, there's not much more for me to sell. we're all becoming thin through lack of food. twice a week the community here pays police for a security

escort and a small group is allowed to go to market to buy much needed supplies. their life is slowly being squeezed out of this muslim community. there's already no place for them to go to find work. now, after the government kicked out the aid agency, there's no place for them to go to get any treatment either. >> these were the scenes last week as buddhist groups demonstrated. the charity was one of the biggest aid agencies working here. it was accused of siding with the rahinja community. >> translator: if they were just doing their job everyone wouldn't have to leave. they have in flamed the conflict here. this is what it all means.

a sick baby and her even sicker mother. unable to leave her bed. a father at his wit's end, trapped and powerless as his family's health fades. i can't do anything as there is no doctor here, he tells me. i spend all my time thinking about how i can get my son care. it has brought the town a degree of stability. but the events of the last two weeks are a reminder of how raw and unreconciled the divisions here still are. as is so often the case, it's the weak and the vulnerable who will will suffer the most. jonah fischer, bbc news, rakhine state. live to simferopol, the the capital of crimea. you can see crimea flags and

russian flags. crimea's regional parliament just voted in favor of becoming part of russia. it will ask the people in a referendum to ratify the decision 10 days from now. you've been with bc world news. thanks for joining me. back at the same time tomorrow. bye-bye. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories.

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hello. you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news". i'm david eades. our top story. the parliament in crimea has its say. it votes to leave ukraine and join russia. a referendum scheduled for 10 days's time. the ukrainian government says it won't give up the territory. the country's interim prime minister is in brussels considering what measures to take against russia for deploying forces in crimea. i'm tim willcox live in kiev. we'll be