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 surgery.

30 more are in serious condition after all being treated by the same doctor. he's a superstar in his home country, but what now for malaysia's badminton hero? he's been provisionally suspended for a possible doping violation. also, 100 years of sacrifice remembered across the world on armistice day. it is a shopping frenzy. already chinese consumers have splashed out nearly $7 billion and there's still several hours to go. it's more than double what americans spend online during their three big shopping days, thanksgiving, black friday, and cyber monday. and these chinese purchases, almost half, half were made from a mobile device.

it's midday here in london. 7:00 a.m. in washington. 9:00 p.m. in south korea, where the captain of a ferry that sank in april, killing more than 300 people, has been sentenced to 36 years in prison. lee junseok escaped the death penalty. he was found guilty of gross negligence but was acquitted of murder. the overloaded ferry capsized in treacherous waters near jindo island. other senior crew members were given jail sentences of up to 30 years. prosecutors, though, say they will appeal against some of the rulings. most of the dead were school children. there is anger from bereaved families that a verdict of murder wasn't reached. >> 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 brought 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. >> from seoul, we can speak now to the journalist jason struther. i've just heard from one mom in a news conference, saying all my daily life and future has been

crushed forever since the 16th of april. i mean, the strength of feeling is extraordinary. i get a sense that this whole case really isn't over yet. >> no, not at all. i mean, i think what happened to the sewol ferry back in april, i think the trial of the captain and his crew is really only one part of the story. >> many south koreans still consider that the government really holds the biggest share of blame for the fail kwur to rescue more passengers that day rescue more passengers that day. there's much speculation about the shady business deals, cronyism and corruption, although illegal modifications had been made to it. so no, this really only satisfies very few people here. >> right. the owner of the ferry, of course, is dead. we've got a situation now where

very heavy sentences are handed out. i mean, could it conceivably have been murder? >> well, the judge obviously didn't think so. the three judges said that the prosecution just was not able to come up with enough evidence to support the claim that these passengers were intentionally killed. if you're referring back to the owner of the sewol ferry company, there's no clue as to what caused his death. the south korean police say that his body was so badly decomposed that they cannot actually pinpoint what caused his death. >> in any case, the prosecution have made it clear that they're going to appeal at least on some counts. where do you think that appeal can be directed? >> reporter: well, i think the prosecution's motives for

appealing the 36-year sentence for the captain and pressing for the death penalty has probably more to do with satisfying the families' anger, perhaps even the overall public anger. but nonetheless, even if they were to have the verdict overturned in a higher court, south korea hasn't executed inmates since 1997. there's been an effective moratorium on the death penalty since then. so even if the captain were resentenced, he'd still spend the rest of his life in jail. >> thanks very much in jail. do stay with bbc news if you want more on the story. obviously today's verdict, and a closer look at how that disaster unfolded on a dreadful day in april. let's get some other news for you. at least 56 people have been

killed, most of them women and children, following a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a truck on a highway in pakistan. the collision caused a fuel tank to explode, which set the bus on fire. the new york doctor who was diagnosed with ebola after returning from west africa has recovered. dr. craig spencer was diagnosed with the disease last month after he'd been working with patients in guinea. he's expected to be released from hospital later. the ebola crisis itself will dominate talks in cairo. officials are to decide whether to cancel the africa cup of nations next year because of the epidem epidemic. morocco was supposed to host the event. it asked for the event to be delayed. the confederation of african football refused but they're struggling to hold an alternative host. egypt and nigeria have turned down the opportunity. nine women have died, 53 others are in hospital after

undergoing sterilization surgery in central india. the women started complaining of pain and fever soon after being treated at a clinic. a pretty horrific case. can you just explain how the procedure was taking place? i understand it was only one doctor doing it. >> yes. the relatives for these dead women are alleging that the doctors actually carried out these sterilization operations very hurriedly. we are told that 83 women were operated upon in a span of just six hours by a single doctor, who only had assistance by a single health worker. so it's a pretty dire state of situation. especially in rural parts of india when such mass sterilizations are carried out. this is certainly not new news

in india because such cases have happened before. just two years ago, we had a case where 53 women were sterilized in a span of just two hours and many of them actually died. so a pretty dire state of affairs here. >> given the history that you referred to there, one would imagine women would run a mile before beginning to these people. but there's a benefit for them financially as well. >> yes, there is. what happens is when such mass sterilization camps are organized if rural areas, the health workers on the ground, they go door to door to these females' houses and they tell them that if they get sterilization done, they'll be offered an incentive, which is anywhere between $10 and $20 here in india. and it's not just the women who undergo sterilization who are offered these incentives, but also these hell workers. so they are actually given these

targets which are to be met for these camps, and as a result of that, the situation happens to be more of -- it just sounds like it's more luring them into the sterilization camps as opposed to it being their own wish. >> i suppose there's bound to be lots of attention focused on the doctor who carried out these operations. but this is government organized, isn't it? how much of the pressure is now being turned on the government? >> well, there is a lot of pressure. pressure has been building up since this morning when this news came around. the very first fallout was that four medical officers were suspended of their duty and to pacify the anger of the relatives of these women, $6,000 were offered at compensation. but every time such tragedies happen in india, anger is mostly pacified by offering

compensation. but then it doesn't really address the larger problem that lies with india's state of health infrastructure. >> obviously lost her just at the last there, but shalu just bringing us the latest on really another dreadful story. shalu is in delhi. stay with us on "bbc world news." still to come on "gmt," one just one day away from the rosetta spacecraft's attempt to land on a comet that's racing through space at 500 million kilometers away. we'll have more on that. ♪ [laughter] you're next. play the 5 gum truth or dare challenge and you could win a sensory adventure.

(receptionist) gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label and it's automatic. we save time and money. time? money? time and money. awesome. awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! (all) awesome! i love logistics.

the united nations special envoy for syria steffan de mistura tells the bbc he believes there is a new moment and a new opportunity to resolve the syrian crisis. in an exclusive interview after he met the syrian president

bashar al assad, mr. de mistura said he believed the government was now considering very seriously his new plan for a freeze in the violence. he spoke to our chief international correspondent during a visit to the old city of homs. >> saying having a peace plan would be ambitious and delusionary. but i do have -- we do have an action plan. stop the fighting, reduce the violence. that's why we are talking about a freeze, not a cease-fire. freeze. cease-fires can be broken by 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 it's actually destabilizing everybody. second, that no one is actually wa winning. you say one side may be winning. the truth is no one is. that's how we have an idea about how to push at least one major example a little. >> 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, and i think just the purpose of my meetings these days, that it is not a matter of victory or defeat or encirclement. it is a matter of trying to see whether we can find some type of

political formula. they are the ones feeling that daesh, isis are the real terrorist groups. and that's why we're not stopping 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. >> what does the opposition say to you? they say that 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. i think everybody will be listening to our plan, that

nobody is winning, nobody 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. >> a glimmer of hope and reason possibly. the u.n. special envoy for syria there. the world's top ranking badminton player lee chong wei has been temporarily suspended by the badminton federation over a doping scandal. this news has shocked malaysians. they regard mr. lee as a national hero. it's an apparent anti-doping regulation violation as they put it. do we know what that amounts to? >> reporter: i spoke to an official to confirm that lee chong wei had his b sample tested there and that lee chong wei was present to witness it. he wouldn't tell me what the product was. all he would say was a sample was being tested. we got confirmation today that

has come back positive, so he faces a mandatory two-year ban. it's been reported that it's an anti-inflammatory product, which is on the banned list. he'll have an opportunity to provide any mitigating circumstances. >> i suppose for a sport which is hardly doping riddled, at the top of his game now, are we talking about potentially the end of a career of a malaysian great? >> it would certainly appear so. he's had an illustrious year. as you say, he's malaysia's most decorated athlete. most successful olympian, having won two silver medals. only denied gold on both occasions by a very talented chinese player called lynn dan. in april this year, he said he wanted to go on to 2016, to try and win that elusive gold medal, but he's suffered a lot of injuries over the years.

they are suggesting that this positive test is a result of medication he was taking for a thigh injury, but he's got to provide the evidence to the badminton federation to back up those claims. and should they find against him, it might would be the end and a sad end to someone who's represented the sport so well over the years. >> ade, what's he had to say about this? >> he's taken to social media to say that he would never deliberately try to cheat, never deliberately try to gain an unfair advantage. he's had lots of support from his legions of fans. he's very popular in asia and they've said we should wait for the circumstances to play out before judging him. and he's also taken an interview with a social blogger in malaysia to say he's devastated by what's happened, but he's got an important few weeks coming up, because a date will be set, a time will be set, or he'll have his opportunity to put his case forward and we wait to see what the badminton federation says. >> thanks very much indeed. in just over 24 hours time,

one of the most daring feats ever in space exploration is going to be attempted. the european space agency is going to try to land the rosetta spacecraft on a comet. it's nearly 500 million kilometers away, far beyond mars, for example. it's racing through space at more than 50,000 kilometers per hour. the spacecraft spent ten years looping around the sun just to build up enough speed to fly alongside the comet. but as our science editor explains, landing on the comet, that's another challenge altogether. >> reporter: it's one of the most ambitious ventures in space exploration. a tiny craft is soon to make a pioneering descent towards an alien world. pictures reveal an extremely hostile landscape. these images were gathered by the rosetta spacecraft, orbiting ten miles above the comet. now it's time to get down there.

to get a sense of what the surface of the comet might be like, we've come to this old slate quarry. it's just as baron and just as treacherous. as on the comet, the cliffs are steep and the rocks are jagged. and scattered all over the place, are boulders of different shapes and sizes. some of them like these must be pretty sharp. which is exactly what you don't want if you're thinking about trying to land. so let's imagine how this is supposed to work. up in the skies above the comet, there's the spacecraft rosetta after its ten-year journey from earth. it's in orbit around the comet, an extraordinary achievement in its own right, but what's about to follow is even more daring. a lander will be released. it will descend slowly and steadily towards the surface. with a bit of luck, it will come down on an area that's relatively flat and free of obstacles. because the comet has so little

gravity, there is a risk the lander could just bounce off. to avoid that happening, each of its three legs is fitted with a screw to drive into the ground. and it has two harpoons. they'll be fired down to try to help keep a grip. but no one really knows if any of this will work. and there's another hazard as well. jets of gas blasting out of cracks in the rocks. as the comet gets closer to the sun and heats up, these will become more intense. the scientists want to get a close look at the jets, but not so close tla the lander gets damaged. >> nobody's ever tried to land on a body of this kind with material flowing away, with gravity that changes all over the place. so it's almost impossible to really estimate the chances. but it's risky. it's certainly not guaranteed. but everybody for years has planned extraordinarily well to get the technology right. >> reporter: from the outer reaches of the solar system,

comets may have brought us water and carbon. previous generations have only been able to stare at comets in wonder or terror. this is our first chance to really understand them. david shookman, bbc news. commemorations have been taking place to mark armistice day, honoring those who died in world war i and all the conflicts since then. it coincides with veterans day in tuhe u.s. it marks 100 years since the start of the great war. so let's have a look at the events, which have been happening all around the world. ♪

♪ ♪

coming up in the next half-hour here on "gmt," apec leaders have been wrapping up their summit in beijing. they've come a step closer to a free trade zone in the asia pacific. china's president xi jinping called it an historic move. i should say president obama's not so happy with the outcome. we'll be looking at that rather tricky relationship between the world's two biggest economies in a moment. stay with us. to conceal. so anna switched him to iams indoor weight and hairball care. now that he's lost the weight, he's a bit of a show-off.

just one of many iams formulas to keep love strong. [ woman ] thanks. the dealership reviews on cars.com made it easy, but... [ man ] we thought it might be a little more tense. you miss the drama? yeah. [ technician ] ask him whatever you want. okay. ♪ do you think my sister's prettier than me? ♪ [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] research, price, find.

only cars.com helps you get the right car without all the drama. only caroh no.helps you who are you? daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. i got everything i wanted. i always do. he seemed nice. virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are24/7branches? it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates.

welcome to "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm david eades. in this half-hour, the leaders of the world's two biggest economies get together in beijing. barack obama and xi jinping sit down for supper after the apec summit. who has the upper hand in this relationship? also, was this violinist on the fiddle? vanessa mae banned for cheating where she competed in the giant slalom. we'll be speaking to the head of the international ski

federation. also in the program, aaron's here having a look at a landmark ruling today in europe. >> yeah, david. it's all about so-called benefits tourism. eu citizens could already move freely from one eu country to another, but does that mean they can claim benefits in their new home? european court of justice has ruled no, not necessarily. so we're going to take a look at what this means and how significant is it for cash-strapped europe. welcome back. as we speak, the u.s. president barack obama and china's president xi jinping are holding a private dinner in beijing. they're discussing high priority issues between the two countries. the formal part of the apec summit may have wrapped up today, but it's behind closed doors where the key deals are so often done. in front of the cameras, the big issue has been free trade. xi jinping kick starting a

process towards a new free trade zone, one that the united states is not particularly pleased about. and that's because mr. obama is backing his own trade pact that cuts out china. well, xi jinping says asia pacific countries should speed up their free trade talks. >> translator: we are determined to uphold the spirit of mutual trust, inclusiveness, to create the partnership in 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 income integration is driver. apec as the regional party should play a leading role in coordinating the advance of the regional economy integration. >> chung lee is an extremely

seasoned china watcher, the director of the john l. thornton china center at the brookings institute and he joins me from new york now. thanks very much indeed for joining us. i was struck by barack obama saying only yesterday, we want china to do well. actually having to spell it out. feels today as though that's only half the truth. >> well, at the time of economic globalization, i think that united states really wanted china, the second-largest economy, to do well because we are all interconnected. and we can benefit from each other's success. china's market is one of the largest in the world. and the u.s. also want china to invest in the united states infrastructure. i think he is very sincere when he says that. >> right, except he's also going to say we also want lots of free

trade, but we don't want you, china, messing up our free trade ambitions. >> absolutely. because there's some tensions about the international economic organization. china is going to establish the asia infrastructure investment bank, which the u.s. may undermine world bank, and the asia development bank. so there's some concern on the u.s. side. but china wanted to make sure that the international institution china is well-represented. otherwise china will do its own. so i think this meeting probably can help each other to understand. you cannot imagine an international economic integration resulting in the united states, or without china. >> no, i get that. but i suppose also critically important is going to be how these two bond, or perhaps don't. and again, i was struck with this historic diplomatic meeting of shinzo abe, japan's prime

minister, with xi jinping yesterday. i didn't think the chinese president looked particularly warm and welcoming. i wonder if it's going to be very easy to build up a rapport between the two. >> well certainly, the china-japan relation is in terrible shape. the meeting -- it's a good thing. it's the things that we should welcome. at least start to discuss. now xi jinping needs to be very careful, because there's still very strong anti-japan sentiment in china. some critics think that he moved too fast. so therefore he wanted to keep some kind of quiet. but it's a welcome development. united states do not want the second largest economy and the third largest economy, u.s., china, and japan, to come into military conflict. this will be disaster for the entire world, for region. >> one last point i wanted to make. president obama is hardly having an easy ride at home. we've had the midterm elections. i'm sure that's not lost on the

chinese leadership. >> well, the chinese leadership -- you can also interpret because of the domestic problem president obama faces, he probably will put more emphasis on international cooperation to try to have his legacy, and the cooperation with china could be a very positive thing for obama. we've yet to see. but this is certainly chinese leaders, they also think that way. >> cheng li, thank you very much for joining us here on "gmt." okay, let's move on to the world of business. aaron is here. good to be single. >> oh, good to be single. singles day in china. but omg. oh, my god, the numbers. talking about the world's biggest online sale. still going, by the way. good to see you, david. today is the most lucrative day of the year for online retailers in china.

it is, as david mentioned, china's singles day, which started really as an excuse for the country's young singles to spoil themselves and do a little online shopping. but boy, it has now become the world's biggest day for online retail. it's a 24-hour period. so far in 17 hours, the online giant which is alibaba says it's sold nearly $7 billion worth of goods. let's get more. raul, great to have you with us, as always. these numbers -- come on. they are huge! i was looking at them. in less than 18 minutes, when this started, alibaba hit a billion dollars. one hour and 12 seconds into it, alibaba hit $2 billion. and we're around 7 billion now. why is it so big? >> i think you can almost rechristen singles day shopping day for the chinese i think. the fact is that that the chinese love the internet just as much as the u.s. shoppers do. it's on course to be at least three times as big as the biggest single similar shopping

day in america online. i think the chinese love the fact that you get price transparency on the web, the fact that you can compare prices across the board, find the cheapest place. it's a convenient way to shop. i think it's really creating problems for brick-and-mortar, or actually physical shops, because people in china are adopting the internet much faster than many people even in the west. >> apparently, though, there are some retailers that are complaining about the big discounts i think they have to give. the cuts are phenomenal. that's part of the reason why so many are buying stuff today. >> absolutely. i think that's the key thing with the internet. not only the consumers find it very convenient in terms of shopping. it's the price attraction, the fact that an online retailer can typically offer you a price that's much, much lower than what you can find in physical stores, which kind of increases the pressure on the physical stores once again to lower prices to try to compete. but it's getting harder and harder all the time. >> it is. and you say that the chinese love shopping online. but they also love shopping from their mobile devices, right? nearly half of all the purchases so far today have been from a

mobile device. >> absolutely. this is a trend you're seeing across the world. you've got to remember in the mobile definition, we actually includes ipads and other hand held tablets which have brought in some ways a whole new range of people into the computing world, because for example, these apple devices in particular are quite easy to use, even for otherwise computer-phobes. it's much different for other people, even elderly people who you didn't think would be adopting the internet, also shopping on the internet, also driving some of this growth. >> put your money on what the total figure will be. >> i think we're getting to about 10 billion. >> 10 billion! great to see you. thank you. we'll talk to you again soon. 10 billion possibly. we'll keep track of that number. does the freedom of movement in europe, does it allow people who are not earning a living to move to a country and claim

social security benefits? well, today the european court of justice essentially ruled no, workers from other eu countries are not entitled to some benefits in their new country or their new home if they're not looking for work, and that could be very significant for cash-strapped eu member states. as this expert i spoke to a little earlier explained. >> i think it means that member states can look again at the way in which they provide benefits. they don't have to make an assumption that he must have access to all benefits that uk citizens have access to. this case allows there to be a distinction. by pointing out that a member state can do this, as long as it follows the rest of the 2004 directive in relation to how this works. perhaps one of the most significant things, which needs a bit of analysis still, at the end of the european court's judgment, was that it made it clear that in the rules and regulations that a member state

put in place to monitor how it provides benefits to citizens coming in from the rest of europe, the rules and regulations are a matter for that member state. their they're not a matter for european law. almost a throwaway line, that the claimants could not challenge the way the british government put in its rules because it's not a matter of yur pe -- european law. that is it. >> i bet they've never done that to you, have they? >> they've tried. 10 billion. >> that sounds like a staggering am of money. if it's singles day, it's all being spent on ourselves. >> it started out as an

anti-valentine sort of campaign. 2009. when this alibaba, one of its subsidiary companies started this on a very slow sort of sluggish sales period, they thought let's put an offer on. 27 merchants they had online. today it's 27,000 merchants. the numbers are unbelievable. >> we must think of a day. a sales day. >> yes. >> aaron, thanks a lot. thanks for being with us here on "bbc world news." still to come on "gmt," he can't see, not the colors. he can hear the colors. we meet the man with black and white vision, but multi-color hearing. we love... love... love...

chocolaty, creamy... with a little something extra. mmm deliciousness. cookies or almonds.

hello, i'm david eades. the top stories this hour. the captain of the south korean ferry that sank last april,

killing more than 300 people, has been found guilty of negligence and has been sentenced to 36 years in prison. the authorities in india have ordered an inquiry following the death of nine women after they were operated on at a state-run sterilization clinic. a huge flow of lava that's been creeping slowly out of hawaii's kilauea volcano has reached its first village. the lava took just 45 minutes to burn down a home in the rural town of pahoa on hawaii's big island. residents have been watching this slow-moving lava for months now. many have already evacuated the area, or they're ready to leave if they have to. i'm joined now from our bristol studio by a post-doctoral student working at bristol university school of earth sciences. hannah, we could hardly ask for a better person to speak to. this particular volcano flow of

lava seems to have been going on forever. >> it has. this current eruption has been going on for now more than 31 years. and there's no end in sight currently. >> well, that must be the worry, if it started finally to encroach on a village and perhaps more to come as it keeps going, what's the extent of the threat here? >> i'm sorry, i can't hear you. >> i just -- can you hear me now? >> yes. >> i just wonder what the extent of the threat is? it's been going on for age. but it's now started to encroach on houses and villages. >> yes. so the threat right now, there are many houses and homes downslopes of the volcano, or the current eruption. and they're also only the roads that connect to the rest of the island, that the flow is about to cross. so the threat is quite serious right now for the impact of the flows. for most of the last 30 years, the flows have begun to

uninhabited areas. >> so what sort of challenge does that face hawaii? if it's crossing main roads and cutting off a substantial number of people potentially, what can they do about it? >> so they can try a number of things. the lava flows -- lava flow interventions in hawaii have been unsuccessful frequently, but one of the ways people divert lava flows frequently in italy is by building large barriers. in hawaii they've also tried bombing the flows. but the hawaiian people actually do not support interventions for cultural reasons. >> so they want to let nature run its course, whatever the cost? >> well, i think that may be tested, but for now, the thought is that if you just let it happen, you can work with -- you can move your homes and not try

to cause any further damage by interfering. >> hannah, you're sitting there in the southwest of england in bristol, which is a lovely city to be in. >> yes. >> all the action is now happening and erupting in hawaii. are you going to be able to get out there and see it for yourself? >> well, i hope so. i was actually there at the very start of this eruption, as it slowly moved its way to the outskirts of this town. and so i would like to get out there again to offer my help and to collect some amazing data of the lava flows. >> i hope you get the chance to do it. thanks very much indeed for joining us. >> thank you. the international ski federation has banned the violinist vanessa mae for four years for taking part in fixed races to qualify for the sochi winter olympics. mae competed for thailand at this year's games. the governing body, though, says its hearing panel found that results of four giant slalom

races in slovenia, qualifying races, were manipulated back in january. on the line with me now is sarah lewis, the secretary-general of the international ski federation. sarah, thanks for joining us. what did vanessa mae do wrong, as you understand it? >> her management arranged the organization of international races through the thai olympic committee in slovenia for the purpose of enabling her to achieve the olympic qualification standards, which is measured by ranking points that can be achieved in such competitions. >> right, so essentially your point is they fixed these qualification races. at what point did you suspect that something was amiss then? >> well, initially after the competitions, before they're even classified, there is a report sent through by the fifth technical delegate and that

didn't indicate that there had been any irregularities in the competition at all. however, the slovenia ski association heard information from participants and persons who had been there at these competitions, that actually all was not correct. and they undertook an investigation of the competitions and submitted then their very detailed reports to the international ski federation. >> right. and she wasn't -- i mean, you haven't just pinned this on her either. i understand there are a number of people who are being band. >> that's correct, yes. the chief of competition, the competition referee, the fifth assigned technical delegate. the starter of the competition. the chief of timing. >> right. it's quite a list there. we've just been looking at pictures of vanessa mae. a great attraction, a star attraction in sochi as well. given all that's happened, how embarrassing is this for you as an organization? >> well, it certainly makes sure

that we're going to check our procedures very carefully. there's no question. we're organizing 7,000 competitions a year at various different levels, and there's always a fifth assigned international qualified and trained technical delegate that's supervising them. in this particular case, clearly there's been a breakdown in the system and we have to make sure that that dunn occur again. >> sarah lewis, thanks very much for joining us on "gmt." now, imagine only seeing the world in black and white. neil harbisson is totally color blind. that's a very rare condition. and yet he's also the only person in the world known to hear color. that's thanks to an implanted device in his skull. he was raised in catalonia and he's said to be the world's first cyborg, when technology is used to enhance the human being. this is his story. >> i'm not using technology or

wearing technology, i am technology. this is a body part. it never comes off. it never stops. it's always on. my name is neil harbisson. and i hear color. i see perfectly well, but i see everything in gray scale, like people would say it's like an old movie. but to me it's just like a normal movie because all movies are in black and white. so i just see everything normal, but in gray scale. so i have a light censor that picks up the color frequencies in front of me. then it sends them to a chip at the back of my head that transposes these light frequencies into vibrations, and then these vibrations become sounds in my ears. so to me, these paints are sounds. i can hear each color. and i can actually also put them on a skoemcore. red is f. g is yellow.

green is a. turquoise is b. blue is c. violet d. and pink is e. my relationship between culture and color is different from most of the people. for example, red for most people is a vie len or passionate color, whereas for me red is completely the opposite. it's the most peaceful color because red is the color with the lowest frequency, so it's the most innocent color. it's just really calm and very nice to perceive. whereas violet would be corresponding to violence. >> so much for the visible rays, but also the invisible rays, such as the infrared and ultraviolet. >> my favorite color is infrared, which is a color that is invisible for the human eyes, but it's present everywhere, so it's a color that we can actually perceive in total darkness as well. >> as infrared rays heat and

penetrate, they make a good substitute for the sun. >> one of the things i really like to do is sound portraits, so what i like is to get close to the different faces and write down the different notes that i hear and i send them and mp3 of their face so they can hear the of their own face. one of the first faces i listened to was prince charles. and i remember he almost sounded-like a c major. because he has-like, bluish eyes. the combination was almost c major. so it sounded quite harmonious. also realized that we are not black and white, so people that say they're black, they're actually very dark orange. people that say they're orange, they're very light orange. so we're sharing the same hue,

just a difference in light. we are all actually orange. >> tune in to "global" at 1530 "gmt" today. it's not quite the tour de france, but a frenchman has broken the bicycle speed record. he is reaching the speed of 333 kilometers an hour, 270 miles an hour, on a homemade rock propelled bicycle. to set himself off, he ignited a small rocket fueled by hydrogen peroxide coupled with a compressed air tank. he reached the speed in a very short 4.8 second. the not try this at home. extraordinary stuff. a reminder of our top story on "gmt," the captain of a south korean ferry that sank in april killing more than 300 people has been sentenced to 36 years in prison. he was found guilty of gross negligence, but acquitted of murder. relatives of those who died have wanted him to receive a death

sentence. that's it from "gmt," but lucy is here to tell us about what's coming up. >> david, thanks so much. do join me in a few minutes time for impact. i'm going to be talking to a women's right activist in india. she is demanding a full investigation into the deaths of ten women after they were operated on at a state-run sterilization clinic and then died. many other women as well are not doing well. so a full investigation has been demanded. two boyfriends. three jobs. you're like "nothing can replace brad!" then liberty mutual calls. and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

oh no. who are you? daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. i got everything i wanted. i always do. he seemed nice. and you want to get an mba. but going back to school is hard. because you work. now capella university offers

a revolutionary new way to get your degree. it's called flexpath, and it's the most direct path, leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know. so you can get a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university. learn about all of our programs at capella.edu. what if we finally had that would be amazing. hey, what if we took down this wall? what if this was my art studio? what if we were pre-approved? shut up! from finding to financing, how'd you do that? zillow.

try it free at constantcontact.com.

[ warbling ] there we go! perfect landing. which isn't easy in such a tight spot. you should be used to tight spots by now. where are we? the end of the line. no place like it. [ "martha's theme" plays ] home? you took me home? back to the morning after we left.