i'm errol barnett. to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world, it's a pleasure to have you with me on this saturday. this is "cnn newsroom." now, at this moment, it's just past noon in eastern ukraine. that's where the standoff between the country's military and pro-russia activists has taken an even more violent turn in recent weeks. the interior minister says it's offensive to drive out what it calls terrorists from slovyansk. on friday, at least nine people were killed, including the pilots of two helicopters shot down by pro-russia separatists. the violence has spread to the southern port city of odessa as well. you're seeing some of the images into us from there. activists who support the government in kiev slashed with pro-russia supporters. a fire at a trade union building, that's what you're looking at now, killed at least 31 people. and we have these new developments into cnn. a team of military observers from the organization for security and cooperation in europe, the osce, they've been held captive in eastern ukr

i'm errol barnett. we begin with reports of a large military operation in the eastern ukrainian city of sloviensk. there's a special military operation there. one pro russian separatist has been killed and another wounded. cnn confirms at least one military helicopter in this area and people there say they've heard gunfire and explosions in the distance, but for the moment the town seems mostly quiet. sloviensk is one of several locations recently seized and occupied by pro russia separatists. we have nick payton walsh on the line now. he's north of slovavyansk. if you can give us what information you have, especially the death that's been confirmed. >> reporter: let me tell you what we've seen. to the north of slavyansk, it's a pro russian checkpoint. now in quite reasonable number though not particularly effectively, ukraine iian troop seem pretty well organized some of them and others say they're from the national guard who are traveling around. a military helicopter flying along that highway. we can

i'm erroll barnette.iland's prime minister was ousted in the latest round of back and forth political tugs in the country. our reporter is in bangkok covering all angles's this. yesterday when we saw you at this time you were at a, i guess we could call a a pro-government rally yesterday? those who didn't support the ousted prime minister. today you're at a scene of those who do support the ousted prime minister. just set the scene for us, and give us a bit of comparison at these two opposing forces there. >> reporter: errol, yes, yesterday at an anti-government protester house. today is a day for the pro-government protesters to come out in force. we haven't seen them hold any kind of rally for about a month now, and just to set the scene, just to compare where i was yesterday with today, look at all of this traffic, errol. these are all people heading to the main stage. every road leading up to the road which is where, one of the main, popular, very beautifully lined streets in bangkok where the main st

. >>> and i'm errol barnett. thank you for joining us. >> and all of this unfolding in the past few hours, the country, hindu bjb party, traditionally hindu, as you see there celebrations are under way although that is a tame version of what is taking place in india right now. a spokesperson for india's ruling congress party already is conceding defeat. and here we'll break down the latest numbers for you, with 544 of india's 543 constituencies reporting, the opposition bjp leads in 275 of thoconstituenci crossing the barrier, the congress party leads in 49 districts, that is a staggering number to reach. the maximum number is 210, the maximum number needed in india's parliament. >> at cnn new delhi, the fireworks we saw in the streets, a celebration, this is quite an outcome in this massive election. >> reporter: absolutely, a tremendous outlocome here is its no surprise the bjp party has won, convincingly how they won, the mandate is absolutely enormous. and even though the polls predicted this would be the cas

i'm errol barnett. appreciate you spending a bit of your saturday with us. ousted prime minister inc. lung shinawatra is safe. being detained along with other leaders of her former government. the military has banned more than 150 prominent figures from leaving the country and imposed martial law. that includes a curfew and shut out independent media reporting, including cnn. we have paula hancock who has been watching this over the last few days. bring us to speed. what's the mood? a lot of people concerned and wondering how inshinawatra's supporters will respond. what's happening now? >> reporter: well, errol, we are seeing pockets of frustration coming out on the streets of bangkok. we are seeing hundreds of protests we understand, quite close to here standing up against the military and riot police. we have pictures from that particular area. those protesters we saw a little bit earlier on today are trying to get through to victory monument, an area in central thailand. it appears as though the military and the police may be trying to stop them from gett

. >> and i'm errol barnett. "early start" is up next in the u.s. world business news is up. hey, razor. check this out. listen up, thunder dragons, it's time to get a hotel. we can save big on killer hotels with priceline express deals. somewhere with a fitness center? hey you know what man, these guys aint no dragons. they're cool. these deals are legit. yeah, we're cool. she's cool. we're cool. i'm cool. hey, isn't that razor's old lady? not anymore. priceline savings without the bidding. >>> happening now, u.s. investigators on the ground in nigeria searching for hundreds of young girls kidnapped by terrorists. this morning, new fears it might already be too late. we're live with the latest. >>> white house cover-up or right-wing conspiracy theory? a new investigation launched into the 2012 terror attack in benghazi that killed four americans. will congress prove the obama administration lied or will democrats prove republicans are just playing politics? what's happening today. >>> and an agonizing wait for johnny football. the one-time heisman

i'm errol barnett. here are our top stories this hour.ro's welcome for india's prime minister elect narendra modi. modi and his new government are to take office may 21st. outgoing prime minister is tendering his resignation today. >>> at least six wildfires are charring parts of southern california at this moment. firefighters working to contain those blazes which have charred more than 50 square kilometers since tuesday. authorities have charged one man with arson related to a small fire. >>> a new fire has broken out at the soma mine. this is in turkey hinders search efforts there. turkish energy mibser says 299 miners are confirmed dead. three are believed to still be underground. they're not thought to have survived the initial fire in the mine tuesday. >>> nigeria's president plans to attend a security summit in paris today focusing on boko haram, the terrorist group that abducted more than 200 school girls. the nigerian government says president goodluck jonathan never planned to visit the village where the girls were kidnapped. th

i'm errol barnett. for those watching in the world, i'll be back with headlines.ose of you in the u.s., "new day" is next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> after a bloody weekend battle the body count soars in ukraine. now the blame game and the pleas for the u.s. to intervene. >>> triumph for the clippers after, oh, you know, a trying week in the spotlight. two big wins for this team this morning one week after the donald sterling saga stole their thunder. >>> and washington goes hollywood, well, they tried. they got close. the stars came out, of course, and so did the jokes. >> the house republicans actually give john boehner a harder time than they give

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