no one hosni more information than the plane has vanished. >>> angela merkel warned of catastrophic consequences unless russia changes course over crimea. mrs. merkel said if russia refused to change course, eu leaders were ready to take measures with serious economic impact. >> translator: if russia continues on its pursuit the next few weeks it wouldn't just be a catastrophe for ukraine. as neighbors of russia, we would also see it as a threat. this wouldn't just change the entire relationship but i'm convinced it will harm russia massively, economically as well as politically. >> well, let's go to our lynn correspondent steve evans. steve, those efforts, catastrophic consequences and a threat. this is tough language. >> it is tough language. we're not quite clear what that means. the first thing she said was there will be no military action. so we should say that. she implied there would be a gradual step-by-step increase on the pressure. the first would be to halt trade. movement between the eu and russia. and then she said there would be insurance economically very painful for russia if tha

visitesident wanted to the holocaust memorial with angela merkel.he president became concerned g ping would you -- would be china over deadwood the japan -- would be japan over the head with this. is very-- angela merkel concerned about being used like that. >> getting back to that special relationship between china and germany, we spoke a little bit about china. you believe that everything is firmly at hand. if the government were so to go >>t., they could control i think the trade links are very strong. he put into context, if there were some kind of accident in china, we don't think would be sufficient to dl the european economy. to do rail the european economy. if you compare the exports from german to europe with exports to china, the chinese exports are quite small. effect it would have an to the supply chain, but i don't stimulateould recovered completely. spain ise a lot of -- slowly getting better. other any opportunities in the periphery countries? >> absolutely. as we go for value. go for the banks, for example. go for the regional champi

russia's president. >> they have a lot of connectivity, because putin speaks very fluent german and angela merkelself speaks russian. >> reporter: she grew up in east germany under the communist system dominated by the soviets. putin served in east germany. merkel and putin are not friends but she has a realistic picture of the russian leader and by all accounts has shown him a certain savvy and toughness that he respects. several years ago, putin brought large dog to a meeting with merkel. apparently wanting to test her, knowing she has a fear of dogs. she was terrified says one analyst but didn't flinch. kept negotiating with putin more than an hour. >> she did not blink because she understands the russian mind-set. she knows that the russians and in this case vladimir putin wanted to play russian chess with her, which means, the person who blinks the first has lost. >> merkel's relationship with president obama recently became strained with reports the nsa tapped her cell phone, but analysts say it's her credibility with both the white house and the kremlin that making the difference. >> i thi

like the red carpet treatment awaited angela merkel when she visited london.he was given the rare honor of addressing both houses of parliament. david cameron was hoping for some or in his efforts to reform the eu. the german counselor did not oblige. i expect my speech to pave the way for parliamentary reform. i am afraid that people who think that are in for a disappointment. >> she was also pessimistic regarding london demands on freedom of movement. the two leaders stressed the things they do agree on. >> we both want to see change in your. we believe that change is possible. clean later met with the 14. she stressed the importance of written for europe. >> germany's former president was acquitted on corruption charges on thursday. it ends the first trial of a german head of state. the court cleared him of wrongdoing. prosecutors claimed that he accepted payment of around 700 euros from a film producer. in exchange, he helped raise support for a movie project. the presiding judge called the amount peanuts and said there was no compelling evidence against t

we're talking about the german chancellor, angela merkel.an todd is with us with more on this part of the story. she is a very significant player. >> very significant, wolf. she is seen now as increasingly maybe the person who could be the most central to resolving this crisis. her diplomats are the ones pushing many of the diplomatic initiatives that are actually taking some traction right now with ukraine. germany has huge economic leverage with russia. they are a huge trading partner with russia. they buy about a third of their natural gas from russia. they export technology in cars to russia. it is a huge relationship. vladimir putin certainly does not want to see that, you know, take a bad turn at this point. but also, there is a real personal dynamic between angela merkel and vladimir putin. where putin really does respect her. she is a tough negotiator. she is a very pragmatic person, does not she also has a great dynamic. it's in her political dna. she grew up in east germany. vladimir putin was stationed in russia as an officer. he

then get the readout from the white house that angela merkel told the president after a conversation with putin, chancellor merkel told mr. obama on telephone, she was not sure putin was in touch with reality. people briefed on the call said in another world quoting merkel. what is that? >> it's a remarkable readout of what angela merkel allegedly said in these calls and their engageme engagement, her foreign minister had been part of the three that had gone to negotiate with yanukovych in kiev and secured the deal. so angela merkel's silence at the beginning may have been the other -- in another direction, that to a certain degree part of the criticism of what happened in kiev is that the legislature went too far. that they undid the deal with yanukovych that would not have given putin an opportunity to say, see, they are not following arrangements in terms of an appropriate challenge or democratic test of yanukovych's power. there's a question mark there and putin used that to justify moving forces into crimea. there was a chance angela was on the side of this thing. now after her d

there's chancellor angela merkel of germany. you can see stephen harper of canada, the president of france, but this guy over here in the blue shirt, that is not vladimir putin. vladimir putin that day was home washing his hair. he sent the prime minister instead. he did not care to attend the g-8 summit. kicking a nation out of the g-8 is a big deal. watching what is going on in the world right now, it does not seem reasonable to conclude, however, that vladimir putin much cares about the g-8. it doesn't seem reasonable to conclude that vladimir putin cares more about the g-8 than he does about ukraine. and as president putin considers to be consolidating or at least escalating his military adventure into crimea, as he considers whether or not he's going to push russian troops even further beyond crimea into other parts of ukraine, would any of the options available to not just the united states but the international community actually make a difference? would any of the options that were on the table right now be enough to pus

. >>> german chancellor angela merkel threatens tougher sanctions for russia. >>> australia releases images of objects believed to be the first credible evidence of flight mh will have 370 as the search in the indian ocean intensifies. >>> investors are cheering the head of the luxury fashion group mulberry this morning. it's down after a major profit warning. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> hi, everybody. if you're just tuning in, thanks for joining us on the show. you can see how the u.s. indications are for what we're going to be seeing this afternoon when the u.s. markets open. remember that the yellen effect took hold of u.s. markets yesterday. we're just seeing markets being called a couple of points lower, if anything, not by many much. we're really interested to see whether this will last or whether it's a temporary bleep in the markets, as it were. our european markets, though, this morning, we were called quite a bit lower. we're hanging on to these losses by a bit. the ftse 100, 6523, off by 0.7%. yes

burns, how critical is angela merkel? >> she's a central player.n burns, how critical is angela merkel? >> she's a central player.un burns, how critical is angela merkel? >> she's a central player.n burns, how critical is angela merkel? >> she's a central player. burns, how critical is angela merkel? >> she's a central player. she gave a speech yesterday which was quite strong in warning putin because of these mobilizations of russian's forces on ukraine's border not to go forward with incur gents into eastern ukraine. if putin went beyond crimea and sent troops in to other city, then i think we're being look at fairly substantial sanctions. >> let me ask you both quickly then a couple of other points that we touched on. am babassador burn, we mentione may toe forc nato forces conducting trainings. anything that particularly concerns you you? >> i think nato is doing what it should do. nato has not opposed militarily what putin has done. but inside nato territory, nato is building up air support for poll land in the baltic states with f-16s and f-1

angela merkel says he has. madeleine albright says he's delusional. i think there might be a simpler explanation. people don't have to think about where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. generating electricity that's cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions-- it matters. ♪ >> what does dissent in russia look like these days? we're going to show you a coup of examples of that next. and we'll include the example of that anchorwoman in russia who said she objects to the invasion of crimea. vo: once upon a time there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked, giants stood tall, and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real. avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place. expedia, find yours. take because you can't beating for zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor r

i think when angela merkel says he's in another world, it's that.t's not that he's taken leave of his senses but he's playing with a set of facts that are partly unfounded and partly very self-serving. and i think that's what you're seeing here. he's made a move and he's going to stand by it and justify it publicly even if he has to bend the facts a bit. >> it's fascinating to hear what you witness in meetings. do you have any specific example? i mean, it would be interesting to hear of things he thought about the u.s. or say which you just didn't feel were based in fact and were the result of misinformation by the people giving him information. >> well, the most amusing was a private meeting he had with president bush year and probably 2005, 2006. it was right after cbs fired dan rather and he said -- president bush talked to him about press freedom. he says, well, you don't have press freedom. dan rather made you mad and you fired him. president bush said, vladimir, please don't go in front of the press corps and use that example. people will thin

we also had the phone call the president had with angela merkel, but let me start with kerry and lavrov. what do they say to each other? what's critical right now? >> first of all, the fact they are meeting is a good sign. they have developed a cordial relationship. i've been in many meetings with them and the fact they are talking leads open the possibility of this off-ramp that you mentioned and that the president and the administration is trying to provide for putin. i don't think there will be any break ththroughs today, i think it's early for that, but you will hear about the consequences, economic consequences of continuing this and foreign minister lavrov, just the justification for it all. resolution will come later in this crisis. if it comes at all. >> meantime, simultaneously, you have secretary kerry talking to a lot, frankly, of foreign counterparts. here's some of the criticism that we've been hearing. this one from congressman mike rogers. >> right now, putin has set the table in the crimea for negotiations the way he would like them to go, and i think that puts us at a l

angela merkel says he has. madeleine albright says he's delusional. i think there might be a simpler explanation. vo: once upon a time there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked, giants stood tall, and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real. avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place. expedia, find yours. >> what does dissent in russia look like these days? we're going to show you a coup of examples of that next. and we'll include the example of that anchorwoman in russia who said she objects to the invasion of crimea. [ sneezes, coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. than any other behind the counter liquid gel. save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.d everybody knows that. well, did you know pinocchio was a bad

president obama says he won't go to the g 8 and he spoke spoke to angela merkel. lots is going on in this story. but awful lot is going on in the ground there. thank you. >> there is no question this showdown with russia is dangerous. john mccain believes the the war is over but putin does not. senator mccain joins us. good evening, sir. >> thank you. i believe it because president obama r. president obama said 20 years ago the cold war ended. he said to medvedev tell val valentine's vladimir putin when i'm elected i will be more flexible. we are paying a very very heavy price for it. >> what do you think president putin is thinking tonight and what do you think that president obama is thinking tonight? >> i think that vladimir is thinking i got what i wanted crimea. by the way russia signed a treaty in 1994 guaranteeing crimea's territorial integrity as part of ukraine. but he is feeling good. he now is deciding how much of eastern ukraine he is going to cause problems in that really is something that we can't be really sure of. >> is he going forward than crimea

putin and angela merkel spoke several times, recently when putin agreed with angela merkel's proposal to open dialogue with russia and ukraine's government. a negotiated solution will help germany's economy as much as any other in europe. since the collapse of the soviet union no country has benefitted more than eastern europe and russia. several countries, poland and others serb as production centers for -- serve as production centres. while the president and secretary of state john kerry have been pushing to impose sanctions, germany, for now, opposeds them. >> the obama administration officials are doup playing the -- downplaying the delights with germany -- angela merkel has been given room to move with vladimir putin in order to reach a deal. >> the obama administration has cancelled a trade mission to moscow as well as a russian trip to washington d.c. this week. >> live pictures from independence square in ukraine. where people are still camped out but things have calmed down since pt change in government. we'll follow the events in ukraine at aljazeera.com. for breaking news a

>>> russia's president vladimir putin spoke today with the german chancellor angela merkel.ven as but tine thumbs his knows at the western allies she may be the one leader he can't afford to anger too much. brian todd has been looking at the story. >> that phone call today was one of several angela merkel has had with putin since the crisis began. she's also spoke within president obama multiple times during the standoff. it's looking more and more that merkel has the most clout, has a pipeline to vladimir putin that the man in the white house doesn't. >> reporter: it's no secret president obama's strained relationship with vladimir putin isn't helping in this crisis. who can solve it? maybe the toik daughter of a pastor, german's chancellor, angela merkel. >> vladimir putin knows from experience that the hast enemy he wants right now in europe is germany. >> reporter: germany has huge economic leverage over putin. t buys more an ta third of its natural gas from russia, exports technology and cars to russia. analysts say what makes her so crucial in this crisis is she has so

the key person here is angela merkel in germany.y have most to lose by these em babargo embargoes. they want to see a dip low plastic route here, only we know the uk has influence for russian interest in london. they also are very concerned about what would happen here. they're both supported by the likes in italy and france. we've got a core number of countries here that don't want to push forward. in fact, only the central and the eastern europeans who are afraid of their territorial rights are pushing for more stringent conditions. i hope i'm surprised by what we come out with today, but right now it's looking lying sanctions light is going to be the solution we come up with. that's going to have an impact to the kind of sanctions that we hear from the u.s., remember, because they don't want to negatively impact europe's policy and energy rely yaiance g forward. i hope my expectations are beaten today, but i have to admit i'm skeptical, ross. >> jules, sharp elbows are what's required in a tight pen. >> don't you worry, i've got

angela merkel and so forth.other than that, we have not heard from president putin clearly outlining, precisely what his intentions are in carry willing out this action, even as i say, acknowledging the bear minimum, that these are, in fact, russian forces on the ground in crimea. common sense certainly suggests that. there would seem to be very little doubt about that whatsoever now. we only know from these leaked lines here and there. at the moment, it would seem to indicate that the kremlin, president putin's intentions are still pretty open. it would seem they are certainly holding on to crimea. very little chance to give it out to the central authorities in kiev. now, this very open-ended question of what that means for the eastern portion of ukraine. president putin told president that russia reserves the right to protect people that identify with russia. russia is still keeping its options open about a further military incursion into that part of the country as well. phil black in russia. they do maintain

what we are seeing in catherine ashton and angela merkel is a change in tone. angela merkel has given up on vladimir putin or is showing signs of her patients snapping. she has been the one talking to you and -- to put in and understanding him on a different level. she said he seems to be in a different mold -- that is partially the answer to one of your questions. it is hard to judge how vladimir putin will react to the sanctions. the public line from the kremlin -smanctions,ctions we don't really care. they are targeting officials close to put in -- the head of security service, the defense minister, the head of the state-run gas monopoly. this is the top-tier list. presumably in a first run of sanctions it would be visa bans. slightly low level officials so they keep some ammunition so they can escalate if putin were then to move on to steps beyond just crimea, ruling military hardware into other parts of ukraine. they want some leeway. the real question with the economic sanctions. will europe be able to speak in the collective voice, give us a sizable econ

sunday night the russian accepted a proposal from angela merkel to form a fact-finding mission on thekrainian crisis. vladimir putin insists that they have a right to protect their citizens, including the use of military action when necessary. frederick is covering the meeting for us. what can europe do in this crisis >> you heard john kerry yesterday morning about the international community being ready for sanctions against , politically and economically. now european foreign ministers say that they will surely use strong words to condemn russia's military appointments in the .kraine polish prime minister's this morning discussed the consequences of russia's military deployment, without giving more detail. rather than sanctions, today's meeting in brussels is likely to end with high-level mediation in the ukraine. angela merkel spoke yesterday of president putin and proposed setting up a fact-finding mission in the ukraine to establish a political dialogue , possibly shaping the needs for organization and security in europe. >> you are also looking at how they can support the new le

angela merkel focused more on the privacy side of things, talking about the responsibility corporationsumers to protect and safeguard individual data. plan tous about the make the merkel failed -- merkel phone available for the public at large. lot. have talked to them a they basically modify a blackberry. they are going to sell that mass-market. the had a contract with german government for about 2000 phones. now they want to make it available to everyone. tag, buthefty price vodafone may be offering a monthly contract in germany for around 10 euros a month. secure have conversations as long as you call another customer. security,ultimate in but it's pretty pricey. >> inks. >> up next, let's talk a little bit about china. we have numbers that disappointed, and that's something you need to be aware of is we are half an hour from the start of european trade. numbers coming way below expectations. were expectings an increase. in fact it came in with a decrease of 18%. >> the question is what distortions there were from the lunar new year holiday. investors are looking for policy guidance

angela merkel and her chinese counterparts both called for diplomatic solution. protests continued in kiev and crimea ahead of a planned referendum in crimea this weekend. jim maceda is joining us from moscow. that referendum, is that still on as far as we know? >> reporter: hi, ross. well, yes, we are six days away from the referendum to take place on crimea. and with the international monitors preventive for a third time from entering the peninsula over the weekend, it's pretty clear now that the final result of that vote will be to secede from ukraine and become part of russia, russian or pro-russian troops continue to consolidate militarily over crimea. some 20,000 to 30,000 forces, that's two to three divisions now occupying almost a dozen ukrainian border guard posts according to you cranan sources. and along the stretch near crimea and ukraine proper, some reporters have seen russian troops or pro-russian troops laying land mine there is to make the point that crimea is de facto, no longer a part of ukraine. but here in moscow the kremlin is still existing

on the other hand, to hear this from angela merkel, herself, who's been a little softly softly when it comes to putin in history, did that strike you as remarkably strong words from her? >> it does. and you picked up on that because this is a change in tone from merkel. up until now, merkel was saying she was the good cop. and kerry and certainly obama were more the bad cops. although we noted that president obama was more often saying, hey, there's an off ramp, we want to let him get off and get out of this box. and kerry was a little bit tougher. there was a little dissidence there. carrots and sticks, perhaps. merkel is onboard. germany relies so heavily on natural gas that comes on a pipeline ironically from ukraine through russia. today kerry told the senate and the house there will be sanctions on monday if this referendum goes through. they don't think they can stop the referendum. they can't talk the de facto annexation. they're concerned about putin surrounded by three or four former kgb, if you can be a former, i don't think you can, guys that were his colleagues, pals in the

so it's not just possible bits of aircraft >> angela merkel warned of catastrophic consequences unless russia changes course over crimea. mrs. merkel said if russia refuses to change force, european union leaders were ready to take measures with serious economic impact. they are working on a solution to the crisis, including setting up direct talks kiev and moscow. >> translator: if russia continues on the course of pursuit the past couple weeks, it wouldn't just be a catastrophe for ukraine. as neighbors of russia, we would also see it as a threat. this wouldn't just change the entire relationship between the european union and russia, but i'm convinced this will harm russia massively, economically we also politically. >> angela merkel speaking in berlin. let's go to bbc's steve evans in berlin. those words, catastrophic consequence, a threat, this is a bleak warning from the chancellor. >> it is. what was significant they didn't use the word sanctions. she did talk about insurance somewhere down the road if russia doesn't de-escalate the situation. she didn't bluntly say we will impo

"varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ stuart: angela merkel, who would have thought, responding to situation this the ukraine as vladimir putin officially signs a bill annexing crimea. merkel urges the u.s. to frack. she says europe will buy that shale gas if we go get it and if we allow it to be exported. remember, please, russia controls a great deal of the energy that europe uses to heat their homes. he's got europe over the proverbial barrel unless america jumps in. sandra smith is here. >> yes. stuart: so if we -- >> hello. you have an opportunity. stuart: yes, from angela merkel of all people, any european. >> that's why everyone's saying, hello, president obama, this is an enormous opportunity to become energy independent, become exporters of oil. here's the opportunity. if we were to speed up the process, we could probably do it in a few months. stuart: will he do it? that's your question. >> huge opportunity here. lots of people knock manying on his door. -- knocking on husband door. i say it's still going to take a long time -- stuart: come on, charles. >> i tell people t

i underunderstand angela merkel is a politician.a courageous woman or leader what say you. >> i think she has been a leader in terms of what do you have in europe? you certainly don't have a socialist who found out that people weren't all that fond of socialism once they saw what it was going to look like. i think she has brought some stability to an otherwise struggling european economy. she has been very forceful in speaking out when she finds issues with the united states. maybe not number two, but she certainly deserves to be no less. >> i disagree. when she could have helped us in afghanistan, she did not. okay. i thoughts that that was appalling. that was appalling. all right. so the germans sat it out. number two, we protect angela merkel. we protect germany. the german government doesn't protect germany we do. we are paying for angela merkel's suture. on this issue where she should have led? what is is she doing. >> what is she doing. >> stick with number two, angela merkel. if she is such a hot shot leader what's she doings

angela merkel, the chancellor of germany. nobody quite knew what to make of it when she reportedly finished a long telephone call with vladimir putin a couple days ago and after that call picked up the phone again to call president obama because she wanted to tell president obama that having spent a whole lot of time on the phone with vladimir putin, she wanted president obama to know that in her opinion, "vladimir putin is in another world." she said he didn't seem like he was in touch with reality. in another world. now, was that just how he seemed to angela merkel in that conversation? was he just being particularly weird or loopy to her for some reason? was she saying that strategically to try to influence something about how the west was behaving toward russia in this international crisis? what did that mean for her to say that putin sounded like a space cadet when she talked to him on the phone about what he was doing in crimea? today those questions were largely settled when mr. putin held a long press conference in mo

angela merkel, there seems to be a divide developing between president obama and chancellor merkel. >rsday, a nato meeting and thus far no appetite by the german chancellor even though she despises putin and is making strong statements about the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, they're not about to go along with sanctions with real teeth. 40% of their natural gas in germany and half of their energy is from natural gas comes through the pipeline from russia. it is a terrible vice that the russians have on the germans. there's going to be real face-off among the allies as to how to find a unanimous path that can have some teeth and at the same time look for a way out that putin can pull back. they're looking actively what can putin be offered that somehow will make him take a step backwards rather than to continue the kind of belligerence that we've seen. >> one of the reasons the markets were all down, down, down in europe today, here in the united states, elsewhere, especially in russia -- and stephen hadley, i want you to wear in on what we just heard from carl with this. there's

let's start with this call for angela merkel. was a significant moment for the president. >> first of all, i'm not sure i would go that far. the essential conversation is putin and the president of the united states. merkel has a key position, a key role ongoing with it. he has her respect in a grudging way. i'm thinking, it's been a time to work joer toughouts. along the signs of what the president wants. others in her club do not and i think most of the cart wfrgs will be, that there is a much are unanimity that unless pum, who is now being regarded in the western world in the form mu nar communist east even as a cold war i don't remember going back to a dangerous time that russia will never be respected as an equal power with any kind of morlg equivalency is the key word here. same is the tool therefore at least the off ramp. that's the question? is there room for an off present than what was said on the floor. if put continue can -- i know you raised the conviction. after all, he is the one calling for a democratic referendum

were talking about how angela merkel had the conversation with putin last night. not a lot came out of that conversation, it seems, apart from the fact that putin accepted a proposal from chancellor merkel that observers can go into premiering -- crimea and actually see if there is any that someo the fact of the russian speakers are being discriminated against. that is one thing that came out of the conversation. there's something else that i think is even more disturbing, and this is a little snippet, it came from a new york times guy. briefed on the conversation angela merkel actually had with obama. when she was asked about what her impression of speaking with putin was like she responded that two was "in another world." she said she was not sure if putin was to -- in touch with reality, according to people briefed on the call. that is a little bit concerning. in terms of the meetings that have been taking place, hague is in kiev, secretary kerry flies in and would have the european foreign ministers meeting today. what can we realistically expect on that meetin

called david cameron and german chancellor angela merkel.he government the leaders have a different assessment on what's happening on the ground in ukraine. they do agree the situation needs to be deescalated. with russia denying it has a military presence in crimea, paris bureau chief and middle east editor, request good to see you. you have written that putin seems to have taken a pause this week on the situation in crimea. so what's the psychology here? >> part to show when he pushes the pause button, he's the guy with the remote control, he's the guy controlling the situation. there's no doubt about that. he's setting the pace of the confrontation. he can step it up or pull it back. we, the west, anyway, is pretty much dancing to his tune at this point. >> putin describing new leadership as lab rats. even though he supported former ukrainian president, he even said that he had no political future left. so is putin trying to come across as the leader looking out for everyone's interest in the region, or is this more a reflection of the di

. >>> german chancellor angela merkel warns of massive political and economical damage if russia fails to change course on ukraine. >>> and in an exclusive interview with cnbc, the ceo says italy is -- >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> hello and welcome to today's edition of "worldwide exchange." good morning to viewers in the united states. we're going to kick off with the latest on malaysian flight 370. authorities set to hold their latest press conference will bring you that when it happens. this is the search for the missing malaysian airlines flight. it's been given another twist as u.s. regulators say the plane could have stayed in the air for up to four hours after it reached its last confirmed location. the latest revelation in the "wall street journal" suggests someone deliberately turned off the plane's transponder and hijacked the plane. the new evidence is based on five hours of data that was downloaded and sent back to rolls-royce. meanwhile, china says the large objects discovered off the tip of vietna

and minutes ago president obama getting off the phone with german chancellor angela merkel.wo speaking an hour about the developing crisis. this dramatic video does tell it all russian and union crew rainyian troops firing each other. both the violence and political tension escalating by the minute. for the very latest we go to live in ukraine. what's going

i know that german chancellor angela merkel spoke with vladimir putin a short time ago. what can you tell us about that conversation? >> jonathan, we are told from the german government that in that conversation angela merkel urged president putin to respect the integrity of ukraine and apparently they discussed the possibility of a fact-finding mission possibly led by the osc, the organization for security cooperation in europe. we are hearing and seeing in kiev a government that appears to be in a state of disarray. they are pretty much new to this. many of these poll terns, they are not -- politicians, they are not career politicians. the prime minister in kiev has appointed 18 new regional governors, many swept out during the ouster. so they need to rebuild an infrastructure or governance. there is criticism that at least two of those regional governors will be oligarchs, people that can wheel and deal with the power of their money. it may hold, but at the same time others say that may be what ukraine need to get a government up and functioning. >> when you consider

. >> reporter: officials in the obama administration are convinced that germany chancellor angela merkel can ask vladimir putin to back down. go. >> reporter: vladimir putin was living, quote, in another world. merkel, though, has said very little publicly, and that appears to be by design. because behind-the-scenes white house sources say merkel is at the center of quiet diplomacy. russia and germany have strong economic ties. germany is the biggest import of russian gas and oil, some of it comes through ukrainian pipelines and russia accounts for 36% of all german gas consumption. through the year merkel and putin have maintained a strong business-like relationship. putin speaks fluent german after being stationed in german as kgb. putin and merkel have spoken several times most recently when putin agreed with merkel's proposal to open dialogue between russia and ukraine's interim government. a negotiated solution would both protect and help german's economy as much as any other in europe. since the collapse of the soviet union no country has benefited more from business ties to easter

and this kind of language from angela merkel. do you think president putin has taken any notice. >> not at the moment. i don't think particularly, no. and mr. ban ki-moon will be pushing hard to try to get russia to negotiate directly with the ukrainian leadership. but whether he is in the mood for doing that i think is very much open to doubts. having successfully annexed crimea. he will be considering his next move. that will be something of a huge concern for the international community and for ban ki-moon. as he talks to mr. putin, he will try to persuade him to de-fuse tensions rather than the possibility of further military intervention. russia's troops remain on the eastern border. although in his speech a couple of days ago did say that russia did not want to divide ukraine. do you think we could summarize it as a predictable irritation to simply nudge aside and be polite about but move on and do what he was going to do anyway. >> yes. in terms of sanctions. if the eu is talking about expanding estate freezes and travel b

el banco de datos, apodado "marina", incluye 300 reportes sobre la canciller alemana, angela merkel,nformacion de los expresidentes de colombia, alaro uribe, alan garcia de peru y alvaro colom de guatemala. ya suman 39 los muertos por las protestas en venezuela. un hombre murio este sabado lectrocutado cuando levantaba una barricada en san cristobal y otro en maracaibo al explotarle un mortero de fabricacion casera, confirmo el ministerio de relaciones interiores. desde febrero, la capital venezolana y otras ciudades del interior del pais han sido escenario de violentas protestas callejeras contra el gobierno de nicolas maduro. esta maqana tanto las fuerzas opositoras como simpatizantes del gobierno, efectuaron sendas marchas en caracas. el lider del sindicato de mineros en mexico lo vinculan en un presunto escandalo. documentos publicados por la disidencia del gremio seqalan que napoleon gomez urrutia ocupa un condominio con valor de casi 1.8 millones de dolares en una exclusiva zona de vancouver, canada, que fue adquirido a nombre de su esposa, oralia casso. dirigentes opositores a

-- >> who is tougher, angela merkel or vladimir putin?bloomberg news, the national poll, it says that president obama is in a much better position than he was just a few months ago. julianna, can you break this down for us? just as we read that, my bloomberg is on fire from wall street, guys, saying what are you talking about? wall street has never been so negative on the president. >> if you look at the numbers in our poll, he is up six points from december, 48% approval rating. sx-point jump is the biggest we've seen during his residency according to our polls. all is not so rosy for the president because then when you look at his job approval across a vast swath of specific issues, he is still underwater where he gets the majority of americans disapproving of his job, for example, on the economy, on the deficit. on the economy, that is important because that is where you are going to cd drag on democrats coming up in the november midterm elections. >> and the obama approval .atings -- 48% it is not making any sense. >> well, he is stil

>> you'll remember in recent weeks the president clashed with angela merkel over nsa surveillance, reports that angle, a merkel's cell phone had been eavesdropped on, listened to by u.s. officials. there was a lot of patching up that needed to be done. yesterday there was a phone call of about an hour in which the president talked with angela merkel to work through what the white house is calling a diplomatic exit ramp here for vladimir putin to calm the situation down in ukraine. the reason being germany is a key partner with russia, a lot of economic ties and the like. bottom line defense secretary chuck hagel said today at that hearing, pushed back on john mccain saying mp needs to calm down and the president is handling the situation. >> live at the white house. thanks much. >>> former defense secretary bob gates dismissing some republicans who are accusing the president of being weak and indecisive suggesting they are pushing him to make a quick decision that ultimately might not be the right one. quote, i think considerable care needs to be taken in terms of what is said so the rheto

nod of approval and a promise of support for the re unification products from german chancellor angela merkel. she cited agreement to stop cross border mudslinging north korea specifically calls president thomas in different sports at the dvd newcomers station in north korea nuclear security stuff she did quick ball appeared to present box de regulation tried to spur the economy the government employs dozens of regulations to be admitted immediately i've done it begins. eye the new. i ate it of yours and korea and hello to those of you were watching from around the world its thirst a march twenty seven here in seoul. i need to hear some live bait is so much for joining us. we begin this evening in berlin where present bach and it has picked up the third day the first state visit to germany. the korean leader who has said unification as the main theme of the trip started off today by looking around art and photo exhibits that represent unification and freedom. she stopped by berlin's east side gallery with this what's left of the berlin wall the morning one hundred artists from around the worl

angela merkel is really waffling on this, which she should be ashamed of. we can talk to the germans very decisively about what we're going to do. >> the key thing is i agree. it doesn't work if just we do it. i worked for president reagan and the soviets went into poland to stop the solidarity movement, we tried to get the europeans not to buy gas this then the soviet union, they wouldn't do it. that's where obama is i think excels, he gets the international community to do it. the great irony here is if it wasn't for the russians, the sanctions against iran wouldn't be working. he was able to get the russians to work with us on iran which is a much are important threat to the united states than whether the russians are in crimea. >> you are also on the point of why this is all going to be a mess. the president calls on the russians for syria, the president calls on the russians for iran. there are certain things we're doing in afghanistan that require russian forbearance. they're now a major supplier of energy to western europe because be followed the ant

angela merkel shocked a lot of people. >> yeah. 30% of germany's natural gas comes from russia.k this is where we have an important energy card to play in the succeeding years. for the past several years we tried to diversify europe's energy sources so it would not be subject to blackmail from russia. i think we need to continue to explore that in greater detail over time, replace russian gas with american gas. i think that's a conversation that has already started between the united states and europe. >> i don't know who is winning politically around the world except to say that putin's numbers are way up. if this is for domestic consumption, at least for the day it's working well for him. >> sure. no doubt. he is a hero in russia. he is a hero in crimea. but i'm not sure that this is going to be all peaches and cream for vladimir putin. think of what he has done. he said that even a makeshift referendum -- russia will respect the will of the people. there are some very restive states wind greater russia that are watching this carefully and saying, self-determination for crimea