. >>> russia and ukraine have agreed to double the number of osce observers monitoring the ceasefirestern ukraine. the truce is said to be largely holding despite continued fights near donetsk and other flash points. but a car bomb in kharkiv left two people injured. >> reporter: the car exploded as it passed through a suburb. it belonged to the heard of a pro-ukrainian militia. he was injured so too were his wife and bother. the local police say they think the explosion was caused by a magnetic mine. just the latest act of what they are calling terrorism. they have accused russian-backed groups of trying to open up a new front. on the 22nd of february a bomb exploded during a pro-ukrainian rally in the same city. four people were killed including a police officer. but this police video shows a car packed with explosives in the city of mariupol. the ukrainian authorities detect the hand of russia. >> translator: we have confession testimony saying who recruited them where they were trained, and it was on the territory of the rushing shan federation. we know the exact people they made

heavy weapons, though that process is incomplete as is osce access. and demeaning has already begun under osce auspices. but the picture is very mixed. just yesterday shelling continued in a key village over the weekend. access for osce monitor, particularly in separatist controlled airsa -- areas has been spotcy. just in the last few days, we can confirm new transfers of rush and tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, and rocket equipment over the border to the separatists in eastern ukraine. in the coming days, we need to see a complete ceasefire in all parts of eastern ukraine. full, unfettered access to the whole conflict zone, a pullback of all heavy weapons and an end of unexpected convoys over the ukrainian border. if fully implemented, this will bring greater peace and security in eastern ukraine for the first time in almost a year. as the president has said, we will judge russia by its actions, not by its words. the united states will with our international partners start rolling back sanctions on russia only when the minsk agreements are

in particular the two border posts that osce has been able to monitor on the border. unfortunately, these convoys seem to find roads, 10 kilometers north or 10 kilometers south of where the osce monitors are and just wing right by. the minsk implementation called for monitoring and verification of cease-fire along the internal line as well as these pullbacks with heavy weapons. what is required by the agreement is not simply to see tanks and artillery pieces on roads moving back, but to be able to count them, to be able to see them in permanent storage, to be able to come back on a regular basis to ensure that they haven't moved or been reemployed elsewhere, but also eventually to have access to the entire axis area, that will certainly be necessary if the political pieces of minsk are to be implemented. new elections, etc., so we can be sure it is free and fair and osce elements can get in. mr. engel: let me ask you one final question. i'm really concerned that the minsk implementation agreement does not provide ukraine control over its own border with russia until t

although that process is incomplete as is osce access.ining has already begun under osce auspices. the picture is very mixed. yesterday, shelling continued in a key village over the weekend. just in the last few days, we can confirm new transfers of russian tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, and rocket equipment over the border to the separatists in eastern ukraine. in the coming days, we need to see a complete ceasefire in all parts of eastern ukraine. full, unfettered access to the whole conflict zone, a pullback of all heavy weapons, and and in -- and an end to the unexpected cargo over the ukrainian border. if fully implemented, this will bring greater peace and security in eastern ukraine for the first time in almost a year. as the president has said, we will judge russia rides actions, -- judge russia by its actions not by its words. , the united states will with our international partners start rolling back sanctions on russia , but only when the minsk agreements are fully implemented. the reverse is also true. if they are n

osce has been denied accent -- access to at lst 30% of the area where they should be able to monitor.0% of the area where they are motoring, they are constantly under pressure from rebels. they have had rebels point weaponand say they argoing to kill them. you have to schedule things a day ahead of time. frankly, the russians and rebels are not living up to what they said they would, which makes it difficult to trust. nevertheless, everybody wants tto see this be a success. so the aid e u.s. provides, that the west provides, is very smart people are working on this to figure out, how do we help the ukrainians but iway that still provides space for the minsk agreement to eventually work? that is not easy. that is a very consultative task. vago: -- consultative task. vago: what are some of the things you will be training ukrainians on? gen. hodges: the ukrainians asked for training of three battalions of ministry of the interior troops, the national guard. they will be matched up with these three battalions of ukrainians. it is to help with security, route security, securing checkpoints

where heavy equipment will be moved back from without knowing where it's been moved to, or if the osce is not able to adequately be able to gain the access necessary then there would be inevitably further consequences that will place added strain on russia's already troubled economy. >> well, sergei lavrov fired back saying ukraine must do nor to pursue a course towards peace peace. >> the grave you man tearan situation should be given the highest priority to insure the fund mental rights of has people. the ukrainian government must remove the blockade of this region restore social benefits, banking and movement towards the other parts of the country. these were set out in the minsk agreement, and the implementation must not be delayed. >> al jazeera's barnaby phillips has more now from geneva. >> we saw yet again from geneva how differently the united states and russia interpret the conflict in eastern ukraine. really from diametriccally from opposite opposition. but there were glimmers of progress in the remarks. there was talk of the withdraw of heavy weaponry. john kerry was more g

in parts of the east, the guns have been silenced and the osce has begun to gain access. the picture is very, very mixed and just today we have osce reports of new heavy shelling from separatist positions around the him dunask airport and outside the towns of mariopel including shaukina and reports of a new 17th russian convoy going over the border from russia into ukraine with no opportunity for ukraine or the icrc to inspect that convoy and we all know what they've contained in the past. so in the coming days here is what we and our international partners have to see. we need to see a complete cease-fire. all along the cease-fire line in ukraine. we have to see full, unfettered access to the whole zone for osc imam force and have to see a full pullback of all heavy weapons as stipulated in the agreement. if fully implemented, these steps will bring peace to eastern ukraine for the first time in almost a year. and they will also allow for the implementation of the follow on steps of minsk, namely access for ukraine to its citizens in the east so they can begin a politica

. >> russia and ukraine have agreed to double the number of osce observers in eastern ukraine. a truce is said to be largely holding despite continued fighting in donetsk and other flash points. but on friday a car bomb in the city left two people injured. simon mcgregor wood explains. >> the car exploded as it passed through the suburb that belonged to the leader of a pro ukrainian militia. he was injured, so too his wife and his brother. all said to be in stable ndition. the local police say that they think the explosion was caused by a magnetic mine. just the latest act of what the ukrainian authorities are calling terrorism they have accused russian-backed groups of trying to open a new front to destabilize parts of ukraine they want to control. on the 22nd february a bomb exploded during a pro-ukrainian rally in the same city. four people were killed, including a police officer. but it was not only here. this police video shows a car packed with explosives in the city of mariupol. the authorities detect the hand of russia. >> we have confession tomorrow saying who recruite

in other areas they were not allowing osce observers to see what was going on. he reiterated the possibility of the united states imposing further economic sanctions against russia if it felt the minsk agreement was not being closely followed in the coming days. >> for more on the u.n. human rights council in geneva let's now speak to kenneth rolf. thank you very much for being on al jazeera. we'll talk about the situation in eastern ukraine in a moment, but first i want to get your reaction on the comment made by john kerry the u.s. secretary of state today in geneva who accused the human u.n. human rights council of being obsessed with israeli abuses and saying that the u.s. would defend israel against efforts to isolated it. how much does this undermine the u.n. body? >> kerry said interesting and provocative things on ukraine syria and israel. in the case of israel, he went out of his way to talk about this clearly trying to anticipate netanyahu's speech before congress tomorrow, and apparently the obama administration is trying to portray itself as a true f

believes that russia is one of the actors backing the rebels directly, russia as part of the osce. do you feel you have the support you need from them to do your job? >> i feel we could get more support but certainly through the engagement in the political process and especially after the so-called minsk 2 agreements, we have seen that the presence of russia and the engagement of russia has resulted in a deescalation of the situation on the ground. but there are areas where we need more engagement, and for the time being we're not getting enough of it. >> are you hopeful at this point there will be a resolution to the conflict in eastern ukraine? >> well, that's what we are working on. and we hope of course that we will -- we have made a number of steps i think in the right direction but the road is very long and very difficult. we see also this conflict has left a very deep mark and there will be a period of reconciliation in eastern ukraine. we have to work on those issues. for the time being we have a clear road map on the things that need to be done. verify fully withdrawal of

>> we have seen incomplete compliance in terms of osce access and in terms of osce being able to veigh phi the pullback of separatists, heavy weapons. but at the -- when you get to the political phase of minsk, to follow this the political jurisdiction of the special status zone does not include the town. that will be -- if the separatists comply they should be not insisting on having political control of that areackeon we appreciate you coming today and sitting on that side. secretary carter and our joint chief dempsey have both talked about the fact that they would like to see defensive weaponry supported. secretary nuland has advocated for that. we have passed that unanimously out of both houses. at least passed it out of the senate, came out the house. there seems to be e ss to be a debate out of the administration. what is the status of this debate within the administration where we're all getting mixed signals and very confused by the stance the administration has taken? >> senator corker, i can't speak to what happened in the bilateral meeting between the president and chancello

. >> the osce can follow the weapons to the location in the schedule. that would convince them the previous withdrawn weapons are still there. >> the cease-fire deal has columns the conflict but these rebel soldiers don't leave it is over. for them, it is a waiting game. they say they will be ready for when, not if it begins. >> many member states don't have enough money to increase their budget, which is why jean-claude juncker is insisting on bonds. >> it would send a clear message to russia. the german chancellor and foreign mr. support the idea. >> german and french troops fighting side-by-side. if things go his way this will be the future of european defense. the president of the eu commission called for a european army. it's not a new idea and has many supporters in germany, even in the defense ministry. >> we want to expand this cooperation between different european armies so we can utilize our joint potential especially considering the monetary restraints. >> if member countries jointly order equipment like tanks, they could save ilion's each y

without the eyes and ears of the osce, i would not have been able to give the rundown of where things are going well and where things are going poorly in the ukraine at the beginning of this hearing. they are an unarmed force. they can only operate in a permissive environment. that is one of the challenges that they have, whether it was getting into secure the crash site or whether it is now working in separately withheld areas to get the kind of access that they need. that is what we have to continue to work on. we are trying to work now with european partners to make sure that every nation carries its weight in terms of fielding monitors, in terms of paying the budget increases that this requires, but also in terms of the specialized skills. we now need monitors who know the difference between annex kind of artillery piece and a smart rocket and that kind of thing. >> the chairman and i were in a private meeting this morning so i cannot quote by name the individual but it is a very well-respected journalist and commentator in america who as asked questions, the greatest threat of u.

observers from the osce are on the ground attempting to ensure heavy weapons on both sides. the key parts of the cease-fire agreement. thousands of people in george have been protesting the capitol of at tblisi for the government to resign. protesters accuse the government of failing to deal with georgia's economic problems. >> as nigerians prepare to vote in presidential elections the threat of boko haram attacks is weighing heavily on their minds. it could determine who they ultimately support when thetas they cast their ballots next week. >> until recently this was boko haram country the fighters may have left the streets of maidurui, but the threat they pose has not. which is why it is so extraordinary that people are turning out for last-minute election campaigns defying the real risk of suicide-bombers to better understand who to vote for. the violence has left tens of thousands dead, there is a vote for change. boko haram this man had a successful business, then boko haram took over and he lost everything. >> three of my sons were killed. i lost everything in my house

russia of not completely meeting its responsibilities, especially when it comes to cooperation with osce observers. he also accused the separatists of failing to meet the timetable for the withdrawal of heavy weapons. the german chancellor also believes that russia needs to stick to the minsk deal. their government may discuss sanctions on thursday, but the chancellor refused to be drawn into the issue. >> it has been said again and again that if there are serious infringements, a decision will be made on further sanctions. but that is not our main concern. we are focused on political discussions aimed at securing the entire accord. >> even if he has yet to be convinced, the position of berlin is clear the cease-fire deal is the only diplomatic tool available to defuse a conflict that is the greatest current threat to security in europe. >> melinda crane has been following those talks and joins us now from the parliamentary studios. our angela merkel and poroshenko on the same page what comes to dealing with the crisis? >> they appear to be at the press conference today, but it took them

six "acon ns >>rcishochles chut ad ster mar skulbeyond o pre he launed a new iniave to hp the hmes osc rord of coitment toplace today n advae of te wld meeng of famies in seembe the ardce team upith sve ii can andusiness lde visit hme sheers, fd pant ti and hlth cnics to ri awaress have of pvty. >>>till tcome on ction nw tonht a thrt to t rlive of psident obama pomp a secity scare at naa bastll ge tight. >>lus pen tais predent ord a deer probe into t ete fratnita sorory i te, state coeg >> a und the gun tonig aec ate ahorizing frg squads rxecutions, aa cily. >>et rey f another cd dy torrow. imracki is warh to mve our way latein t weebut don't g used to i ilexpin a trk our nxchance of raiin t acu weh forecas >>lus driving up cts has pnylvania, nejsey and dlare ranked for c isance bills en "ai nw continues tonht why are all these people so asleep yet i'm so awake? did you know your brain has two systems? one helps keep you awake- the other helps you sleep. science suggests when you have insomnia, the wake system in your brain may be too strong and your neurotransmitters remain too active

where heavy equipment will be moved back from without knowing where it's been moved to, or if the osce is not adequately able to gain the access necessary, then there would be inevitably further consequences that will place added strain on russia's already troubled economy. >> time for another short break. when we come back, tensions rise on the korean peninsula with protests as joint military drills start with the united states. plus, two young to marry young girls in bangladesh say no to a husband. more on that. stay with us. >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. tonight, 5:30 eastern. he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for himself in a sport where your name and maybe a number are what define you. somewhere in that pack is a driver that can intimidate the intimidator. a guy that can take the king 7 and make it 8. heck. maybe even 9. make no mistake about it. they're out there. i guarantee it. welcome to the nascar xfinity series. >> w

concealed under treeees or in shelters, because the russians and separatists arere not cooperating with the osc- ose which has the mission to verify if these are getting pulled back. they s they are getting verery little cooperation from separatis. vago: if the minskgreements fafail, or you prove continued russian involvement there, what is the next step have to be for the alliance in addressing this challenge? ambassador vershbow: i do not want to speculate exactly on what we w will do. there will be important decisions to be taken. if the cease-fire breaks down, there is clearly a message from allies who are in the eu, from the united states, that they are prepared to increase the pressure on russia, including consering additional sanctions . and those sanctions are begiginning to bite. russia's ability to get credit on the international financi markets is p pretty much locked and they have a lot of big lls coming through later this ye. the sndard of living in russia -- we do not want to punish the russian people, but living conditions have been effective -- affected. russia can expect more e

>> we have seen in complete compliance in terms of osce access, debaltseve, in terms of osce being ablehe pullback of heavy weapons and separatist's. when you get to the political phase of minsk which is to follow this, the political jurisdiction of the special status zone does not include debaltseve. if the separatists comply, they should not be insisting on having political control of that area. >> secretary mckeon, we appreciate you coming to today and sitting on that side. we have talked about the fact that we would like to see defensive secretary -- weaponry supported. we have passed that unanimously at of both houses. there seemed to be some debate within the administration, and obviously the german ambassador thinks the president has made quiet commitments that were not going to do that. what is the status of this debate within the administration where we are all getting mixed signals and confused by the stands the demonstrations taking? >> i can't speak to what happened in the bilateral meeting between the president and chancel -- chancellor merkel. it probably won't be a very s

mission to the osce. i have a little more pessimistic view on this in that russia's goal to have federalized ukraine where they defacto can influence the east use as a veto to control the region. what do you think about that. >> that may be russia's goal but that doesn't mean they get there. >> when i view these statistics , to become a that is why i am pessimistic. people are not sure where they want to go and i worry we will see a lack of will to the west. they don't really know where they will go and russia can use this and leverage this to influence the country. >> i would emphasize that the more ukraine moves westward, the greater the opportunities are for russia to try to influence the eastern part of the country because you will have more alienated people in the eastern part of the country. to the extent that people in the east have a assurances that they're not going to be pulled, kicking and screaming into europe, the less russia will have a source or means of leverage. >> well, thank you very mu

full access for osce monitors to that zone to inspect and verify to the rest of ukraine.n on the ukrainian side thereafter -- >> you can continue to watch this live on c-span.org. we're going to leave this now. the u.s. house is gaveling in momentarily for their last legislative day of the week. they will take up today re-authorizing amtrak. their debate will include seven amendments, and that will do it for the house this week. they've canceled thursday's session due to an anticipated snowstorm on the east coast. the senate, meanwhile, is in session. voting at this hour on a bill that would nullify a national labor relations board rule on union elections. the senate also expected to take up the consideration of a veto, the president's veto of the keystone x.l. pipeline bill that passed in the house and senate a couple weeks ago. follow the senate debate on c-span2 and here on c-span live now to the house floor. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content

package of measures agreed in minsk, the ceasefire consolidated, heavy weapons being withdrawn under osceoring, those who disregard this and call for increasing arms supplies to ukraine are disrupting and driven by concerns of various natures but not the interests of the ukrainian people. the grave humanitarian situation should be given the highest priority, to ensure the fundamental rights of its people the ukrainian government must immediately lift the de facto blockade of this region restore economic ties payment of social benefits banking services and the freedom of movement between them and other parts of the country. these provisions are in the minsk agreements and their imitation must not be delayed and we firmly believe the u.n. and humanitarian bodies operating in ukraine as well as ocre missions and ocrc will take steps to promptly address these issues, in conclusion i would like to stress the need of the international human rights cooperation to rid itself of any attempt to impose a single system of values as a gold standard. we must protect the diversity of the modern world, t

mission to the osce. going along to his point, i completely agree. i have a little bit more of a pessimistic view on this in that russia's goal is where they can defacto the east to use as a veto to control the region. what do you think about that? >> that might be russia's goal, but it doesn't mean they get there. >> that's why i'm a little bit pessimistic, because i see this neutrality where people aren't sure where they want to go. i'm worried we'll see a lack of will from the west where they also say they don't know where they want to go, and russia can use this to leverage and influence the country. >> i would emphasize that the more ukraine moves westward, the greater the opportunities are for russia to try to influence the eastern part of the country because you're going to have more alienated people in the eastern part of the country. to the extent that people in the east have assurances that they're not going to be pulled kicking and screaming into europe, the less russia will have a source -- >> we'll leave the last few moments of this and

>> i think that where we are now is supporting the osce observers and boosting them with extra moneynd resources and personnel. not only is the osce is something that is accepted by russia as an organization as well as by ukraine, i think in terms of peacekeepers, i think there are lots of problems there. is there a peace yet to keep? how would you get u.n.-backing when you've got russia as a permanent member of the security council? where would the troops be drawn from? what would the rules of engagement be? i think we're not at that stage yet. i think we should be focus gs open the diplomatic sanctions and other pressures to try to make minsk work and if only minsk doesn't work, we have to look at other things. >> if ukraine is to have a viable economic future it is going to need a huge amount of support as well as the imf package which is hopefully now in place. what is your response to the suggestion that's been put forward by congressman george soros for some kind of marshall plan which will provide guarantees against political risk to encourage investment in ukraine? >> i think

but the osce says it needs more details from both sides.e has provided a boost to president petrov poroshenko. still, repeated military defeats and an ailing economy has damaged his popularity. but top officials say there's zero prospect of their being toppled from power. >> we will fight for our country. >> reporter: the cease-fire in the east appears to be largely holding and as a result, president poroshenko and the government here in kiev have some political breathing space. but fighting could erupt at any moment, and if the army were to suffer another major defeat, mr. poroshenko could find himself under increasing pressure. on ukrainian tv adverts drum up support and money for the country's military. behind the patriotic fervor lies a hard truth. the government cannot supply the majority of equipment its forces need. instead, charities and volunteer groups are filling the gap, providing everything from body armor to medical equipment. >> ukraine has introduced a general conscription hoping to boost the army to 250,000, but the call-up

we got a big show for you tonight including an osc spotlight on the writer/director behind the film "t is best known as one half of the musical comedy duo flight of the concords. his latest project is a horror/comedy mash-up that he not only stars in, but also co-wrote and directed. it's called "what we do in the shadows." and for more we go to rockwell in los filas and say hello to

process -- in the little village in southeast -- in the southeast de-mining has already begun under oscepices. but the picture is mixed. just yesterday, shelling continued in a key village on the way to marielle -- and outside don't ask -- and outside donetsk. and we can confirm new transfers of russian tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, and rocket equipment over the border to the separatists in eastern ukraine. [laughter] -- host: if you missed yesterday's hearing, go to c-span.org. joining us now is benjamin wittes senior fellow at the brookings institution to talk about the war authorization, the isis war authorization, debate over war powers. let's begin with the history. why have presidents gone to congress to ask for authorization to fight a war or to fight terrorism when they are the commander-in-chief? guest: the constitution gives congress the power to declare war, so the war powers are shared between the president and congress. it makes, as you say, the president, the commander-in-chief, but the decision to go to war is a shared decision. over the years since world war i

in particular the two border posts that osce has been able to monitor on the border. unfortunately, these convoys seem to find roads, 10 kilometers north or 10 kilometers south of where the osce monitors are and just wing right by. the minks-minsk implementation called for monitoring and verification of cease-fire along the internal line as well as these pullbacks with heavy weapons. what is required by the agreement is not simply to see tanks and artillery pieces on roads moving back, but to be able to count them, to be able to see them in permanent storage, to be able to come back on a regular basis to ensure that they haven't moved or been reemployed elsewhere, but also eventually -- redeployed elsewhere, but also have access to the entire special status area. that will certainly be necessary if the political pieces of minsk are to be implemented. new elections, etc., so we can be sure it is free and fair and osce elements can get in. >> let me ask you one final question. i'm really concerned that the minsk implementation agreement does not provide ukraine control

full access for osce monitors to that zone to inspect and verify to the rest of ukraine. then on the ukrainian side thereafter -- why don't we just stop on the ukrainian side. why don't you tell me if those three have actually been done in the last three weeks, four weeks. >> we have seen some progress in some parts of the fighting lines. >> we are limited on time. again, the fighting has continued. there has been no cease-fire. the heavy equipment has not been pulled back. nobody is getting access, as you said in response to representative weber's questions to figure out what the death totals are etc., you just don't have access. fighting how the fighting has continued after the most recent of february 12. you testified that the president is engaged and that the environment will affect the calculus on the sanctions and release -- i am tired of calling them defensive weapons. they are weapons that the ukrainians need to protect themselves. russia continues to violate agreement after agreement. ukrainians continue to die. what about the environment needs to get worse befor

there are continued reports that russian backed separatists are preventing osce monitors from getting access to those areas of the country that are necessary to verify compliance with the minsk implementation plan. we do continue to have concerns about the commitment of russia and the russian backed separatists living up to that agreement. that failure on their part only puts russia at greater risk of facing additional costs. it does leave open the question about providing additional military assistance to the ukrainian military. reporter: a follow-up on that. i understand that you believe that no matter what kind of assistance you give to the ukrainians, russia, they wanted to take over in two weeks. do you think that giving lethal aid to the ukrainian government would cause russia to do something they are not doing now? sec. earnest: there are a couple of consequences we have talked about of providing additional lethal military assistance in ukrainian military. the first is that it's likely almost by definition to lead to greater bloodshed. the fact is our engagement here come at ou

there are continued reports that russian backed separatists are preventing osce monitors from getting access to those areas of the country that are necessary to verify compliance with the minsk implementation plan. we continue to have concerns about the commitment of russia and the russian backed separatists. that failure on their part only puts russia at greater risk of facing additional costs. and it does leave open this question about providing additional military assistance to the ukrainian military. reporter: just a follow-up on that -- i understand that you believe no matter what kind of assistance you give the ukrainians, do you think that giving lethal aid to the ukrainian government would cause russia to do something they are not doing now? press secretary earnest: well, there are a couple of consequences we have talked about of providing additional lethal military assistance to ukraine. the first is it is likely to lead to greater bloodshed. our engagement and support for these ongoing diplomatic negotiations is that we are trying to avoid greater bloodshed. that is one thin

behavior of the separatists that they back more specifically russia and the separatists preventing osce monitors from having full access to contested areas to verify compliance with the minsk clients plan which continues to be a subject of concern. and it represents that they expect them to live up to the terms of the agreement. we continue to have concerns about that command as long as russia and the separatists continue to engage in that kind of behavior they are only increasing the likelihood that they could face additional isolation and costs imposed on them by the international community. we have sought from the beginning to work closely in coordination with our european partners to ratchet up the pressure and that we will continue to coordinate those efforts. >> the cbo made another downward revision. the supreme court the decision. >> it certainly is the latest in a long line of data points that indicate the affordable care act is contributing in a positive way to holding down the growth of health care cost in this country that has real economic benefits but also for businesses,