>> hello and welcome to the france 24 newsroom. these are our top stories. back to negotiations, iran's nuclear program at the top of the agenda in vienna as world powers try to broker an agreement with iraq. ukrainian protesters seized the headquarters of president yanukovych in kiev. we will go live to our correspondent for the latest. three people have been killed and dozens winded in bangkok, oustrities have tried to antigovernment protesters as prime minister year election watcher will face corruption

charges -- as premise or yingluck shinawatra will face corruption charges. ♪ >> talks on iran's nuclear program are taking place in vienna. iranian officials meeting with negotiators from 6 other world powers after three months -- three months after tehran agreed to curb enrichment in exchange for a lifting of sanctions. our international affairs editor douglas herbert joins me in the studio. both the u.s. and iran have downplayed hopes of a breakthrough. could these talks be extended? lowe are going in with expectations, remember these talks are meant to build on the interim agreement reached in october -- last november, it went into effect in january.

hoping to build on that so they can reach a comprehensive deal by the end of july. the line 19 is a final day they are supposed to reach that deal and start implementing it. going into the talks, most observers and participants, they have been going on for about a decade, they say it is going to take more than six months. probably a year or three years. s, goo say to dash all hope home, the fact that they are talking is a big deal. the fact we have had an interim accord, we have had iran deemed to be in compliance by the u.s. atomic watchdog in initial phases, they have begun to halt uraniumnt of high-level material and they have begun to comply by the basic terms of the accord, there is a long way to go. , supreme leader of a

rant was really negative, saying they are owing to lead nowhere opposed.e not barack obama there is a 50-50 chance talks will succeed. people are setting the bar not he progress will at least be touted as real progress. they have a lot of work to talk about, a lot of enrichment work, pin tofuges, things that s make the material, the reactors are very controversial. and the inspections, inspections in any nuclear deal are key. u.s. iser issue for the that russia is reportedly about to sign an oil deal with iran. >> they are calling it an oil for goods swap. has already expressed concerns to sirte lavrov. the deal would be worth about $1.5 million, rushing paying

iran to get oil in exchange for ment,ial equi presumably for infrastructure like reverence. --like railroads. russia has been cooperating with a setsaid to be building implant. from a u.s. standpoint, this would be a breach of the terms of this interim accord. russia pumping money into the sanctions arey, partially lifted but are very much in place. if you are going to pay a ran for oil, doesn't that defeat the point of trying to keep sanctions? iran by lifting sanctions. the u.s. is saying to russia don't bust the deal before we have had a chance. >> we will see how this

develops, thank you very much douglas herbert. high treason and facing the death penalty, former pakistani president pervez today, hisas tried first court appearance since proceeding started in december. arraf wasff -- mush month.lized last he came to power in 1999 in a coup d'état, his lawyers say he should be tried in a military court. justices will give a decision on friday. arrest, twos under members of the band have been detained near the olympic stadium in sochi. the singers are accused of theft, they had only just come out of prison, released after two years behind bars, convicted of whole again -- convicted of

hooliganism. ukrainian protesters have seized the party headquarters of president yanukovych as riot police fired rubber bullets at thousands of people protesting in front of the parliament in kiev. at the heart of the protest, joining us live on the line. this is thought to be the worst violence to rock the capital in more than three weeks. tell us more about the clashes. >> it seems generally that police have the upper hand. fighting is going on in several locations. it is worse than what happened at the end of january. there were only fighting on one on in onlyt is going one place. in all the streets surrounding the parliament building, there are clashes between protesters

and police going on. protesters say that at least one person has been wounded by a sniper bullet. the ukrainian interior ministry says that 5 offices of the anterior army troops have been wounded. haveow that the police been firing rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. protesters have been using molotov cocktails and attempting to set fire to vehicles. intense,es are quite in the volunteer medical are 25ation, there people wounded. that is just a fraction of the wounded and taken to hospitals. it is fair to say that these are the most intense we have seen since the protest started. >> and parliament, political activity has been blocked by the opposition come along -- has been blocked by opposition,,

mp reactions? >> parliament is blocked because the proposal to change the constitution, reducing the president's powers was not put on the agenda. the opposition says that is because the speaker of ck, refused mr. ryba to accept the proposal and put this to a vote because he was afraid of losing. members of the ruling party say this happened differently, it was the opposition who were not able to agree on one single proposition for this reform to the constitution. was the opposition who divided and were not able to come up with a plan, so it could not be put onto the order of the day. they are trying to blame the government. it depends who you talk to. that,nk you very much for please stay safe, that was goal of her -- that was gulliver in

kiev. premier unitd thai works in one trip -- the embattled thai premier yingluck shinawatra linked to a rice scheme and could be removed from office. clashes and chaos, protesters were invest -- purchasers were arrested around the capital. gunfire was reported in some parts of the city, tear gas was used in others. civilians were killed and dozens violence spread. authorities have been trying to clear areas occupied by antigovernment demonstrators. >> we want to ask for the return of the rule, the intersection

behind government knew that un building. it is for the piece of residents. >> crowds have blocked access to several government buildings, part of their three-month uprising against prime minister yingluck shinawatra. she is accused of acting as a proxy for her billionaire brother, thaksin shinawatra. on monday, demonstrators cemented shut the gates to thernment house to prevent prime minister from working. elections were held on february did little to appease demonstrators. the opposition boycotted the vote. protesters say they won't go home and the government steps down. syrian regime insists a cease-fire has been implemented in suburbs of damascus. the military has allowed western journalists to witness the

return of civilians previously forced to flee homes during the war. a few days after the second round of peace talks failed in geneva last week. elena reports. the syrian flag hangs in the suburbs of damascus. crowds chant their support for the syrian army. a warng ago, this was zone. civilians are returning home thanks to a truce between the army and rebel groups. western journalists were brought here by the syrian government to show the state can reach its own local cease-fires separately from the stall geneva peace talks. inwe are interested reconciliation more than in geneva, we are interested to see the solution coming from here. nobody cares about us from outside, we care about here. they havehorities say

broken truces around the capital, including in the suburbs that have seen heavy fighting. in the palestinian refugee camp, 18,000 people were trapped by government siege. inconsistent, the army accused of undermining the truce to evacuate the evacuation of civilians from homs by arresting hundreds of millions male used -- hundreds of youtevacuees. reportedcopters were to drop bombs and tnt on civilians in aleppo while talks were going on. -- southcity near yo sudanese rebel groups have stormed the capital of the oil-producing region.

both sides keep accusing each other of violating the truce signed last month. thousands of people have been killed and more than 800,000 displaced. violence pits supporters of the versus his former number two, accused of trying to orchestrate a coup. >> let's bring our attention to the central african republic. french troops will extend their mission on the ground as the political turned ethnic conflict ravages the country. the interim leader urges france to maintain its military operation until the election in 2015. humanitarian crisis keeps growing. according to the u.n., more than one million people, a quarter of the population is in need of aid. mark thompson reports. at this market,

unlikely to get busier. increasingly potential customers in the central african republic 's capital are being put off by soaring prices, violence, and living. -- and looting, goods are not always making it to their destination. >> we want peace so people can earn money. we can only eat if we sell, workers are not being paid, who can come to the market and buy goods without peace? >> a french delegation arrived on monday pledging further assistance, paris will send 400 soldiers to bring stability on the ground, in addition to 1600 troops deployed. acting president wants them to stay until elections, scheduled for may 15. no decision will be made until french ministers gather in a weeks time. there should be

reinforcements from the u.n., if we have a peacekeeping operation we will have more people, more soldiers, and a civilian component. the additional troops and helicopters are set to arrive combatingor djibouti, the spread of violence. both the interim government and for the french army face a race against time, rainy season aarts in april, more than quarter of the population is in need of food. >> for those of you joining us on france 24, back to the negotiating table. at thenuclear program top of the agenda in vienna as world powers try to broker an agreement with tehran. ukrainian protesters seize party headquarters of president yanukovych as classes break out in kiev.

crossing to our correspondent a little later for all the latest. 3 people have been killed and dozens wounded in bangkok, authorities trying to oust antigovernment protesters as prime minister yingluck shinawatra is set to face corruption charges. time for a detailed analysis of one of today's top stories, iran. controversial nuclear program is at the top of the agenda as world powers are meeting in vienna. this is three months after tehran agreed to curb ukrainian investment in exchange -- to cur richmentm en in exchange for a lifting of sanctions. the west has feared iran's capacity to build a bomb. what is different today? youver since november 24,

have the interim agreement 1, then iran and p5+ permanent members of the un security council plus germany reached an agreement. allocated six months to finalize an agreement on the nuclear issue, we are in the both partiesmpaign are trying to generate. >> one of the sticking points? tothe interim put an end enrichment of uranium beyond 5%, the threshold the europeans were seeking. stockpile diluted that has been taken to a lower level. what is up for grabs now is the big issue such as the fate of arakcentrifuge center, the reactor, the long-term position enrich.and its right to

dealt with.s to be today is the first round of a number of upcoming negotiations that will take place. speaking for these days, the group will the p5+1 identify group members, you won't get anything out of this in the next three days. ans are hopingni that by the six-month anniversary of the interim accord, july 20, an agreement will be reached. iranians will do whatever it takes to end sanctions and return the country to the international community. >> in the meantime, the u.s. and iran have downplayed hopes of a breakthrough. e nuclear khamenei "th

issue is an excuse for u.s. hostility. another issue will pop up." why did he say that? a negotiation tactic. the first thing you do in bargainson, you upend and make things difficult for the other party. they have also said they are quite pessimistic, president obama said there is a 50% chance this thing will go through. we should not forget that ayatollah khamenei also specified, after having said he is not optimistic, he is not against negotiations and that word.ill stick by its contradictory messages from both sides. yous only natural when embark upon tough negotiations. >> what concessions are both sides ready to make? are serious about their desire to reach a settlement, the iranians will

accept, plateau their enrichment capacity at 5%, they are willing to accept a number of surprise visits by the iaea, they will 003ept the approval of the 2 protocol to the treaty. e,ey will expect, in exchang that the u.s., u.n., and european sanctions be removed. >> the west has economic interests in iran, tell us what is at stake? andhen you talk about iran the international business community, the largest addition to the world economic system easterne absorption of european countries after the berlin wall. acquiring $300

billion of investments in the last five years. we saw it in the french union in tehran, the dutch going there. iran is a big cake, industrial countries are adjusted. -- are interested. >> thank you for that analysis. for a bit of sports, termites upcoming champions league clashes. ofheading to the first leg the champions league. french champions going into the clash on the back of an easy win. labor hoping to put two and a dismal week, they've been eliminated. expects anrdi encounter. >> when you play, everybody really needs to be right there

over both legs. 2 games at a very high level, i don't think there can be a favorite. we need to play our hearts out, even then you're not guaranteed anything. it is really important for us to make it through to the next round. play thata style of you have to try and stop. our opponents are strong, it will be difficult, but we are looking for a win. >> has -- they have not reached the high since 2002. something special this year. the coach urges the fans to respond. ♪ fanshope we have all the tomorrow supporting us from the first minute to the last whatever happens during the game. we need to try to get back the

support everyone is fighting as hard as they can. we are trying to play as good game as we can. then we will be happy, whatever the result. bring joy to can our fans. onthey will keep an eye other players. kavali is out injured. the glamour of the champions league will see barcelona take on manchester city. the city had been revitalized and the new coach has been scoring goals on home soil. finally after two years of frustration, a seat at the top table and continuing the development of the club. >> this club is trying to

football.eas of had a goodfar season, we must finish in the same way. is -- our achievements one of our targets is to try to maintain. >> barca top of the league. has not been entirely convincing the season. some feel they have lost their or of invincibility. -- their aura of invincibility. >> they do not fear us as before because we did not win the champions league for the past 2 years. they still respect us, we are a team with a lot of players, we won the world cup, champions league. i think we can still be the best, we have to show the world that we can do it. tomorrow is a great chance and a

great opportunity to go and show that we are top players and we can win. >> a former recruit manager will hope to keep pressure on barca. midfielder could return from injury. unprecedented hack of gold medals. belarus won individual races. the czech republic took silver, the podium.eted new poll full world record holder has pulled out of indoor championships because of an injury.

he opened a wound on his ankle. french investigates the inquiry into the accident that left michael shoemaker in a coma, he fell skiing in the agg99ññwççac