. this is bbc america, and now live from london, "bbc world news." >> hello, i'm david eades with "bbc world news." our top stories. south africa commemorates the first anniversary of the death of its former president nelson mandela. people in the philippines prepare for the arrival of a powerful typhoon. it's set to hit the same parts of the country devastated by typhoon haiyan last year. another night of protests in the u.s. after the decision not to charge a white police officer over the death of a black man. and to russia with love. britain loans out one of its

controversial elgin marble statues to a st. petersburg museum. it's the first time one has left the country. thanks for joining us here on "bbc world news." as south africans mark one year since the death of nelson mandela. the father of the nation, he was called, who's credited with guiding the country from apartheid to democracy, with mandela himself the first president. that was the moment of official commemoration, if you like. a solitary bell heralding a three-minute silence -- well, much of the country, in fact.

you see there mandela's widow. we had the singing of south africa's national anthem after the silence. commemoration ceremonies being held around the country, including at mandela's ancestral home in the country's eastern cape province. speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony in pretoria, she paid tribute to mr. mandela's unwavering spirit. >> the body gave in, but his spirits never, ever changed. he was always the same. to the end. and he is in spirit the same, even today. >> i've been speaking to our correspondent in johannesburg. milton is following the whole day's commemorations for us. >> reporter: how quickly time

flies, because it wasn't that long ago that we were covering the death of nelson mandela. who can believe that a year has gone past? but just to try and get some reflection as many south africans are doing this morning, trying to see where the country is going after a year since the struggle hero who liberated them from oppression had died. i spoke to mr. mandela's granddaughter. a year on since nelson mandela's passing. this is the house where nelson mandela used to live and attend to when he came from prison. well, i'm joined by his granddaughter. it's good to be here a year after your grandfather's passing. and the street looks peaceful. many people thought that when mr. mandela goes, south africa will go up in flames. >> you know, happily enough it

hasn't. that's just the spirit of who granddad was. peace still prevails. people are still holding his legacy and what he stood for because he stood for peace and conservation. >> reporter: this is amazing, this museum here. and it's still going. >> yes, it's still going. i remember the last time i was at this house, it was a few months after he was released actually from prison. >> yes. >> he was in the bedroom. >> yes. >> and i came and greeted him. >> reporter: so just down there. >> yes, just down there in the bedroom. in between meetings, by the way. said okay, nice to see you. i'm in a meeting, i'll talk to you later. >> reporter: and that was your grandfather. very accommodating to everyone, to statesmen, kings and queens, and also to his own grandchildren. and what is the family doing to remember the passing of nelson

mandela? >> the government is doing a national remembrance day, but then we will have a ceremony that marks the year's anniversary. >> reporter: and that will be the end of the mourning period. >> yes. >> reporter: i know that not all families get along. sometimes we have differences, etch with those we love. we know from the news that the family has had some differences as well. >> as any family, you know, you disagree with your brother, with your own siblings from the same mother and the same father. we're no different from anybody else. >> reporter: what do you want the world to remember mr. mandela by? >> it would be to emulate what he espoused. as he said, it is up to you. make every day to be a mandela day. >> reporter:joining us in this

interview. >> milton, some poignant memories in some of those pictures. can you give me a sense, in terms of south africa as a whole, how much commemoration is going on today? >> reporter: there is a lot of it, david, from the cities to the rural towns. there is a small march in his village where he was buried. a march of peace and reconciliation arranged by the provincial government there. many speeches have been given. his widow gave a speech this morning in pretoria and she also echoed what her granddaughter said in that interview that the legacy of nelson mandela of peace and reconciliation must be lived by each and every one of us. we must never wait for a day of an event. every day must be a mandela day. >> it's obviously a very strong message. let's be honest. it gets fainter by the day,

doesn't it? >> reporter: very much so. as you know, david, south africa is at peace with itself. most people thought that after mr. mandela died, just like i said in that interview, they thought the country will go up in smoke because of the racial polarization that we've seen here in south africa over the years from the apartheid system. but that hasn't happened. the country is still at peace. but that doesn't mean everything is perfect. you know that we have problems of the cancer of corruption, we have problems of poverty and inequality. so it's still a long road, as mr. mandela said in his book "long walk to freedom." now, let me introduce you to an amazing picture. it's a dangerous one, too. thousands of people have been fleeing coastal villages and landslide prone areas in the philippines as this typhoon heads its way. people are really having to

brings for this storm. it's powerful. evacuation centers have been opened. food packs, medicines, even body bags being sent out to remote villages which could find themselves cut off by the very heavy rain they're expecting. also, ports have been shut. thousands of travelers have been left stranded. the typhoon -- they're calling it typhoon ruby as well -- has gusts already of up to 230 kilometers an hour and it's forecast to hit land on saturday. and it's thought that it could follow the exact same route as last year's typhoon haiyan, in which more than 6,000 people were killed. many of them in the southern city of tacloban there. thousands of people are still recovering in tacloban. many still living in temporary shelters after haiyan destroyed pretty much everything in its path. our bbc weather presenter joins me from our weather center.

is this as strong as typhoon haiyan, do you think? >> it's a very powerful storm. probably not as strong as haiyan. this is a very powerful system. you can see it clearly on here on the satellite sequence. it's been drifting ever towards the philippines in the last few days. the eye of the storm has indeed filled in the last day or so. and a consequence of that is the central pressure has risen a little bit, which means the winds have eased down a little bit, so it's not quite as strong as it was. yesterday it was a violent storm, but today it's been down gridded just a little bit the a very strong storm. if this was in the atlantic basin, it would be equivalent to a category 3 or category 4 system. a very powerful storm. >> is there any sense that it could build up in strength again? once it starts decreasing, is that it? >> well, it looks as if this is going to maintain its current

strength. and its forecast track takes it on a very similar path to haiyan last year. probably going to go a little bit further north than haiyan did. there has been some discrepancy between the models which forecast these tracks. in the last day or so. but they have come into line and there's not much discrepancy now. i think the general consensus is it will cut this broad swath, probably getting up to manila the next week, weakening somewhat, but it will probably emerge into the south china sea still as a fairly powerful typhoon. these are the maximum sustained winds. you see those gusts getting up to 230 or so. a large storm surge is likely. a big wall of water heading towards the eastern side of the philippines. the rain really could well be quite a problem because it's going to do this quite slowly across the islands and there will be torrential rain across large areas for quite some time. flooding and landslides will be a real problem here. >> we'll keep close tabs on that. thanks very much indeed. now, the decision by a grand

jury in the u.s. to clear a white police officer over the death of a black man, eric garner, who died after being put in a choke hold, has sparked a new wave of protests across the united states. many say that this case is another example of lethal force being used disproportionately against young african-american men. although eric garner was 43. it stirred a national conversation about race, and it's also about police training. the grand jury process as well. thomas lamont has this report. >> reporter: in new york, there was more anger on the streets. for a second night, they came to voice their outrage. but the decision not to indict a police officer over the killing of a black man eric garner on staten island. black lives matter, they chanted. the decision by the grand jury has sparked an emotional

reaction. from new york to chicago, where demonstrators marched through the city, to here in washington where they occupied ground. with many questioning the inequities of a criminal justice system that appears to discriminate against black people. it's a sentiment expressed by the president himself. >> too many americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how laws are applied on a day-to-day basis. but beyond the specific issue that has to be addressed, making sure that people have confidence, that police and law enforcement and prosecutors are serving everybody equally, there's the larger question of restoring a sense of common purpose. >> reporter: less than two weeks ago, the protests were in ferguson, missouri, where

another grand jury had chosen not to indict a police officer over the shooting dead of an unarmed teenager, michael brown in august. but in this case, there's something noticeably different. eric garner's death was caught on camera. there's there for all to see. he was arrested for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally. as he's wrestled to the ground, you can see the fatal choke hold. you can hear his desperate cries. >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> reporter: the demand for change is now felt widely. >> i want transparency in the grand jury process and i want folks to be able to peak in to see what, in fact, did or did not take place. buzz it seems to me, as a former prosecutor myself, that the prosecutors were not acting on behalf of the people who elected them, but on behalf of the police. >> reporter: the u.s. justice department says it will now investigate the death of eric garner. new york city's mayor says police will be equipped with body cameras.

but people are losing trust in the police force that in their view is not properly held to account. and that is why they are the ones brandishing eric garner's last words, in a message reverberating around the country. thomas lamont, bbc news, washington. want to bring you some breaking news from the united states, and it's with regard to who will be the next defense secretary, because the word is now that president obama is about to name ash carter as his next defense secretary, following on from chuck hagel. ash carter was deputy defense secretary from 2011 to 2013. he'll have to go through hearings with congress, of course. but ash carter. ashton carter is looking like he will be the nomination from president obama as secretary of defense. you're with "bbc world news." thanks for watching. do stay with us if you can. coming up in a moment, australia

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sexy. go national. go like a pro. you're watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. these are the latest headlines. south africans stop to remember their former president nelson mandela, who died a year ago today. powerful typhoon is heading toward parts of the philippines, the same parts as devastated by typhoon haiyan last year. the cardinal responsible for the vatican's finances says he has found millions of euros tucked away. cardinal george pell says some hundreds of millions of euros were kept in accounts that did not appear on the balance sheet. he didn't suggest any wrong doing but said vatican departments had had an almost free hand with their finances for a long time. james reynolds is in rome

following the story for us. james, my producer described this as pennys from heaven. any explanation as to where it has come from? >> reporter: more than just pennies. pounds and millions more. it's come from departments who did not disclose their finances to the rest of the veteran. that's as far as we can work things out. so essentially this news for cardinal pell is both an embarrassment and it's a piece of good news. it's an embarrassment because it shows what pretty much everyone, including the pope already knew. that the vatican finances were not particularly well-organized, but of course it's good news because if you find more money, you've got more money. >> yes, it's always good news when you find a few quid down the back of a sofa. but is this potentially part of a bigger picture move which is a pope who wants clarity, he wants cleanliness, if i can put it that way, and he wants up front

honesty? maybe this is a clearing out of some of the old debris. >> it could be, and it may be that this process predates pope francis. if you look at pope benedict xvith, he tried to have a go at the finances. maybe he didn't have the finances for the overhaul. he left that to pope francis, who's made a number of changes. he's fired a bunch of people. he's brought in international accountants and watchdogs, and he's appointed this cardinal, cardinal pell, who trained as a priest but he's now essentially a financial czar within the vatican to have free reign to organize the finances and to make them transparent. hundreds of millions of euros were not accounted for. you can imagine there will be some extremely interesting conversations going on as he perhaps picks up the phones to those who own those accounts saying why didn't we know about this?

>> absolutely. james, thanks very much indeed. i bet there will be a few calls for bonuses and pay raises as well. on that subject, jamie is here with the business news. embarrassing questions. >> do you feel better or worse than the 2007 crisis? a major report says wage growth around the world has slowed down in the past couple of yoers. -- years. workers in the developed world are the worst off. global wages rose on average 2% last year. but, that average is pushed up by asia, where wages were up about 6%. leading the way for pay raises is china. the rises there were 9%. but in order to bring that average down, the developed economies did very badly. wages have been flat lining, almost no growth at all, almost 0.2% on average, and many who saw in real terms people in some countries like the uk, spain,

italy, they're actually earning less than they did in 2007. wages really failing to keep up with inflation at all. the taxi sharing app uber has raised $1.2 billion, and it's got it from venture capitalists. it's valuing the company now at $40 billion with this extra money. founder and boss announced the investment in a blog post. he said the money would be used to expand the business, especially in the asia pacific region. uber's smart phone app allows passengers to make contact with local drivers, then it charges a commission on each ride. but the rapid expansion has sparked a lot of protests from traditional taxi drivers around the world. britain's launching its largest ever tourism campaign aimed at encouraging chinese people to visit the country. the multi-billion-dollar campaign is set. it's based around asking people to choose the chinese name for a range of british landmarks.

some celebrities and faces are already very well-known, and they rate their own name. stonehen stonehenge, for example, translated means huge stone clusters. the beatles' name translates to gentlemen with long hair. we'll have more on that later on in the day in the next world business report. that's in about an hour's time. and that's the business news. we'll have more later today. back to you, david. >> they won't be mistaking me for a bating then. jamie, thanks a lot. the australian senate has narrowly approved the reintroduction of controversial temporary protection visas for refugees. what that means is that thousands of refugees will be able to leave their detention camps and work in australia for up to five years. but as the bbc's jon donnison reports, after that time, they could be deported.

>> reporter: more than 30,000 asylum seekers have tried to reach australia by boat since august 2012. many have drowned trying. stopping the boats has been a key priority of the conservative government. and it is largely succeeded, controversially forcing boats to turn back. but the problem ministers face is what to do with those who have already made the journey. thousands are being held for months and even years in offshore detention centers. up until now, they've not been processed because the government didn't want to give them permanent visas. >> the matter is resolved in the affirmative. >> reporter: now the australian senate has narrowly voted to reintroduce temporary visas, allowing refugees to live and work here for up to five years. >> passing this bill, not only the government has sent another strong message to the people smugglers about our resolve to end their business forever, but

it has sent a strong message of resolve from the australian parliament, and that is something that will only further strengthen our country's borders. >> reporter: the government says it will mean thousands of asylum seekers, including hundreds of children, will be released from detention centers. but critics say because the new visas are only temporary, refugees still face deportation when they run out. they say they don't give the stability and long-term protection that refugees need. it's led to heated debate in the australian parliament. >> i am appalled. many people in this country tonight would be appalled. using children as hostages is never okay. and only a sociopath would do it. >> these kids have been there for 15 months and you want a pat on the back? you've got to be kidding

yourself. these kids could have been out 15 months ago. >> reporter: but such criticism is unlikely to concern the government. polls show its tough policies on asylum seekers have largely been popular, with the australian public. jon donnison, bbc news, sydney. >> the british museum here in london has allowed one of its most prized possessions, or at least a part of it, the elgin marbles to leave britain for the first time. they're heading to greece, that's where they came from. and they want them back. by instead it's gone to russia. one river god is about to go on display. the ancient model statues decorated the parthenon temple in athens. they were removed 200 years ago and they've been at the heart of a 40-year dispute between greece and britain over their rightful ownership. just want to remind you of the breaking news we've had in

this bulletin, which is ash carter, previously deputy secretary of defense from 2011 through 2013, he has been -- or looks as if he's about to be named as president obama's choice for the next secretary of defense, replacing chuck hagel. that's the latest news coming out of washington. thanks for watching "bbc world news." protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. yeah so with at&t next you get the new iphone for $0 down. zero down? zilch. nothing. nada. small potatoes. no potatoes. diddly squat. big ol' goose egg.

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south africans mark the first anniversary of the death of their former president nelson mandela. people in the philippines prepare for the arrival of a powerful typhoon. it's set to hit the very same parts of the country devastated by a storm last year. another night of protests in the u.s. after the decision not to charge a white police officer over the death. a black man. also, we'll hear from the actor martin sheen about his role in a new movie about the

bhopal disaster in india which killed thousands of people in india 30 years ago this week. we're going to start with some breaking news from washington, as barack obama is expected to appoint the former pentagon official ash carter as his new u.s. defense secretary. mr. carter to replace chuck hagel, republican senator who announced that he was stepping down from the role. let's get some more about that decision and ash carter himself, because i'm joined by our world affairs correspondent nick charles. he's not exactly new to the department, is he? >> no, indeed. in some ways, it's become an open secret really that ash

carter was going to be president obama's nominee as the next u.s. defense secretary. he has a long track record of working mainly behind the scenes, one has to say, in the pentagon. he was the number two man up until last year when chuck hagel took over. he was actually in the running last time when chuck hagel got the job. before that, he was the head of defense procurement, the chief weapons buyer in the pentagon. and was actually credited with doing a lot to push through some of the emergency urgent equipment that they needed in iraq and afghanistan to counter ieds, roadside bombs, that sort of thing. so very much familiar with the bureaucracy of defense, and a thinker on defense. he's actually a physicist by training, but he's done a lot of work on nuclear weapons. so very much knows the pentagon. i think that is his strength. as i say, we were expecting this. the only issue really was the timing, and it looks as far as mr. obama is concerned, the

timing is now. he became the frontrunner actually because some of those who were previously thought would move in have moved -- abstracted themselves out of the running. like perhaps somebody who would have been the first woman u.s. defense secretary. so in some ways, he became frontrunner by default. >> can we go so far as to say he's dovish or hawkish, or is he basically going to toe the obama line? >> i think that will be one of the interesting questions. his record is more as an operator in the pentagon. and there are huge issues there to do with budgets and procurement programs, so that i think will be one of those concerns that he'll have. but, of course, what we do have now, some other major issues to do with actual campaigns, particularly on the issue of iraq and syria and the campaign against islamic state. one of the reasons it's assumed that chuck hagel departed the scene was that he had failed -- had been unable to have an

impact on the formulation of strategy. it was a bit of six and two threes as far as the white house and the pentagon saw it. he felt frustrated. the pentagon to some extent, as far as the pentagon is concerned, the white house to some extent felt he was a bit passive. it's not entirely clear where ash carter will stand on this. but he has a lot of grounding in this. and may with a sort of academic background have a lot to input into this. but it's going to be difficult for him i think to have an impact on the actual strategy. >> if he gets through the congressional hearings, we'll find out, won't we? thanks very much. south africans are marking one year since the death of nelson mandela. the father of the nation was credited with guiding the country from apartheid to democracy with mandela himself the first president. that solitary bell ringing

kicked off a three-minute silence, which was recognized across much of the country, in fact. and then followed by the singing of south africa's national anthem. there have been commemoration ceremonies taking place around the country, including at mandela's ancestral home in the country's eastern cape province. speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony in pretoria, mr. mandela's widow graca machel, she paid tribute to his unwavering spirit. >> the body gave in, but madiba's spirits never, never changed. he was always the same. to the end. and madiba is in spirit the same, even today. >> graca machel there talking about madiba, nelson mandela.

i've been speaking to our correspondent in johannesburg, he's following the day's commemorations for us. >> reporter: how quickly time flies, because it wasn't that long ago that we were covering the death of nelson mandela. who can believe that a year has gone past? but just to try and get some reflection as many south africans are doing this morning, trying to see where the country is going after a year since the struggle hero, who liberated them from oppression, had died. i spoke to mr. mandela's granddaughter. a year on since nelson mandela's passing. this is the house where nelson mandela used to live, and attend to when he came from prison. well, i'm joined by his granddaughter. it's good to be here a year after your grandfather's passing.

>> that's just the spirit of who grandfather was. peace still prevails. he stood for peace and conservation. >> reporter: so this is amazing to have this museum here, and it's still going on. >> yes. i remember the last time i was at this house, it was a few months after he was released actually from prison. i came and greeted him. >> so just down there. >> yes. and he said nice to see you, i'm in a meeting, i'll talk to you later. >> reporter: that was your grandfather. very accommodating to everyone, statesmen, kings, queens, and also to his grandchildren.

what is the family doing to remember the passing of nelson mandela? >> the government is doing a national remembrance day. we will have a ceremony that marks the year's anniversary. >> reporter: and that will be the end of the mourning period, is that correct? >> yes, that will be the end of the mourning period. >> reporter: i know that not all families get along. sometimes we have differences, even with those we love. we know from the news that the family has had some differences as well. >> is any family -- you know, you disagree with your brother, siblings from the same mother and same father. we're no different from anybody else. >> reporter: what do you want the world to remember mr. mandela by? >> it would be to emulate those who he espoused.

it is up to you. make every day to be a mandela day. >> ndileka, thank you very much for joining us in this interview. >> some point i can't memories in some of those pictures there. can you give me a sense in terms of south africa as a whole how much commemoration is going on today? >> reporter: there is a lot of it, from the cities to the rural towns. there is a small march in his village where he was buried. a march of peace and reconciliation arranged by the provincial government there. many speeches have been given. his widow gave a speech this morning in pretoria. and she also echoed what ndileka said there in that interview, that the legacy of nelson mandela of peace and reconciliation must be lived by each and every one of us. we must never wait for a day of an event. every day must be a mandela day.

>> it's obviously a very strong message. let's be honest, it gets fainter by the day, doesn't it? >> reporter: very much so. as you know, david, south africa is at peace with itself. most people felt that after mr. mandela dies, just like i said in that interview in my question to ndileka, they thought that the country will go up in smoke. because of the racial polarization that we've seen here in south africa over the years from the apartheid system. but that hasn't happened. the country is still at peace. but that doesn't mean everything is perfect. you know that we have problems of the cancer of corruption, we have problems of poverty and inequality. so it's still a long road, as mr. mandela said in his book "long walk to freedom." now have a look at this. pretty, isn't it? but it's deadly as well. thousands of people have been fleeing coastal villages and landslide prone areas in the

philippines as typhoon hagupit heads their way. people are bracing for this storm. evacuation centers have been opened already. food packs, medicines, body bags as well sent to remote villages, which could find themselves cut off by the very heavy rains expected to akpeccompany the typhoon. ports have been shut. thousands of travelers have been left stranded. typhoon hagupit already has gusts of 230 kilometers an hour. it's forecasted to make landfall on saturday. it's expected it's going to follow pretty much the same route as last year's typhoon haiyan, which left more than 7,000 dead or missing, many of them in the city of tacloban. thousands of people there are still recovering. many still living in temporary shelters after haiyan destroyed pretty much everything in its path. i've been speaking to the bbc weather presenter who gave me the latest. >> not quite as strong as

haiyan, but we've already seen those gusts getting up to 230 kilometers an hour. those are very damaging winds. this is a very powerful system. and you can see it clearly here on the satellite sequence. it's been drifting ever towards the philippines in the last few days. the eye of the storm clear to see. although the eye of the storm has indeed filled in in the last day or so. and a consequence is that the central pressure has risen a little bit, which means that the winds have eased down a little bit, so it's not quite as strong as it was. yesterday, it was classed as a violent storm, but today it's been downgraded a little bit to a very strong storm. if this was in the atlantic basin, it would be equivalent to a category 3 or category 4 hurricane, so it is a very powerful system and multiple hazards associated with it. >> is there any sense it could build up in strength again? once it starts decreasing, is that it? >> it looks as if this is going to maintain its current strength. its forecast track, i'm afraid, takes it on a very similar path to haiyan.

probably going to go a little bit further knot than haiyan did. there has been some discrepancy between the models which forecast these tracks. but they have come into line. there's not much discrepancy now. i think the general consensus is it will cut this broad swath across the center of the philippines, getting up towards manila early next week. weakening off somewhat as it does so. but it will probably emerge into the south china sea as a fairly powerful typhoon. these are the maximum sustained winds at the moment. 185 kilometers an hour. getting those gusts up to 230 or so. a large storm surge is likely. a big wall of water heading towards the eastern side of the philippines. the rain could be quite a problem because it's going to do this quite slowly across the islands. there will be torrential rain across large areas for quite some time. the spacecraft that could one day take humans to mars is due to take off on its first test voyage. yesterday, the launch was aborted due to wind gusts and some technical problems.

we've got live pictures here from cape canaveral in florida. this is where nasa's unmanned orion capsule is about to blast off. it will be orbiting the earth twice, before then splashing down in the pacific ocean. in all, they're looking at a four-hour flight. so as you can appreciate, very much early stages in the whole operation. it's a $9 billion project. the launch on thursday, though, wasn't a great start. it was called off. and that was because of a number of issues. there was a boat which got a little bit too close initially to the launch pad. then there were some strong winds they had to contend with. and finally, a problem with the fuel valve, so all in all, they called it off for the day. there were question marks about whether or not it would be ready to go in the course of friday. but it would seem that we are in a position where launch is imminent. our science correspondent jonathan amos is at the kennedy

space center in cape canaveral. how close to go, jonathan? >> reporter: we're getting very close indeed now, david. i'm a bit wet and i'm a bit cold because i've just been caught by a shower, but the weather forecast actually for the rocket itself is very good. for the moment. so we wait. and if you've got fingers, cross them. cross your toes as well. it was not possible yesterday for a series of frustrations, but the engineers worked their magic during the night, solving those technical glitches, and so far the weather gods are with us. >> it's all about you, jonathan, isn't it? we're just interested, this is a four and a half-hour mission. what can they satisfy themselves about in a four and a half-hour flight? >> reporter: because it's a brand-new vehicle, not the rocket, but the capsule on the top, if you're looking at the pictures, the orion capsule is tucked inside the white bit at

the very top of the rocket. you see a spike on top. that's what they call the launch abort system. in the future, if the rocket was to experience difficulties just after leaving the pad, then that spike has a series of motors which would rip the capsule away from the top and take the astronauts clear. now, that's not going to happen today. they don't need to do anything like that because there's nobody inside that capsule. it's really a shakedown. they're going to send it around the earth a couple times, then they're going to throw it up. throw it to about 6,000 kilometers above the earth, and that will set up a fast re-entry as it comes back into the earth's atmosphere. and the underside of orion will experience very high temperatures, and that will give them the sense that this vehicle is getting towards the stage that they can begin to put people in it. it won't happen for a while, though, david. we're talking six or seven years before they go on the first manned mission, likely to be a trip around the moon. >> jonathan, great. thank you very much indeed.

jonathan amos there at cape canaveral. stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come in the program, australia approves temporary protection visas for refugees. that will allow thousands to leave detention centers. ♪ grab a refreshing canada dry ginger ale. real ginger. real taste. real ahhh.

you're watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. let's get you the headlines. south africans stop to remember their former president nelson mandela, who died a year ago today. a powerful typhoon is heading towards parts of the philippines, the same parts devastated by typhoon haiyan last year. the decision by a grand jury in the u.s. to clear a white police officer over the death of a black man, eric garner, who died after being put in a choke hold, has sparked a new wave of protests across the u.s.

many say the case is another example of lethal force being used disproportionately against african-american men, and it's stirred a national conversation about race. police training, and the grand jury process. >> reporter: in new york, there was more anger on the streets. for a second night, they came to voice their outrage. but the decision not to indict a police officer over the killing of a black man eric garner on staten island. "black lives matter," they chanted. the decision by the grand jury has sparked an emotional reaction. from new york to chicago, where demonstrators marched through the city. to here in washington, where they occupied ground by its iconic monument. with many questioning the inequities of a criminal justice system that appears to discriminate against black people. it's a sentiment expressed by

the president himself. >> too many americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how laws are applied on a day-to-day basis. but beyond a specific issue that has to be addressed, making sure that people have confidence, that police and law enforcement and prosecutors are serving everybody equally, it's a larger question of restoring a sense of common purpose. >> reporter: less than two weeks ago, the protests were in ferguson, missouri, where another grand jury had chosen not to indict a police officer. over the shooting dead of an unarmed teenager michael brown in august. but in this case, there's something noticeably different. eric garner's death was caught on camera. it's there for all to see. he was arrested for allegedly

selling cigarettes illegally. as he's wrestled to the ground, you can see the fatal choke hold. you can hear his desperate cries. >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> reporter: the demand for change is now felt widely. >> i want transparency in the grand jury process and i want folks to be able to peek in and see what did or did not take place. it seems to me as a former prosecutor myself that the prosecutors were not acting on behalf of the people who elected them, but on behalf of the police. >> reporter: the u.s. justice department says it will now investigate the death of eric garner. new york city's mayor says police will be equipped with body cameras. but people are losing trust in a police force that in their view is not properly held to account. and that is why they are the ones brandishing eric garner's last words, in a message reverberating around the country. thomas lamont, bbc news, washington. the australian senate has narrowly approved the

reintroduction of controversial temporary protection visas for refugees. that means that thousands of refugees are going to be able to leave their detention centers and work in australia for up to five years. as the bbc's jon donnison reports from sydney, after that five years, they could be deported. >> more than 30,000 asylum seekers have tried to reach australia by boat since august 2012. many have drowned trying. stopping the boats has been a key priority of the conservative government. and it is largely succeeded, controversially forcing boats to turn back. but the problem ministers face is what to do with those who have already made the journey. thousands are being held for months and etch years in offshore detention centers. up until now, they've not been processed, because the government didn't want to give them permanent visas. >> 34 ayes and 32 no's, the matter is resolved in the affirmative. >> reporter: now the australian

senate has narrowly voted to reintroduce temporary visas, allowing refugees to live and work here for up to five years. >> passing this bill, not only the government has sent another strong message to the people smugglers about our resolve to end their business forever, but it has sent a strong message of resolve from the australian parliament. and that is something that will only further strengthen our country's borders. >> reporter: the government says it will mean thousands of asylum seekers, including hundreds of children will be released from detention centers. but critics say because the new visas are only temporary, refugees still face deportation when they run out. they say they don't give the stability and long-term protection that refugees need. it's led to heated debate in the australian parliament. >> i am appalled. many people in this country tonight would be appalled.

using children as hostages is never okay. and only a sociopath would do it. >> these kids have been sitting there for 15 months and you want a pat on the back? you've got to be kidding yourself. these kids could have been out 15 months ago. >> reporter: but such criticism is unlikely to concern the government. polls show its tough policies on asylum seekers have largely been popular with the australian public. jon donnison, bbc news, sydney. some breaking news coming from the hague. prosecutors at the international criminal court have now withdrawn charges against the kenyan president, kenyatta. he was charged with crimes against humanity for inciting post-election violence back in 2008. the prosecutor's office said it did not yet have enough evidence

to prove his criminal responsibility beyond reasonable doubt. it had been refused any more time to prepare its case, so charges against uhuru kenyatta, kenyan president, have been dropped by the international criminal court. want to take you back to orion, to the mission by nasa at cape canaveral, to begin its project mars, if you can call it that. but this is a $9 billion program, with the intention of a manned flight to mars ultimately. we understand that the launch of this very early stage is going to be a rocket going out for about four, four and a half hours. the launch is due in -- where are we? just over five minutes time, in fact. five minutes past the hour, when it's expected to go up. and you'll be able to watch that live on bbc news, of course. but the launch was put off in the course of thursday on three

separate counts, so they're still hoping the weather will hold enough for them to push ahead. it's beginning to be nine minutes before the launch. we'll leave you these pictures here on "bbc world news." i've been called a control freak... i like to think of myself as more of a control... enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. ♪ ♪

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