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america. >> this is bbc world news america. reporting from washington. the ukraine prime minister gets a high-profile meeting in washington. he makes this pledge. , our fight for our freedom independence, our sovereignty. we will never surrender. flattens toplosion new york buildings after a gas leak was reported. two are dead and others are missing. printing to help reconstruct a face. we have a look at the medical marvel. welcome to our viewers on public

television and around the globe. we will never surrender was the bow of the interim prime minister today when he met president obama at the white house. the trip was planned as a show of support by washington, days ahead of a referendum in crimea that will ask if residents want the territory to become part of russia. we start our coverage. >> the russian flag flies everywhere in crimea. there is tightened access to the peninsula ahead of the referendum. those in control say the choice is between nationalism and russia. it would violate international treaties with grave implications. ministerg prime arrived at the white house to proclaim that his country is and will be part of the west. >> we will never surrender. we will do everything to

preserve peace, stability, independence of my country. we appreciate the support of your government and the american people.o the ukrainian >> president obama said the future could not be decided by a slapdash referendum that was decided at the barrel of a gun. , but thely us international community, the european union, and others will be forced to up my a cost to russia's violation of international law and the encroachments on ukraine. there is another path available. >> this is the man expected to explore the path. john kerry will talk to the russian foreign minister in front -- in london on friday. arriving in crimea, russian

bikers with a passion for putin. it is hard to see how they could be proved wrong. bbc news. >> for more on the interim prime minister's visit to washington, we spoke to a senior fellow at the council of foreign relations. here we are, four days away from the referendum, what can the white house do? puthey are trying to maximum leverage on the russians in the short window of opportunity. you have a meeting with the interim prime minister and the senate is moving ahead with sanctions. the g7 put forward a strong statement that the secession of crimea will not stand. i think the european union is edging to come up with sanctions that would go hand-in-hand with u.s. sanctions, targeted against

particular russians and ukrainians who are responsible for the occupation of crimea or the theft of assets. >> do you think it would have get called off? >> i think the referendum will take place and they will want out. russia will move to sanction it. me backll either welco to the motherland or recognize them. it is not clear if putin wants them. in a week or two, we'll be in a situation where the question is now, what do we do, given the fact that the crimea is gone? >> the west decides they are going to go ahead and the sections have been signed by the president, who has the power to impose them.

do you think the west turns around and says, you know what, we can live with this? >> i do not think they will say they can live with it and we see a repeat of georgia. they will not say, let's go back to business as usual. this is a breach of a different kind that raises questions about russian intentions. the big question is, if we get wille stage -- that stage, americans be ready to free the banking system and harm the investors in russia? >> the americans might be ready. american business is pushing back. there is little sign with the european union'. >> i do not think we will get there. the $6 million question is, what do we do when russia does this?

we do not go back to business as usual and we do not want a new cold war. we will be groping for a new relationship with russia. we will say, what you have done to not go unpunished. >> think you for joining me. yatsenyuk will be at the united nations tomorrow, rallying global support for the ukraine. an explosion level two buildings and two people are known to have died. the cause was thought to have been a gas leak. residents say they have completed that repeatedly complained about it -- repeatedly complained about it. >> a site for new yorkers that stirs memories and spreads fear. throughplosion ripped apartment buildings, leveling them to the ground and reducing

them to a mound of twisted metal, broken masonry, and flames. a the chaos of the aftermath, mother struggle to find her child. >> i need to know where my daughter is! in.n't know, we just moved please help me. momentrs described the when the neighborhood shuddered with the power of the blast. >> i heard a huge explosion and the force of it made the air-conditioner cover fly across the room. >> people are running and try to get away from the building, running down the block. people were crying and scared. it was a scary experience. >> among the first responders

were the fbi, a precautionary measure. locals say they heard a smell of gas. a local power company was on the way to the scene. bill de blasio confirmed that a gas leak is to blame. >> there was a major explosion that destroyed two buildings. the explosion was based on a gas leak. fected buildings around the two that were destroyed, very heavy. a heavy fire has ensued, as well. >> this is what is left of them. more difficult for the emergency services. time has taken more than five hours to put out the blaze. people were trapped beneath the

rubble of the collapsed buildings and unable to escape. more than one dozen people were reported missing. there is hope that they are alive and cannot be contacted. there is fear that they were unable to escape. bbc news, new york. >> still looking for people missing in new york. we learned about the last invitation -- communication of the malaysia airlines passenger jet. the final message suggested everything was normal and there have been reports that the plane veered wildly off of course. lumpur, we have the latest. >> is it possible for so many planes and ships to find no trace of a 200 ton airliner after five days of searching? it is, if they're looking in the wrong place.

it was assumed that they had came down in the south china sea. malaysian authorities think it may have ended up west of the flight path. briefing,press officials struggled to explain why they know so little. is a possibility that this aircraft made a comeback. we do not know if it was the same aircraft. >> there are questions and few answers. flight 370 was one hour into its air traffic control -- the pilot did air traffic air trafficid control farewell. records show an unidentified object flying over the city.

-- sea. that is all they have to go on. two people on board. rodney's parents have been getting great to visit him in china -- ready to visit him in china. [indiscernible] 370hat we learned after vanished must be a concern to other passengers passing through the region. authorities know almost nothing about what happened to the airliner. they are just guessing. jonathan head, bbc news. >> so many questions. we do not know if the plane went down or wide. -- why.

we know there are grieving families that would like to know more. let us get a look at other news from around the world. riot police in turkey have fired water cannons and tear gas at demonstrators in istanbul. a boy died on tuesday from injuries from a tear gas canister last year. father said that he wanted his son to be remembered as a child killed by the state. dozens of rockets have been fired into southern israel. the heaviest fire since 2012. the military responded. the islamic group, islamic jihad, said they fired the missiles to avenge the death of members. visitedan president has displaced civilians in the capital of damascus.

he says that he vows to care for those displaced. his seven-year term is due to expire in four months. he is not confirmed if he is going to seek reelection. dramatic scenes during the murder trial of oscar pistorius today. howrensic expert reenacted he broke down the crooked door with -- the bathroom door with a cricket bat. he says he fired through the door, thinking she was an intruder. from pretoria, we report. >> the crime scene came to court in the form of a door. -- represents the toilet where she was killed. a forensic expert reveal the cricket bat that he used to smash down the door. >> it is a club class cricket

bat. >> the mark left by that that. there are at least two marks on the toilet door. oscar pistorius was standing to one side and another was straight on. it suggests that the athlete was on his stumps. he was lying when he claimed that he was wearing his prosthetic legs. they say it is just guesswork and asked the experts to act it out again. >> are you losing your balance? might beceded that it hard to balance on stumps and swing a bat. pistorius's says they did their test and that he was telling the truth about standing on his ascetic lights best prosthetic -- prosthetic legs.

it has not been a great day. >> missing. said thatensic expert the door had been removed from the crime scene, trampled on, and a chunk of it had gone missing. an earlier witness appeared to stumble. it has been a dramatic and theatrical date in court. to prosecutor is struggling what oscar pistorius says happened that night is a lie. >> you're watching bbc world news. still to come, nigeria is plagued with charges of corruption.

it may be the citizen to obtain the heaviest price. fordast 30 years, glenn lived on death row for a murder he did not commit. he was sentenced to death in 1984. he was freed at the age of 64. the bbc has the story for us. >> finally free in the shadow of was free, glenn ford from angola prison. his first thoughts were of a life wasted behind bars. >> 30 years of my life, if not all of it. i cannot go back and do anything that i should have been doing when i was 35, 40, stuff like that. >> he was 33 when he was convicted of a shooting. found himte jury guilty and he was sentenced to die an electric chair.

now, the louisiana supreme court has overturned the conviction on several grounds. mr. ford had any experience defense team. xperienced defense team. >> i feel bad for him and i'm sorry that it happened. when you look at the case, everybody had good intentions and it was a mistake. >> we have been working on this for decades, literally. we hope that it will be the first day for mr. for to start his new life. a quarternow receive million dollars in compensation. the root for what he has missed . redress for what he has missed.

>> starting again. >> in nigeria, a major offensive against corruption has been launched by president goodluck jonathan. state oil company has failed to account for billions of dollars of revenue. our nigerian correspondent has the story. kerosene, off with like most low income earners. to fire up theel stove. it is a major part of the expenditure. atwhen all my children are home, i use of one of these in three days. it cost me 700. >> nearly one dollar a liter. >> do you know the price is supposed to be?

>> she is paying almost four times the official price. the government subsidizes kerosene and the benefit is not being passed on to nigerians. she is one of millions of victims of what the central bank suggests is a huge swindle. >> the central bank says that every month, kerosene comes into the port here and the money that is paid out in subsidies is basically a racket. $100 million are made every month. withdraw the subsidy on kerosene -- >> there have been calls for an audit. the central bank governor said that $20 billion has not been accounted for. he was accused of financial recklessness and suspended.

this is not a traffic jam. ueis is a massive fuel que that has caused misery in recent days. been investigations into the state-run oil company and it all points to the same thing, finance and billions of dollars are going missing. the fact that it has not been cleaned up suggest that those who are benefiting from the stands are too powerful to be touched. --e say enough is enough some say, enough is enough. brought together by social media, they are demanding accountability and an end to the looting by politically connected cartels. >> the citizens do not get a direct benefit. somebody sit somewhere and is of thea trunk -- chunk

treasury in our names. >> they know they are being ripped off and there is few signs that the government is doing much to stop it. will ross, bbc news, nigeria. >> tackling corruption in nigeria is a big task. chinese government has released satellite images of floating things in the sea. the images have not been verified and they are from sunday. vanished five days ago on its way to beijing. we have heard of 3-d printers making gadgets and guns. how about a face? stephen suffered serious injuries during a motorbike crash. doctors at a hospital in wales carried out the procedure to

restore his appearance. given exclusive access. viewers may find the images disturbing. >> his body is filled with plates and screws. power has learned to hide his injuries since his accident 18 months ago. despite wearing a crash helmet, he remembers little of the impact that left him on a life-support machine and his skull crushed out of shape. >> i should not wear glasses. i wear them to discuss my cheek and my i. -- eye. my nose is still bent. >> surgeons are trying to rebuild his face. instead of using standard models and plates, they printed the parts. they should fit exactly and

remove the need for guesswork. the operation is an eight hour procedure. --y cut the bulletins balance -- bones. >> it is designed to perfectly fit stephen's face and helps to restore a natural symmetry. it makes a challenge. the printed parts make a difference. up to freehand decision-making on the decision table. it could be good. ok, it meansgether it is perfect. >> the difference between the two sides is one millimeter. >> there is swelling. the scans show that symmetry has been restored.

>> i'm glad that they have developed this technology and they are able to do something like this. it is life-changing and it has changed my life. history --ays in place in history has been marked in this science museum. the future of 3-d rigging could see organs printed within a could seeprinting organs printed within a decade. bbc news. >> absolutely remarkable. how much further will 3-d printing technology take us? it is impossible to imagine. that brings the program to a close. if you look up to the local listings, you will find our number. for all of us here at bbc world news, they defer watching the show and we will see you back here tomorrow -- thank you for watching the show and we will see you back here tomorrow.

>> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, union bank, and charles schwab. >> there is a saying around here. you stand behind what you say. around here, you do not make excuses. you make commitments. when you cannot live up to them, you own up and you make it right. ofe people think the kind accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it is needed most. i know you will find it when you know where to look. bank, ourn relationship managers work hard to understand the industry that

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captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> we fight for our freedom, we fight for our independence, we fight for our sovereignty, and we will never surrender. >> woodruff: in a visit to the white house, ukraine's interim prime minister called on the u.s. to aid his country. and president obama again warned russia there will be costs for escalating the crisis. good evening, i'm judy woodruff, gwen ifill is away. also ahead, the republican party scored a key election win in florida. but does it mean the g.o.p. has an advantage heading into this year's midterms? and, it was once a novelty, but after a quarter-century, it's