this is bbc america, and now live from london, "bbc world news."

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some of the images there from around the uk as people in many parts of the country commemorate armistice day, at the 11th minute on the 11th hour on the 11th day. 100 years, the start of the great war. let's have a look at some other commemorations which have been held around the world today. in australia, almost 4,000 people have attended the largest ceremony held at the australian war memorial. the former prime minister paid tribute to more than 100,000 australians who died defending the values of the country. in the afghan capital kabul, a memorial service is taking place for british servicemen killed there on the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. in paris, president hollande has

laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier there in the capital. he hosted british and german officials also at the ceremony, remembering all of those who have fallen, not only in the first world war, but all conflicts since. and in belgium, a ceremony took place under the men in gate, where the names of 55,000 soldiers who died are written. in 1915, the town was on the western front and close to the site of some of the bloodiest battles of world war i. we bring you back now to london and the tower of london and the poppy fields, the surrounding poppy fields that have caught the imagination of so many here, and actually in other parts of the world, too. a special commemoration of 100 years since the start of great war. and a ceremony has been held there with the last ceramic

poppy planted there. a huge installation around the outside of the tower of london, and each poppy represents one person who lost their lives in the first world war. let's move on now to our top main news stories today here on "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy. thanks for joining us. the captain of the south korean ferry that sank in april leaving more than 300 dead has been jailed for 36 years. lee junseok was found guilty of gross negligence but acquitted of murder. other senior crew members were given jail terms of up to 30 years, but prosecutors say will now appeal against the ruling. the sinking of the sewol ferry is one of south korea's worst maritime disasters. richard lister has the details. >> reporter: it was supposed to

have been a routine voyage to a holiday island for its passengers, most of whom were school children. but the ferry sewol was severely overloaded and began to capsize. as it did, its captain lee junseok abandoned his ship, leaving more than 300 people to die. after his arrest, hawaii he apologized for his actions and admitted he'd been at fault, but he insisted he was not a murderer. for five months, victims' families have arrived at court to hear the dramatic and often painful accounts of what happened. today they looked on as captain lee heard he'd been acquitted of murder, but convicted of gross negligence and dereliction of duty. he was sentenced to 36 years. three other crewmen received jail terms of up to 30 years. investigators have now established what happened that day when the overloaded ferry was turned too tightly, cargo began to shift and eventually pulled the ferry over. relatives have maintained a vigil as the search for the final missing bodies continued.

they've watched the progress on large screens. today, though, that search has been called to an end. it was too dangerous for the divers to carry on their work. some of the dead will never be found. richard lister, bbc news. >> stephen evans was outside the court. he outlined the case made by the prosecution for the death penalty. >> reporter: the prosecution was very, very adamant that this was homicide through gross negligence. in fact, murder. it had made the case that the dereliction of duty was so serious that it did amount to homicide, on two counts really. one, he was filmed abandoning the sinking ship he was in charge of. theoretically in charge of. should have been in charge of. while 30 people remained and drowned. and secondly, that he hadn't made sure that that cargo was secure. and so what happened was when the ship turned, some of the cargo moved and it started to

list, and then turned over. so the prosecution had made a very, very forceful case. in 90 minutes of judgment, the judges said there was a serious dereliction of judgment on many counts, but that didn't amount to an intention to kill people. when that verdict, the not guilty to murder verdict was given to the court, there were shrieks of anger and anguish. so one person shouted, "so that's the way it's done." a bereaved father afterwards outside the court said i'm 30 years of age, i will wait for 30 years for those people to come out, and then i'm going after them. so it was very, very intense anger indeed. now, in the case of the captain, it will not come to that, because he's nearly 70 and he accepts -- he told the court, i will spend the rest of my days

in jail. >> stephen evans there. the u.n.'s -- we're going to move on now to syria. the u.n. special envoy for syria has told the bbc he believes there is a new moment and a new opportunity to resolve the crisis in syria. he said he believed the government was now considering very seriously his new plan for a freeze in violence. he spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. >> saying having a peace plan would be ambitious and delusion nar, but i do have -- we do have an action plan.delusionary, bute do have an action plan. stop the fighting, reduce the violence. that's why we are talking about the freeze. not cease-fire. freeze. cease-fire can be broken by one fire. a freeze is actually deescalating the violence. by doing so, bringing

humanitarian aid and giving some type of hope to the people. or do we want the whole country to look like this? >> reporter: but what incentive is there for either side to freeze? the government feels that it's winning, but it's advancing. the opposition wants to take back more territory. why would they want to stop it now? >> there is one major new factor. what is that called? daesh. isis. terrorism. this is the new factor which has come in and is actually destabilizing everybody. second, that no one is actually winning. you think that one side may be winning. the truth is no one is. and that's why we have an idea about how to push at least one major example a little. >> reporter: we've just come back from aleppo where the syrian army is now encircling the rebel-held east. they believe they're on the brink of victory, that they will soon control all of aleppo. why would they need the u.n.'s help?

>> i think we are getting very close to having the government to understand. i think just the purpose of my meetings these days. that it's not a matter of vktry or defeat or encirclement. it's a matter of trying to see where we can find some type of political formula.encirclement. it's a matter of trying to see where we can find some type of political formula. they are the ones as well as everybody feeling that daesh, isis are the real terrorist groups, and that's why should we not stop the conflict elsewhere in order to be able to concentrate on that. and secondly, what is a victory? if it is them losing the war for the future of this country. >> reporter: but what is the opposition saying to you? they say the air strikes against the so-called islamic state are actually helping president assad and they still refuse to negotiate with him. why would they listen to your plan? >> well, wait for me to talk to them. we have a plan. the government is interested in considering it very seriously.

there is a threat of having another outcome like this one. i think everybody will probably be listening very carefully to a plan from the u.n. to ask only one thing, the most simple thing of all. no one is winning. everybody is losing. let's cool it down. let's try to have for once a moment where we can show to the syrian people there is a difference. nine women have died and more than 60 others are in hospital after undergoing sterilization surgery in central india. the women started complaining of pain and fever soon after their procedures at this clinic. local people alleged the procedures on more than 80 women were carried out in just six hours by two doctors. the state health department has ordered an inquiry and suspensions. sterilization has been happening since the 1950s. state governments routinely carry out one-day sterilization

drives often in the poorer rural areas and they offer women financial incentives, in this case, around $10 to have the procedure. in 2012, 4.6 million women were sterilized, accounting for 37% of the world's female sterilization. the procedure is being used to control india's booming population, which is growing by 18 million a year. it's said to overtake china's population by the year 2028. we've been following this story. >> reporter: the latest that we've been hearing is an inquiry by the state government earlier. four medical officials have been suspended and the villagers have been expressing their anger towards the authorities. they are alleging that the doctors carried out these operations, these procedures in a hurry. as many as 83 women were operated upon in just a span of six hours by a single doctor and he was only assisted by a health

worker. there is a sense of growing anger and panic amongst the villagers and also a sense of mistrust towards the authorities. >> the women are given quite small amounts of money sometimes as incentives because they're the poorer, rural communities that are most affected. but why is it the women who are sterilized and not the men? >> reporter: well actually, there was a time in the '70s when men were actually forcibly sterilized by the government, but then the focus -- there was a lot of controversy around it, and then after that, the focus changed to the women and it was mandated by the government that it will not be forced anymore. so it's actually the discretion of a particular woman to tell the authorities whether she wants to undergo tubectomy or not. what happens in rural areas is because these women are very poor and they don't want to, you know, borne the expense of having another child.

and also there's this incentive which is involved with the sterilization camp that draws them in towards these health officials. so i think it's the poverty more than their personal wish that takes them to these camps and controversies like this are not new. cases like this are not new in india. >> the indian state minister saying that the people involved, who carried out these operations, have all been suspended with immediate effect. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." much more to come. is this man the world's first cyborg? after having a brain implant, the story of the color blind man who can now hear what the world looks like in color. (receptionist) gunderman group.

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latest headlines for you. tributes are being paid today to service men and women who have died in conflict since the start of the first world war. silence was observed by millions of people at 11:00 local time. and the captain of the south korean ferry that sank last april, killing over 300 people has been found guilty of negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison. the chinese president xi jinping is claiming progress by his plans for a regional free trade zone following the apec summit in beijing. earlier, president xi also talked about the countries working together to tackle corruption. here's what he had to say in the last hour. >> translator: we are determined to uphold the spirit of trust, inclusiveness to create the partnership in the asia pacific region. we need to build an economy with innovation, interconnectivity,

and a common interest in the asia pacific. to inject dynamism to the common prosperity in the region. we all agree that the regional economy integration is the driver for the strong economic growth in asia pacific. apec, as the regional party, should play a leading role in coordinating the advance of the regional economy integration. >> just explain what these two different trading areas and ideas are? >> yeah. the first one is the free trade in the asia pacific area, which is xi jinping, that china wanted to promote. now there's so many trading initiatives across the region, including the u.s.-backed transpacific partnership and also the asean countries.

how those things are going hand in hand is still a question. they need time to map it out. they need a road map to thrash out more details about those regional trade agreements in the area. >> and what is the american initiative and why does china not like it? >> the american initiative is a transpacific partnership. america is not the initiator. when this started, china viewed it as an americans' initiative to check china's growing power. so that's at the very starting point. china just stayed back. so i think it's just some skepticism. all those initiatives do not course out, so we need to build up the initiatives and we need to get more trade freedom within this area. >> the bigger story when we see

america and china together is this huge rise of china that we talk about. in military terms, in trade terms, in economic terms. and yet it has worried many other countries, hasn't it? >> it has worried, and even before today's meeting, xi jinping had a chat with the philippine president just talking about the south china sea, and maritime disputes. i think there are lots of concerns. that's why he wants to reemphasize that. now we need to connect, we need to talk with each other. and secondly, he talked about in addition to the china dream when he took office. and now the asia pacific dream at this apec summit. so xi jinping is wary of that. that's why i think for the first time xi jinping, the chinese and japanese leaders shake hands, which they did yesterday. >> japan, vietnam, philippines have territorial disputes. but you look at what china is

doing with sri lankan, which slightly worries india. you look at what's gone on in africa, for years and years now. in terms of how china moves forward with this, how aware are they that people view this expansion with suspicion and what is the view internally? >> yes. i mean, the timing of this apec is interesting because china has rapid economic growth that's slowed down. facing a new normal now. we need to react in a different way. china wants to first off build a real area. view the regional partnership. because president obama criticized china as a free rider, because they just benefit all the free trade benefits to boom his own economy. and now china, we want to be part of the game. that's why xi jinping said we are going to inject more money. we set up the asian infrastructure investment bank,

which mainly focused on building another initiative to help in all those developing countries. so i think xi jinping is aware of that. so how that will be received, but his labors still remains to be seen. well, just briefly, the argument within china -- do most people feel that china is not intrinsically expansionist? that this is purely economic might and that is it. because this is not a democracy, which is what worries many in the west. >> exactly. but if you talk to many of the chinese senior officials, even for the chinese middle class, they believe in china's military. there is normally economic growth. i mean, it will overthrow the dominant power, which is the u.s. that has been tested years, years back. now china said we are not expansion. we just defend ourselves. for those people in china to buy in to the government, saying we are not expansion. but that remains to be seen by

china's neighbors, especially because of the territorial disputes with those neighbors. i think there is a gap between the -- i mean, the message from beijing. >> very interesting, isn't it? thank you very much. thanks. we have some breaking news on the ap news agency that the international ski federation has -- may finished last of 67 competitors in the giant slalom. mae, who is 35 years old, she qualified days before the deadline after competing in a very last-minute staged races in slovenia. but the international ski federation has banned her for taking part now in any skiing for four years, saying that found to its to comfortable

satisfaction that the results were manipulated in january in slovenia. let's move on now. aaron is here. i'm not quite sure what you're kicking off with. >> the big european union. ruled in favor in germany in a controversial case over the rights to benefit from migrant workers. the final ruling in the case of elisabeta, a romanian woman and her son, who have been living in leipzig for several years, says it can exclude people from certain benefits. we'll touch more on this coming up in "gmt" in just over an hour's time. today is the most lucrative day for online retailers in china. it's china singles day, which started -- well, it started as an excuse for the country's young singles to spoil themselves into a little online shopping, but it has become the

world's biggest day for online retail. so far the online giant alibaba says chinese shoppers have splashed out nearly $17 billion. >> thank you very much indeed, aaron. and we'll be back in just five minutes or so with all the latest on our top stories. join us then if you can. thanks for watching. [car revving] [car revving] ♪ ♪ [car revving] introducing the first ever 306 horsepower lexus rc coupe. once driven, there's no going back. ♪ ♪

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i'm geeta guru-murthy with "bbc world news." our top stories. tributes are being paid today to service men and women who have died in conflicts since the start of the first world war. silence was observed by millions of people at 11:00 local time. the captain of the south korean ferry that sank killing more than 300 people evades the death penalty, but is sentenced to 36 years in prison. eight women have died in india and over 60 others have

been hospitalized after operations. an exclusive interview with the u.s. envoy to syria. >> we have a plan. the government is interested in considering it very seriously. hello, and welcome. commemorations are taking place around the world to mark armistice day. the day when the guns fell silent at the end of world war i. the day honors all those who have died in that conflict and every one since. this year is, of course, particularly special, because it marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the great war, and

we've seen commemorations right around the world here, across europe and australia, and even in afghanistan, too. these are the pictures from london, from outside the tower of london where, as you see, the final poppy is laid in that field of poppies today by a young 13-year-old cadet, in this incredibly moving exhibition, which if you go to see it, as someone said, every poppy stands for somebody who lost their lives. that is an incredibly emotional thing to witness. it's been a spectacular commemoration that has really caught fire here in the uk. the bbc's simon mccoy is right there. he's at the tower of london for us. and simon, just take us through what's been happening there today. >> reporter: well, as you say, a remarkable ceremony, a very moving ceremony, particularly because of what you can see behind me. this sea of ceramic poppies,

there are now 888,246 poppies, each one representing a soldier whose life was lost. british soldier or commonwealth soldier whose life was lost in the first world war. and as such, it does make for a remarkable view, to the point that five million people have visited this at the tower of london since it started in august. but up until just over 20 minutes ago, it was incomplete. that last poppy was put in the ground by a 13-year-old cadet in a ceremony which began the traditional two-minutes silence. a service on the 11th of november, which up until the '80s, was only associated with remembrance sunday. but after pressure from the british legion, the 11th of november is a much more important day, which is remembered here in london and around uk and around the world. there were similar ceremonies at

some of the battlefields of the first world war. and indeed across the fields of france to remember those who died. there was a particular poignancy here, because it's not just the soldiers of the first or second world wars that are remembered, but of all conflicts. and in the days after britain withdrew its traps from afghanistan, a particular remembrance of the soldiers who have lost their lives serving there. worth making the point that since the last armistice day in 2013, seven british service men and women have lost their lives while in service in that conflict zone. so the thoughts of everybody here, probably thinking differently about different people, about different generations. but the same overarching feeling, which was one of commemoration, a somber moment of reflection for everybody here, and indeed services across the country as they remembered them in that two minutes of silence, marking the 11th day,

of course, of the 11th month of the 11th year, geeta. >> just very briefly, some people around the world have been asking me on twitter why do we wear a poppy. and it's quite a british tradition in many ways, isn't it? but we all observe it. >> reporter: it goes back to the poppy fields, flanders fields, the poppies that grow naturally there. several reasons the poppy has been chosen. one, because many soldiers lost their lives surrounded by poppies. it also came to symbolize gunshots, very similar to that of a gunshot wound. it was an appropriate way to remember those who had lost their lives in the uk, and in countries across europe. the poppy is used as that commemorative symbol of the first world war and of all wars since. the first world war which started 100 years ago was supposed to be the war to end

all years, but within 22 years, of course, the world was back at war, and there have been conflicts ever since. so service men and women from all those conflicts were at the center of people's hearts in what has been a hugely moving moment here in the tower of london in the moat. this installation has been extended. it was supposed to be wrapped up from today, but the prime minister david cameron has said that this should last until the end of the month, and then each of these poppies has, in fact, been sold for 25 pounds each to people all over the world, and they will be boxed up and sent to those recipients by the end of the year. so a huge amount of money has been raised, a huge public conscience has been raised and the question already being asked is if this is how we mark 2014, how on earth are we going to mark 2018, which will be the 100th year after the end of the first world war, when the 11th of the 11th of 11th will be particularly poignant.

>> thanks very much indeed there, at the tower of london. it is worth going to there if you haven't managed the make it down and you can. let's have a quick look at some of the other armistice day commemorations around the world. in australia, almost 4,000 people attended the largest ceremony held at the australian war memorial. the former prime minister john howard paid tribute to more than 100,000 australians who died defending the values of the country. in the afghan capital kabul, a memorial service took place for british servicemen killed on the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. and over in paris, president hollande has laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. he hosted british and german officials at the spoin to remember all of those who fell. remember all of those who fell. and in the belgium, the names of

55,000 soldiers who died are written. in 1914, the town was on the western front and close to the site of some of the bloodiest battles of world war i. but of course, everyone will have their own memories today, and many people in much smaller ceremonies commemorating this day. we're going to move on to the rest of today's news now. and the captain of the south korean ferry that sank in april leaving more than 300 people dead has been jailed for 36 years. lee junseok was found guilty of gross negligence but acquitted of murder. other senior crew members were given jail sentences of up to 30 years. the sinking of the ferry is one of south korea's worst maritime disasters. from seoul, stephen evans reports. >> reporter: ever since captain lee junseok was arrested, he's voiced deep regret. he'd sinned, he said, but he wasn't a murderer. in court, the judges accepted

that. gross negligence that deserved 36 years in jail, but not with a deliberate intention to kill. on april 16th, he was filmed abandoning ship while passengers stayed and drowned. and he hadn't made sure the cargo was secure. it emerged that the sewol was overloaded. when it turned too tightly, cargo slid to one side and toppled the ship over. the company owner later fled and was found dead. in a gymnasium near the port where the search of the sunken ship has been organized, six months on, families of the lost have been living and waiting. this man lost his brother, his sister-in-law and his nephew. his burning anger remains. he said, when i saw that captain scuttling off the ship, i wanted to kill him and he deserves to die. but for me, finding the truth of

what happened and recovering the bodies is more important. for six months now, this has been the scene of the grimmest of tasks. nearly 300 times, bodies have been here and identified. nearly always, the bodies of young people. captain lee will spend the rest of his days in prison. and that may answer a need for vengeance and punishment. it brings none of those people back. at the makeshift home for families near the port, their vigil will soon end. the government has decided that the search for the remaining nine missing people will cease. the pain of the bereaved will continue. stephen evans, bbc news, south korea. to india next. nine women have died and more than 60 others are in hospital after having sterilization operations in central india. the women started complaining of

pain and fever soon after their procedures at this clinic. local people allege the procedures were carried out on more than 80 women in six hours by two doctors. sterilization in india has been happening since the 1950s. state governments routinely carry out one-day sterilization drives, often in poorer rural areas. and they offer women financial incentives. sometimes just over $20 to have the procedure. in 2012, 4.6 million women were sterilized in india and that accounts for 37% of the world's female sterilization. the procedure is used to control india's booming population, which is growing by 18 million a year. it's set to overtake china's population by 2028. the bbc has been following this story. >> reporter: the latest that

we've been hearing as part of the inquiry that was ordered by the state government earlier, four medical officials have been suspended and the villagers have been expressing their anger towards the authorities. they are alleging that the doctors carried out these operations, these tubeectomy procedures in a hurry. a single doctor was only assisted by a health worker. there is a sense of growing anger and panic amongst the villagers and also a sense of mistrust towards the authorities. >> the sterilization has been going on for a long time across india. why is it the women and not the men who go through this, and, you know, the amount that people are paid is very small in absolute terms, but it's quite a lot to them, isn't it? >> sorry, i can't hear your question, geeta. >> i was just saying that the women are given quite small amounts of money sometimes as

incentives because they are the poorer, rural communities that are most affected. but why is it the women who are sterilized and not the men. >> well, actually, there was a time in the '70s when men were actually forcibly sterilized by the government, but then the focus -- there was a lot of controversy around it. and then after that, the focus changed to the women, and it was mandated by the government that it will not be forced anymore. so it's actually the discretion of a particular woman to tell the authorities whether she wants to undergo tubectomy or not. now, what happens in rural areas in india is because these women are very poor and they don't want to, you know, borne the expense of having another child, and also, there's this incentive which is involved with these sterilization camps that draws them in towards these health officials. so i think it's the poverty more than their personal wish that takes them to these camps and

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this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest headlines. millions of people have taken part in tributes to service men and women who have died in conflicts since the start of the first world war. silence was observed at 11:00 local time. the captain of the south korean ferry that sank last april, killing over 300 people, has been found guilty of negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison.

at least 56 people have been killed in pakistan when a bus smashed head-on into a truck near the city of chairpur. most of the dead were women and children. a short while ago i spoke to our reporter in islamabad who gave me more details. >> reporter: in many ways, this was a tragedy waiting to happen, given the pathetic state of roads in afghanistan. this buzz ws was carrying passes to karachi, and the driver appears to have lost control of the vehicle because of bad roads. moving the vehicle to the wrong side of the highway where it smashed into a truck. as you say, many of the victims are women and children. at least 15 people are in critical condition. they are being treated at local hospitals. >> is it at all likely that anything will change as a result of accidents like this, in terms

of road safety there? >> reporter: geeta, i have traveled on this road many times, and i can tell you it hasn't improved over the years and over decades. there's encroachment. there are illegal u-turns. and you're driving on -- you know, at a speed of 90 kilometers, 100 kilometers and suddenly you come across a speed breaker and things you don't expect on a highway. so these accidents have taken place before. there's hardly a day or week that goes by in pakistan when you don't read about these kind of accidents. this undoubtedly is a major accident with more than 50 people killed. >> and has there been any response at all from the families? there must be huge upset and anger about this. >> reporter: the chief minister of the province, the head of the police have reached khaipur.

they're making sure the bodies are dispatched via helicopter and the wounded are being looked after. but it doesn't inspire much confidence in government taking responsibility for these main highways. this is the highway where, you know, commercial traffic connects karachi with up country. so it's a really tragic incident. now, the u.n. special envoy for syria has told the bbc he believes there is a new moment and a new opportunity to resolve the syrian crisis. in an exclusive interview after a meeting with the syrian president bashar al assad, he told us the government is now seriously considering his new plan for a freeze in the violence. he spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. >> saying having a peace plan would be ambitious.

but we do have an action plan. it starts from the ground. stop the fighting. reduce the violence. and that's why we are talking about a freeze. not cease-fire. freeze. cease-fires can be broken by one fire. a freeze is actually deescalating the violence, by doing so bringing humanitarian aid and giving some type of hope to the people. or do we want the whole country to look like this? >> reporter: but what incentive is there for either side to freeze? the government feels that it's winning, that it's advancing. the opposition wants to take back more territory. why would they want to stop it now? >> there is one major new factor. what is that called? daesh, isis, terrorism. this is the new factor that has come in and is actually destabling everybody. you think that one side may be winning. the truth is no one is.ilizing . you think that one side may be winning. the truth is no one is.

we have an idea how to push one major example a little. >> reporter: you've just come back from aleppo where the syrian army is now encircling the rebel-held east. they believe they're on the brink of victory, that they will soon control all of aleppo. why would they need the u.n.'s help? >> i think we are getting very close to having the government to understand, and i think just the purpose of my meetings these days, that it's not a matter of victory or defeat or encirclement. it's a matter of trying to find whether we can find some type of political formula. after all, they are the ones as well as everybody else, feeling that daesh, isis are the real terrorist groups, and that's why, in order to be able to concentrate on that. and secondly, what is a victory? if it is losing the war for the future of this country.

>> reporter: what is the opposition saying to you? they, of course, say that the air strikes against the so-called islamic state are helping president assad and they still refuse to negotiate with them. why would they listen to your plan? >> well, wait for me to talk to them. we have a plan. the government is interested in considering it very seriously. there is a threat of having another outcome like this one. i think everybody will probably be listening very carefully to our plan from the u.n. to ask only one thing, the most simple thing of all. no one is winning, everybody's losing. let's cool it down. let's try to have for once a moment where we can show to the syrian people there is a difference. >> steffan de mistura there. the chinese president xi jinping is claiming progress for his plans for a regional free trade zone following the apec summit in beijing. earlier, president xi also talked about countries working together to tackle corruption. here's what he had to say in the

last hour or so. >> translator: we are determined to uphold the spirit of mutual trust, inclusiveness to create the partnership in the asia pacific region. we need to build an economy with innovation, interconnectivity, and a common interest in the asia pacific. to inject dynamism to the development and the common prosperity in the region. we all agree that the regional economy integration is the driver for the strong economic growth in asia pacific. apec as the regional party should play a leading role in coordinating the advance of the regional economy integration. >> the chinese president there. earlier, i asked the bbc's chinese service to explain what these two different trading blocks actually mean. >> the first one is the free trade in the asia pacific area, which is xi jinping that china

wanted to promote, because nowadays, there are so many trade initiatives across the region, including the u.s.-backed transpacific partnership, and also the asean countries. so xi jinping said the initiative we propose do not counteract with what are happening now. but how those things are going hand in hand is still a question. because they need time to map it out. so that's why they need a road map to thrash out more details about those regional trade agreements in the area. now, breaking news, because violinist vanessa mae has been banned by the international ski federation for four years for taking part in fixed races to qualify for the sochi olympics. it says it's found results of four giant slalom races were manipulated in slovenia in january and helped her falsely improve her results.

those were not her results. but i think vanessa mae raced in sochi in thailand. she finished last of the 67 races in the giant slalom. with me is alex from bbc sport. what do we know? >> well, this was an investigation that began in july, because the international ski federation was concerned at how vanessa mae had qualified for the sochi olympics and asked the slovenians to have a look at the qualifying races during the weekend that you just mentioned, four races. and there were certain anomalies during that weekend. first, the weather was so bad that under normal circumstances it wouldn't have gone ahead at all. a couple competitors listed as having taken part weren't there. one athlete who finished second despite falling. so those sort of things raised the alarm bells and they've now found following their investigation, having suspended four slovenian officials, that the event was organized at the

request of vanessa mae's management, so she has been banned for four years. although the sochi olympics was her one and only competitive experience. she's gone back to the violin. >> just to remind people, she's a huge international music star. >> she told millions of records. she's a multi-millionaire. everybody across the world will know about her. she is a global star. she said she wanted to put that to one side while she fulfilled her ambition of competing in the olympics. she knew she couldn't compete for britain, so she decided to go for thailand, who accepted her because that's where her father is from. at the olympics, she mentioned she wasn't the fastest, she was the slowest. finished 67th. a full minute behind the winner in the giant slalom. so skiing is not her best way of making a living, so she's gone back to playing the violin.

>> has she or her company made any comment? >> not at the moment, although she can appeal to the operation for sport. >> all right. thank you much indeed. we will leave it there. we are back, of course, tomorrow and there is more news coming up from bbc news throughout the day. i'm geeta guru-murthy. i'm on twitter. do get in touch. let me know what you think we're doing. see you soon. (receptionist) gunderman group.

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hello, you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news" with me, david eades. our top stories. 36 years in jail for the captain of the south korean ferry that sank. relatives, though, are aggrieved that he escaped a murder conviction. lee junseok was found guilty of gross negligence. more than 300 people died when the ferry capsized and senior crew abandoned ship before the passengers. the shocking mishandling of sterilization in india. nine women die after