. this is bbc america. now live from london, bbc world news. hello i'm geeta with bbc world news. our top story. ukraine says operation has begun to release gun men from government buildings. five days of cross-examination ends in the trial of oscar pistorius. nel says he knew reeva was behind the door when he opened fire. >> not true my lady. >> that's what you did. jordan's ambassador to

triply is kidnapped by gunmen that attacked his convoy. and a rare se lest ri yal show of the shadow falling across the moon. hello. ukraine's interim president says kiev has begun what he describes as an antiterrorist operation in the north region. pro russian groups seized more than a dozen buildings in several ukraine cities. this isonetsk at dawn break today. the president has told the ukrainian parliament the operation will be conducted in what he called responsible

manner, stage by stage to a attempt to stop the attempts to tear the country apart. in another development, president putin has rejected allegations. he said to president obama the allegations were not founded. we have spent days in the city east not far from the russian border. >> reporter: a police station on the streets of ukraine. outside there's a battle for control. a shot rings out. this was on saturday morning where it all began. that man in the blue jacket is is a local journalist. they decided he's an enemy of of their cause. in towns across this region, angry pro russian protectors take over government buildings. we arrived just afterwards.

our car was stopped by the same crowd. they're extreme willy aggressive. they just saw us with our camera. they threatened us, broke our memory chip, told us to get in the car and get out of here immediately. what is now a familiar pattern, we got news police station as were falling to protestors in other towns as well. we went to find journalists that fled in search of safety. >> i'll carry on. i'm used to this. i've had death threats, threatening notes and text messages. someone threw a rock through the wind screen of my car. >> russia denied sending special forces to eastern ukraine. who were the men that seized the police station? >> there were about 100 of them, 10 to 15 guys clearly soldiers that arrived in a mini bus. i couldn't tell if they were

russian or ukrainian. the rest were local guys wearing military fatigues. >> we returned the following day. the protestors had barricaded themselves inside the police compound. we got permission to go in and film what's the center of this rebellion. men at the gate referred to the commander by his nickname. these were clearly local guy, not special forces on open display in crimea. they were armed. we saw at least aing rifles and they appeared to have taken from the armory inside the police station. these men said they were old friends from the local school. >> there was nothing organized about it says the carpenter who heard what was happening on tv,

jumped in the taxi and came here. his friend, a car mechanic, admitted they took weapons out of the police station, just to defend ourselves, he says. the men seen here taking over the police station in the nearby town. could these be the russian special force? they certainly look for discipline and better armed than the local activists. might this be the men with the big guns going in first and retreat the locals to hold the building? the protestors remain in control of the police station. separatists occupy a dozen buildings a krocross the region. what happens now inside the police compound is crucial to the future of this country. if this standoff can somehow be resolved peacefully, there's hope for a united ukraine east

and west together. if this place is stormed, if these barricades are broken down and there are mass casualty, the ramifications will be felt hard and for a long time to come. kiev is losing control. any crack down could become pretest for russian invasion. one false move couldle lead to war. bbc news. >> well, this is how ukraine's president announced the operation in ukraine to the parliament in kiev just a short time ago. >> translator: an antiterrorist operation began this morning in the north of the reejen. it will be conducted stage by stage in a responsible and weighed manner. the objective of these steps i stress once again is to protect

ukrainian citizens to stop the terror, stop the crime, to stop the attempts to tear our country apart. >> well that was the acting president of ukraine. we'll keep you up to date. five days of intense cross-examination have finished for the parra limpic athlete oscar pistorius. he's been questioned about the night he shot his girlfriend in the bathroom. nel ended by accusing pistorius of knowing full well reeva was behind the toilet door and he had deliberately gone to find a door and shoot her. we also have the defense questions and no further questions now to the athlete. karin is in pretoria following the questions of the last few days. it's a lot of pressure on oscar pistorius. the whole point of the prosecution to pick holes and

find inconsistencies in his version of events. >> reporter: yes, geeta, oscar pistorius must be a very relieved man. he has spent seven days on the witness stand and five have been under cross-examination from the fearsome and relentless gerrie nel the state prosecutor, picking holes in his version of events that night. all through today, the final day of cross-examination, using that word improbable about oscar pistorius' version of events. gerrie nel wraps up cross-examination with a summary of the state's case, what they believed happened that night. he put hit to oscar pistorius. his argument for how the killing of reeva steenkamp came to be. >> you shot four shots through that door knowing who's standing behind the door. >> that's incorrect. >> you knew she was talking to

you. >> that's incorrect my lady. >> she got into the bathroom and you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting and killing her. >>lady. >> she locked herself in the toilet. you armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her. that's what you did. >> not true my lady. >> afterwards you overcome by what you've done, that is true. >> that is true my lady. >> only because it was your intention to kill her. you realize that? >> opposite my lady. >> thank you my lady. i have nothing further. >> reporter: that was the end of

gerrie nel's prosecution. barry roux the lead defense council got to his reexamination of the defense witness. that was brief. the aim is to try to address the issues that have risen during the cross-examination and to address any doubts and any inconsistencies. there have been many according to gerrie nel. barry roux on one particular problem gerrie nel said oscar pistorius had with evidence that yesterday he was changing defense. he said in one sentence he shot reeva steenkamp because he thought she was an intruder and another sentence it had been an accident. today barry roux asked pistorius to explain what he meant when he said it was an accident. >> could you explain to the court if you talk about accident, what is it you mean by that? >> i mean the situation.

the situation as a whole. it wasn't meant to be. >> now, when you were standing with your firearm pointing to the toilet door, what emotions did you experiment? >> i was terrified. i feared for my life. scared, thinking about what could happen to me and reeva. i was extremely fearful, overcome with sense of terror and vulnerability. >> one of the things oscar said during his time on the stand, he read out a valentine's card from reeva steenkamp waiting for him the morning after the night she

died. it said in it she decided it was a good time to tell him she loved him. he read those words out to the court. possibly the defense wants to be the lasting memory of his testimony. that brought his time on the stand to an end. of course oscar pistorius denies killing reeva steenkamp on purpose and the prosecution alleges he killed her in a fit of an argument. the court adjourned until 5:15 local time. we're expecting to hear 14 to 17 other witnesses for the defense, many of them experts. they will be brought to the stand in the next -- begin in the next hour or so. the two of -- there's been an

application for the court to adjourn thursday until may 5th to have more than two weeks off because of the easter break. the judge is considering that application and will give investigator on that tomorrow morning. we're expecting a sequence of defense witnesses. for oscar pistorius, his time on the stand is over. karin thanks very much live in pretor pretoria. the u.s. navy says a remote control satellite has found no sign of mh 370. it exceeded the operating limit and cut short. phil was told the aborted mission is not a major setback. >> there was no material problem, no failure of the

seas system. it was just an oversite in the programming. something we weren't expecting with the water depth. we have adapted. we'll relaunch the system as soon as the weather clears. >> we have analyze had the material, that side scan sew so nar results. be the bottom is filthy. there are rocks. in the area we recovered there was no evidence of aircraft at that site. we have about 70% of that first assigned search area to go look at. once we relaunch the system it will go do. >> what extend are you confident otherwise the wreckage will be found using this underwater technology? >> it could definitely result we don't have evidence of the aircraft and need to step back, reassess the search plan and figure out how to conduct the more strategic long duration,

longer extensive survey. if the effort is strong enough certainly it's going to take tenacity if our official instincts, initial detections don't point us in the right directions. it's going to be a long duration search. >> how long are you prepared to keep looking? >> my current tasking is basically pursue the high priority detections or high priority areas. after that, it's something that the various countries are going to need, governments are going to need to assess and figure out the right involvement and path ahead. >> important the international component in all of this, in terms of getting help from asia for example. >> this is certainly challenging. i can tell you everyone from the malaysians, new zealand, japanese involved, chinese, everyone, all countries and all people involved are dedicated to putting best effort forward and

trying to resolve. >> u.s. captain from the navy talking to our phil mercer. stay with us. we'll return to the oscar pistorius trial in a moment. [ hypnotist ] you are feeling satisfied

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. this is bbc world news. i'm geeta. the interim president calls antiterrorism operations underway in the donetsk region. five days of cross-examination have just ended in the trial of oscar pistorius. gerrie nel said evidence was becoming more and more improbable. the court in pretoria just resumed. let's take you straight back there. we're expecting now the defense to bring the first of their

other witnesses probably expert witnesses as we're expecting, about 17 of them. this is the first one to be called. let's listen in. >> thank you my lady. the next witness roger dickson. i may add he has no objection to be televised. >> the witness may be sworn in. please state your name for the record. >> roger david dickson. >> do you have any objection? >> i have no objection to taking oath. >> you say events are about to be the truth, all truth and nothing but the truth? >> so help me god. >> resume my lady. >> thank you very much. >> you may be seated if you so wish. >> thank you my lady. >> yes mr. roux. >> thank you.

mr. dickson, what are are your qualifications? >> i have a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and geology. honors degree in geology and masters degree in geology. post graduate diploma museum science. those are my qualifications. >> let's stop. when did you obtain those qualifications? my lady i may add it will be made available to court. it is not printed but we'll put the copy before you. >> i received masters 1998. >> and your first degree? >> i received that 1980. >> which university? >> university of cape town. >> now that's apart from your

qualifications? >> i was at the forensic science laboratory 18 years. >> of the south african police service? >> south african police service 1994 to end of 2012. during my time there i did many different courses in either instrumental crime scene examination, exhibits, identification, those sorts of courses. locally as we're nationally from fbi. >> there was reference at some state you worked together at the forensic. >> that is so. i was in charge of materials analysis subsection of which the colonel is now the head. under that body i was in charge

of all types of trace evidence, forensic geology, fibers, all types of organic pollutants, crime scene investigations which were varied such as industrial accidents or theft or break ins or break outs. it's a very wide gentlist area for those i think thises that don't fit into little boxes or big boxes. most the people when i was in charge is there were the only person or maybe one of two with those specializations. it was diverse. at one stage it used to be called diverse analysis because of that my lady. >> were you consulted by other members of the forensic

department? >> yes because my first specialization was as a geeoologist. that was why i was employed the first time by the south african police service. they needed a geologist. i often received calls from outside when other members of the forensic science in the laboratory were on crime scenes. there was something geological, trace evidence of dirt or things. i would go to crime scenes to assist or within the organization within or area because it's very difficult to work many isolation. you want to exchange ideas. people would come to me to discuss and i would go to them to discuss. >> how did your work experience start with ballistics? >> my experience of wound

ballistics is minimal in the practical application what i know is what i've read and discussions with various members. but practically i apply basic sciences such as physics, chemistry and so on to understand the underlying causes. i'm not a ballistic experts, not a dna expert, not a toxicologist. i'm a more trace evidence which covers many of those fields and sometimes at a crime scene it's not just one thing that's there. evidence covers a diverse field and in the materials analysis subsection, our crime scenes and the cases we got were extremely

diverse. >> before today, have you ever given evidence in court? >> i have given evidence in court over the past 18 or more years. not often, maybe three or four times a year because at the forensic science laboratory, you issue two one two statement which acts of fact. >> we're going to leave the court in pretoria. they're going through a series of defense witnesses now over the next couple of days. possibly adjournment starting for easter week also. we'll keep you on main evidence that comes to light in that pistorius trial. we've seen the wrapping up of oscar pistorius testimony today. >> judges at the international

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book now at hiltonweekends.com our top stories. ukraine's acting president says actions have begun. five days of cross-examination ends in the trial of oscar pistorius. prosecutor gerrie nel said he knew reeva steenkamp was behind the toilet door when he deliberately opened fire. >> you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting and killing her. >> that's not true. jordan's ambassador to

tripoli is kidnapped by mass gunmen. it's 65 million years old and just been on a road trip across the united states. the first t-rex fossil arrives in washington later. hello. ukraine's interim president says kiev has begun what he describes as an antiterrorist organization. pro russians have seized more than a dozen buildings in cities. this is the city of donetsk itself at dawn break. the president turchynov told

parliament the operation will be conducted in a manner stage by stage to stop the attempts s s tear our country apart. in another develop action, putin rejected accusations during a talk with president barack obama saying allegations were unfoended. gabrielle spent the last few days in sloviansk not far from the border. >> a police station in eastern ukraine, on the streets outside there's a battle for control. a shot i thirings out saturday morning. this is where it all began. that man in the blue jacket is a local journalist. they decided he's an enemy of their cause. in town across this region, angry pro russian protectors are taking over government

buildings. we arrived just afterwards. our car was stopped by the same crowd. >> the protestors are are extremely aggressive. they saw us with our camera. they threatened us, broke our memory chips and told us to get in the car and get out of here immediately. what is by now a familiar pattern, we got news police stations were falling to protestors in other towns as well. we went to find the journalist who fled in search of safety. >> translator: i'll carry on. i'm used to this. i've had death threat, threatening notes and text messages. someone threw a rock through the wind screen of my car. >> russia denied sending special remain silent tos to eastern ukraine. who were the men then who seized the police station? >> reporter: there were about 100 of them, 10 to 15 clearly soldiers that arrived in a mini

bus. i couldn't tell if they were russian or ukrainian. the rest were local guys wearing military fatigues. >> reporter: we returned the following day. the protestors had barricaded themselves inside the police compound. we got permission to film what's becoming the center of this rebellion. men at the gate referred to the commander by his nickname. these were local guy, not the russian special forces that were on open display in crimea. they were armed. we saw at least a dozen men carrying rifles and other firearms, weapons they appeared to have taken from the armory inside the police station itself. these men said they were old friends from the local school. some were still neighbors. there was nothing organized about it, says this carpenter who heard what was happening on

tv, jumped in the taxi and came here. his friend a car mechanic admits they did take a equipment out of the police station just to defend ourself, he says. the men seen here taking over the police station in the town of kramatorsk, could they be russian forces? they look for disciplined and armed than the local men. the men with big guns go in first and retreat for locals to hold the building. back in sloviansk, protestors remain in control of the police station. separatists occupy a dozen buildings across the region. what happens here now inside the police compound is absolutely crucial to the future of this country. if this standoff can somehow be

resolved peacefully, there's hope for a united ukraine east and west together. if this place is stormed, if these barricades are broken down and there are mass casualties, the ramifications are felt hard and for a long time to come. kiev is losing control. any crack down could become pretest for russian invasion. one false move could lead to war. gabrielle gate house, bbc news. >> as i mentioned ukraine's acting president turchynov made a statement to parliament in eastern ukraine a few minutes ago. this is what he said. >> translator: an antiterrorist operation began this morning in the region. it will be conducted stage by stage in a responsible and weighed manner. the objective of these steps i

stress once again is to protect ukrainian citizens, to stop the terror, to stop the crime, to stop the attempts to tear our country apart. >> the actsing president of ukraine there. the para olympics athlete has stopped giving trial in his trial for murder. he spent six days, five under extensive prosecution by cross-examiner gerrie nel. the athlete insists he killed his girlfriend by accident. my colleague is outside the courthouse. his defense has been argued over ferociously karin. >> reporter: yes, yesterday that was the point that came up with the prosecution accusing oscar pistorius of changing his defense going from one version

where he said he was shooting because he was frightened from an intruder to then saying he was shooting accidentally. the defense today try in reexamination to address this. we'll come to that in a second. the prosecution ended the cross-examination with a version of events as they see it. they argue a particular sequence of events that night and gerrie nel laid that out in cross-examination in final moments to oscar pistorius and court. >> you shot four shots through that door while knowing you're standing she's behind the door. >> that's incorrect. >> you knew she was talking to you. >> that's incorrect my lady. >> she locked into the bathroom, and you armed yourself for the sole purpose of shooting and killing her. >> my lady, the bathroom doesn't

have a door my lady. >> into the toilet. she locked herself into the toilet. you armed yourself with the purpose of shooting and killing her. >> that's not true. >> that's what you did. >> afterwards indeed you overcome by what you've done, that is true. >> that is true my lady. >> only because it was your intention to kill her. you realize that? >> the opposite my lady. >> i have nothing further for this witness. >> reporter: that's where the cross-examination by the prosecution of oscar pistorius came to an end. the defense reexamined the accused and addressed the issue we mentioned a little while ago about the defense that oscar pistorius was using for having

shot steenkamp. he was asked by barry roux his defense council to explain what he meant when he said it was an accident to fire the gun. >> when you talk about accident, what is it you mean by that? >> i mean the situation as a whole. it wasn't meant to be. >> now when you were standing with your firearm pointing to the toilet door, what emotions did you experience? >> i was terrified. i feared for my life. i was scared, thinking about what could happen to me and to reeva. i was just extremely fearful,

overcome with a sense of terror and vulnerability. >> reporter: a little after that, the defense heard oscar pistorius reading out a valentine's day card and letter reeva steenkamp had written, obviously meant for the morning after the night when she died. in that she tells oscar pistorius it was a good time, a good moment to tell him she loved him. that's what the defense would like to be the lasting impression of oscar pistorius a time on the witness stand, an impression of a loving relationship. this fits into their version of events this was simply a horrible incident that a rose in the circumstances of oscar pistorius believing there was an intruder. so the prosecution has finished with oscar pistorius. he'll be relieved to walk away from that after five days in front of the gerrie nel. looking as the defense calls

their next witness, a forensic scientist roger dixon. we're looking at pistorius sitting in the dark, at times eyes closed. he seems exhausted and relieved to be standing there under such relentless questions. >> indeed. thanks very much. we'll be following the trial as it proceeds with more witnesses being called. we'll bring you the highlights of that. just to let you know news coming from italy. a court in milan ruled the former prime minister must serve a sentence of community service for tax fraud for one year. it's a one year community sentence for tax fraud. he's going to have to visit the center for elderly at least once a week.

also travel restrictions placed on mr. berlusconi. he won't be able to travel outside the region. it's not clear if this is going to affect his ability to campaign for his party ahead of the european parliamentary elections next month. that a court ruling on mr mr. berlusconi. the plane will look for wreckage for the missing malaysian plane. those searches are scouring the ocean trying to find the black box recorders. no signals have been reported several days. phil mercer has the report. >> reporter: an underwater drone was six hours into its first drive when it was forced to

abandoned its mission. australian authorities say it strayed beyond his safe depths of 4,500 meters. a safety measure was initiated bringing it back to the service. officials say it didn't return empty handed and several hours of data will be scrutinized for traces of the flight 370. it makes map of the ocean floor. it can be fitted with a camera. the air and sea search is continuing. 22 planes and ships are scouring the vast area of open ocean looking for clues. australia which is leading the recovery effort says the best leads are four unidentified acoustic signals picked up by the navy. they were consistent with an

aircraft's black box. it's a week since they were last heard prompting fears the flight recorder batteries on board the missing jet have died. the deep sea phase of the search is is underway although the challenges facing the international mission remain. back to our top story of events in ukraine unfolding. we just received these pictures of the ukrainian politician with pro russian views. he was being attacked it seems giving a television interview in kiev. the presidential candidate had just given an interview which critics said he appeared to back intervention by russian troops. he later denied saying this. as he left the studio, he was surrounded by the angry crowd. they started beefing him up.

this picture just in from the east ukraine area. intense and volatile. this is bbc world news. much more to come. it's 65 million years old and just been on a road trip across the usa. the most complete t-rex fossil arrives in washington later. [ male announcer ] ortho crime files.

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this is bbc world news. i'm geeta with the latest headlines. ukraine's interim president announces an antiterrorist operation in the donetsk region. >> five days of cross-examination ended in the trial of the para olympics athlete oscar pistorius. gerrie nel says his evidence is becoming more and more

improbable. in pakistan talks between government and taliban are expected to resume in the coming days in an attempt to tackle it will violence that's led to deaths of thousands. the two sides have taken part if in talks the government hopes brings an end to the taliban insurgeon say. one area we'll watch is the tribal area which the military took four years ago. we find out about life after the taliban. >> the more populated, mountains and plains of the area deeply conservative. this area was once a strong hold for the pakistani taliban. now the army is largely in control. there's constant vigilance. this is the place the military registers people that enter

everyday. over here they have a list of people they consider potential threat to the security of the region. it includes members of the taliban and al qaeda as well. for years there are 16,000 troops on the ground. they are not only guarding the peace but also built road,le scho -- built roads, schools, markets. now he's convinced that peace is the only way forward. >> translator: we have seen a lot of suffering. things are very different now. there are no murders, no kidnappings. it's peaceful. we want it to stay that way. >> reporter: the military action to expel taliban took months. the battle was fierce and forced thousands to flee their homes. but now people are coming back.

two colleges have opened. secular education was considered a crime under taliban. now schools are a symbol of hope. >> translator: i could not have completed my studies without this college. i would have been doing dirty business. i'm happy this college is built in our area. now the future looks bright. >> reporter: improved infrastructure means more business. everyday the state road sees trucks with goods travel in and out of the area. the taliban are active over the border. government efforts to engage them are watched closely. many fear if talks fail, communities in the area will suffer. bbc news.

>> now 65 million years old, weighs 7 tons and coming to the end of a four day road trip in the united states. the first t-rex skeleton discovered so far. >> in a basement at the museum, one of the most delicate packing jobs in history is underway. >> this is the pubis, part of the pelvis of the t-rex. >> 16 boxes filled with dinosaur bones. 66 million-year-old remains of the t-rex bound for the national history museum in washington. >> this kind of thing doesn't come along often. this is a once in a lifetime moment to stand here and help pack up a t-rex and ship it across the country and put that on display. most museums if lucky get one shot. >> a rancher found the bones in montana in 1988.

>> we could tell especially when we got it fully exposed it's one of the most complete skeleton every found. i includes the example of the first full t-rex forearm. the science of discovery can be pretty basic. >> at the end of the day when i'm out, i'm walking with a pick ax, hammer, pocket knife. you turn them over. >> montana is dinosaur country because of its geology. fossils are thrown to the earth's surface. how do scientists know they found one? >> put your tongue to the bone. it sticks. try your tongue on the rock. it doesn't stick. >> that's incredible.

>> many dinosaur fossils have left montana. few are packed with so much care. it's taken the best part of a week to get to this stage. hundreds of t-rex bone, some just tiny fragments individually wrapped and ready for shipping. the question now is how to get them to washington. the bones are transported in a huge climate controlled truck. it has added security systems and the journey across the u.s. is under constant satellite surveillance. >> knowing that skeleton is packed well on that beautiful truck going to washington, i can't wait to meet it on the other end. >> this bronze cast gives a good idea of how it will look when fully assembled. the first time in 66 million years the nation's t-rex will stand on its own two feet.

jane o'brien bbc news montana. >> amazing. people in britain believe they're paid a secret visit by the street artist. they're wearing trench coats and hats using devices to tap into conversations. the street art is particularly appropriate. it's a couple of kilometers from the surveillance center. there's been no confirmation on the website not yet. to early training, easter training for rabbits in czechoslovakia. these were put to paces in a bunny hop in the capital prog. there were a number of hurdles. some preferred a more direct

route. much more of that in coming days. startling pictures in the skies. moon turned red above the skies of america and caribbean during the first of a rare series of lunar eclipses. this time lapse captures what's sometimes called a blood moon. the earth's shadow falls across the moon. there will be four complete eclipses in two years. you can see the lovely reddish brown glimmer across the moon we saw earlier today. it happened three times in the past 500 years. i'm sure a lot of people were snapping away cameras and telescopes. news from italy. more details on the former prime minister sentenced to a year of community service for tax a fraud. the details of that are going to include at least four hours of work in the home for the elderly and disabled.

that's berlusconi. he'll have travel restrictions to his home region and only allowed to go to rome and back for a couple of days. much more coming up on bbc news throughout the day. see you soon [ male announcer ] love drama? don't be a yes man. [ boss ] it is a very smart plan. so we're all on board? [ paul ] no. this is a stupid plan. hate drama? go to cars.com. research. price. find. only cars.com helps you get the right car without all the drama.

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hello. you're watching gmt the. i'm lucy hockings. an operation against pro russian separatists in the east is underway. there are tanks on the road this is the east. the occupying of government buildings are force identifying positions. russia says the country is on the brink of civil war. five days of grueling cross-examination comes to an end to oscar pistorius. we'll bring you evidence outside the court in pretoria. a u.s. navy