I am Ray Furlong with a selection of highlights from across BBC World Service News today.

Coming up, Ukrain steps back from the EU. Syria's children are psychologically damaged.

"When I look at children in that camp, and particularly young boys, expressing themselvesthrough violence, they are now actually children being abused, and abused by some of thegangs and other groups operating in Iran. Then I'm getting very worried."

But are their needs being ignored by the international community?

"It's the governments of the wealthy states that not really come forward to give the kind ofassistance that is needed if we are not going to end up with a whole generation lost."

And a week of protests in Bangkok has demonstrated as ask for army support to get rid of thePrime Minister. Also in the podcast, an investigation into just why Pope Benedict became thefirst pontiff to resign in 600 years.

"We could not ask him is it fever? Is it headache? Is it stomachache? Did the doctor said toyou? We could not ask that." But are Vatican scandals actually to blame?

European Union leaders warn they are not to tolerate Russian interference in theirnegotiations on closer integration with Ukrain. At the end of an EU summit in Lithuania, theEuropean Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said any third party involvement innegotiations between the EU and another state was unacceptable. Chris Morris is in Vilniuswhere the summit was held and spoke to Maddy Savage.

"Ukrain, the biggest country of this group of six countries the EU is talking to by farther mostsignificant. It was supposed to sign the deal. Frantic diplomacy over last 48 hours, I was in ahotel lobby last night with leaders coming and going. And it's fail. Ukrain isn't signing on. Andthat makes this disappointment."

"What about other issues?"

"Well, it's all about setting the agenda for these countries to be, over the long term, moreprosperous, and perhaps more stable because that's what EU wants. I mean, there were oneor two other issues being brought up. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister wanted to talkabout free movement within the European Union. Others thought this wasn't really the time orthe place for that. So one or two other things, but really overshadowed by what happened withUkrain."

"And what's it like in Vilnius? What's the atmosphere there?” “It's pretty cold actually but it'sbeen quite intense."