a massive delegation inside the presidential palace in belarus.oroshenko there meeting and greeting not for the first time the russian president vladimir putin. and this was the location where we were expecting to hear any announcement after all-night talks involve the leaders of france germany ukraine and russia. and we were told early on there were a couple of sticking points well, more than just a couple of sticking points, but at one point the ukrainian president petro poroshenko describing russian conditions for any kind of ideal as unacceptable. so we'll go back to that as soon as we get a signal that they are about to say something. >>> president obama's request formally to authorize military force against isil could face opposition in congress. the republicans say they'll insist on changes to the plan. possible use of ground troops being a contentious issue. >>> al qaeda fighters have attacked two army bases in southeast yemen, at least seven people died. three of them soldiers. the heavily armed group stormed two army brigade bases. and e

in two days in the city of minsk, the capital of belarus. the european countries, germany and france will be part of the meeting to try to get some cease-fire going in the east of the country. frankly, the fighting there continues to escalate. this morning, a gigantic blast in the city of donetsk where an arms depot was hit. the people are in a dire situation. the ukrainian government wants the cease-fire talks, but on the other hand they said they had agreements in the past. remember there is already a minsk dock youment inu minsk dock youment inumentdocument. at the same time the government wants the u.s. to supply it with weapons. everything that has to do with electronic warfare. pinpoint where mortar fire is coming from. they say the deficit they have on the battle field will help them pinpoint where the enemy is and movements are. there is that divide if you will the atlantic divide. on the one hand, you have the european source saying we could not give them arms but in the u.s. we have the debate going on whether it is a good idea to

the next step a face-to-face negotiation in minsk, belarus. although after meeting that country's president on sunday vladimir putin hinted it was not a done deal. >> translator: i want to start our conversation today by informing you that i have just spoken with my colleagues in kiev berlin, and in the format in minsk. we're planning for wednesday if we succeed in settling the various suspense this we have discussed intensively over these last days. rip on friday the french and germ -- >> reporter: on friday the french and german had what they call meaningful and constructive talk. details are sketchy of a new peace plan on the table. a truce between the warring sides was already agreed last september also in minsk. the minsk protocol calls for heavy weapons to be pulled back, self-rule in eastern regions, and a buffer zone to be set up along the russia/ukraine border. it's afternoon the new plan envisions a much broader demilitarized zone to run along the current front lines. also different the timing. washington is already mulling supplies

for peace in eastern ukraine, leaders from ukraine russia, germany, and france promised to meet in belarus after the four-way phone call on sunday failed to yield a concrete agreement. and a sweet second victory for ivory coast. the elephants won the africa cup of nations tournament, beating ghana 9-8 in overtime. it is time now for the business news. i'm joined by stephen carroll. you are looking at how the markets are reacting to alexis tsipras' first major policy speech on sunday night. >> not very impressed, from what they have heard from the new greek the borrowing costs are very important with lenders. the 10 year bond yield is a benchmark for seeing how investors view greece. that has gone up today. effectively got an 11% interest rate on the 10-year bonds. it lets the negotiations with international lenders become more important now. shares in athens have fallen after the news. down almost 6% in trading. bankshares are being hit again. that is likely to be the focus of any shortfall in funding. should they reach an agreement with international lenders by the end of this month to ma

the people in kiev see the talks in minsk in the capital of belarus which is the best chance of getting cease-fire agreement going. there is work that need to be done. there are connotationsultations in bur berlin. the russians and ukrainians will have to hammer out a new agreement to finally get a cease-fire. i would not say there is an air of optimism but they are saying right now, all sides are talking to each other and trying to hammer something out. of course in the backdrop of that ukrainians have seen cease-fires in the past and those have lane in shatters days after being signed. that is why they want what they call defensive weapons from the u.s. a big topic here in the ukrainian capital. >> indeed. so many agreements have been broken. frederik pleitgen in kiev. thank you. fred mentioned eu leaders are moving forward with a new round of sanctions on 20 individuals. the highest is the deputy defense minister. let's go live to moscow a bring in cnn correspondent matthew chance. >> reporter: the russians say they are in favor of peace. they already agreed to a cease-fire that was

a breakthrough on the ukraine crisis a ceasefire after hours of tough negotiations in belarus. >> the korean air executive who flew into a rage over a packet of nuts has been found guilty of violating aviation safety. >> greeks show support for their new government, but debt talks with the e.u. have failed so far. >> an egyptian court grand two al jazeera journalists bail. mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed have been detained 411 days accused of colluding with the outlawed muslim brotherhood chars they and al jazeera deny. their colleague australian peter greste was freed and deported february 1 after spending 400 days behind bars. their trial will resume on february 23. we have a report. >> al jazeera english's cairo bureau chief mohamed fahmy and producer baher mohammed were arrested on september 29, 2013 alongside correspondent peter greste. initially, their detention was believed to be temporary based on problems with their media accreditations. within days, they were held on terrorism charges alleging they were aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the journalists and al jazeera

we'll see if that progress ends with an agreement, some deal in belarus. thank you, nick. >>> meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry is weighing in on the crisis in ukraine. he spoke a short time ago in munich, germany. he reiterated there's no military solution to the ukraine conflict. he said the u.s. and europe are still united on this. >> we are united. we are working closely together. we all agree that this challenge will not end through military force. we are united in our diplomacy. but the longer that it takes, the more the off ramps are avoided, the more we will be forced to raise the costs on russia and its proxies. this much i can assure you, no matter what the united states, france, germany, our allies and partners, no matter what, we will stand in support of ukraine and the defense of a common understanding that international borders, must not, cannot be changed by force in europe or anywhere else. >> now earlier today i asked state department spokeswoman jen psaki whether we would be willing to provide arms to ukraine itself. >> we're talki

the talks have been held in the belarus capital involving ukraine, russia, france and germany.ama's request to authorize military force against isil could well face some opposition in the u.s. congress. a number of republicans saying that they wilin sifter on changes to the president's plans. the possible use of ground troops being one contentious issue. >>> a retrial is due to begin in egypt for two al jazerra journalists, mohamed fahmy and bahar mohamed. they have been in prison now for 411 days. accused of colluding with the muslim brotherhood. >>> well, as i say diplomatic sources say it could be soon we see a peace deal sign today stop the fighting in eastern ukraine. all night talks there. let's talk to our defense analyst and column i joining us now from moscow. what does president putin want out of this, do you think? >> well, right now ceasefire seems imminent. that's everyone's interested right now in a ceasefire. the present rebel offenses began mid january has gone on for almost a month and most likely they have run out of steam. they need to regroup and the time ac

overnight, the discussions between the russian and ukrainian presidents in the belarus capital of minsk, broken by the leaders. earlier, president putin commented on the agreement. >> we agreed on the cease-fire starting midnight of the 15th of february. the second important point, which is very important, is withdrawal of heavy armaments from the line of the current line for the ukrainian. the armaments and for the line from the separatists, on the position of 19th of september during the previous minsk. now, the political settlements, the long-term political settlements, there are a few important positions. the first is constitutional reform reform, where the legal rights of people who live in the territory should be taken into account. lately we have issues concerning border problems with agreement with the separatists, the liberalists, and the donbass humanitarian implementation of the previously accepted by the special status of these territories of donetsk and luhansk. >> president putin there. well, meanwhile, the french president, francois hollande, says there has been an overal

but let's break into a little bit more of that discussion about meeting in minsk, belarus, on wednesday. it is still days away. you hear behind me that continued shelling being picked up on my microphones. we don't know exactly who will be there. the french government is saying it's a tri lateral group which includes the president there along with the monitors. although there's continued work being done tomorrow in berlin and a conference call today between key leaders to try and push this forward. but the question you really have to ask is what is going to be on the table in any such meeting? are we going to see territorial concessions potentially being pushed upon ukraine? kiev's been very clear it doesn't want to see a loss of its territorial integrity. but frankly where i'm standing here, the separatists self-declared the people's republic feels like russia and has a pretty tight border system now in place for the rest of ukrai ukraine. realistically, some sort of concession may end up being made perhaps to usher in a cease-fire. that's the last thing ukrainians are going to want to

we go to the belarus capital of minsk. on the ground the top u.s. mill commandmilitary commander had a command has accused forces. meanwhile, at least five people have been killed and several injured in a bomb explosion in a bus station. charles stratford sends this report. >> the wreckage at a bus station in the separatist controlled city of donetsk, just hours before another attempt at negotiating in end of this conflict. >> when i ran here i saw two people being pulled out. one was in very grave condition. he had his legs broken. >> there was a when i realized there was no sense in waiting here. >> thousands of civilians have within killed in seemingly indiscriminate shelling. the attack came a day after at least ten soldiers and civilians were killed when missiles hit a residential area and army base. in the ukrainian controlled city. ukrainian president petro poroshenko visited the hospital and spoke to some of the wounded. >> civilian people living in their house where is there is no military. there is 50 kilometers from the front line, and th

annexation could go to moldova and parts of belarus. that is the grand plan. an interesting document. no official reaction from the kremlin but it is not considered a shoddy tabloid. it is a respected paper. it is a respected paper, even though it is the opposition. it will probably raise some eyebrows. >> thank you for bringing us what is a very interesting development. moving on to yemen efforts to secure a french national being held captive. isabel was seized by gunmen. with most western nations having closed their nations france has urged its citizens to leave its country as quickly as possible. >> isabel never made it to work. she usually clocked in here. according to her employer, she was finalizing plans to leave the country and return to france. on tuesday morning gunmen kidnapped her. >> one of our nationals was abducted in yemen. we are asking she be released. we are trying to locate her and we are doing all we can to secure her release. >> in the wake of the abduction security has been stepped up. after closing its embassy mid february the french fo

there is a plan to meet wednesday in minsk, the capital of belarus. france germany, the leaders of russia and ukraine, along with representatives of the pro-moscow separatists will all be there to discuss some sort of peaceful solution to what is happening there. so some in the u.s., many members of congress calling on this administration to arm the ukrainian forces. that will be part of the discussion this money with angela merkel, who believes that the u.s. and the west should not take that next that. in other news this morning front page of "the washington times" on the president's strategy against isi, "obama downplays islamic state risks alters language from destroying the organization to defeating them." "washington times" with that story this morning, as well as insider newspaper, a couple stores on this. secretary of state john kerry was asked about where we are with defeating isis and the strategy gary yesterday on the sunday talk shows and that is the headline in "the washington times." take a listen to what he had to say. [video clip] sec.

huge meeting in belarus. russia, ukraine, france and germany leaders are scheduled to meet face-to-face tomorrow. the presidents of those countries have been talking for days. let's get an update on the proposed talks live from erin mclaughlin in moscow. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, john. in the words of angela merkel success in the talks is anything but assured. both sides continue to blame each other. this morning, we heard from the russian presidential spokesperson who continues to accuse the west of destabilizing the situation and eastern ukraine with talks of sanctions and potential supplies of weapons to the ukrainian military. we also heard from the russian ministry of defense saying it will now allow ukrainian military inspectors into the rustok region of ukraine. this is russia is continuing to supply weapons into the military zone. that can be seen as a gesture of goodwill ahead of tomorrow's talks in minsk. as for the details of the ongoing negotiations few have been made public.

thank you >>> just a few problems with the connection with belarus at the moment. i believe we have vladimir putin, a few minutes ago. this is what he had to say. >> translation: good morning. i think everybody's interested in how - how - who is trying to make - it wasn't the best night in my life but morning is good. despite all the difficulties of negotiations we have managed to agree in the main thing. the reason why it took so long i think because ukranian authorities refuse - resent a direct contact with representatives of the republican - the republic. they are not even recognised yet. still there is a need - the need of direct talks. we worked in those conditions that we had. and agreed to - in my opinion, about many things. the first thing a ceasefire. 15th of february. secondly position and i believe - i believe that most improved very improved the removal of heavy weapons from the territory. from the buffer zone that we agreed on 19th of september last year. by troops and the representative first. the third is a political - there was several positions. fi

on saturday to try and restart peace talks saying that the two men that they had sent to minsk in belarus on their behalf had the authority to speak on their behalf. earlier today wants to try and get what he says will be 100,000 volunteer fighters in the donetsk and luhansk region, as soon as possible, be that effort to begin in the next ten days. reference to ukraine's drive a fourth way to try and bring an additional 50,000 ukrainian soldiers to their front line. now all this talk comes at a time of increasing violence in the region. there are daily attacks both incoming and outgoing shelling from here, across the front line and the civilian population spending frankly most of the time hunkering down in their basements. we heard shelling in the past few minutes increasing violence in this region. >>> oil giant bp says it will curb spending because of falling oil prices. trying the reduce its spending by 10% or $22 billion this year. bp is suffering more than other oil companies now as it continues to pay for the 2010 deep oil horizon accident in the gulf of mexico. nicholas maduro cont

> so the leaders of germany, france ukraine, and russia are on their way to minsk, the capitol of belarusd there they are expected to hold talks to try to reach some kind of peace deal for eastern ukraine. since the beginning of this year hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between the ukrainian troops and pro-russian pro-russian separatists there. a lot of preparer to work is normally done before the leaders arrive at this event. are you getting any idea about what might be on the table? >>> well yes, there has been a lot of prepare tory work being done. the contact group has been meeting here now and it involves representatives of the separatists, the european monitoring group, and representatives of russia and ukraine as well. then on monday there were talks going on in berlin at a kind of junior foreign minister level. all of that was trying to prep the ground work lay the ground work so that when the leaders come here they are all roughly in an area where something might be agreed. it is certainly not definite yet. we're talking about things like ceasefire lines, where ar

merkel believes the peace plan joined up with france and presented to the russians the parties meet in belarus on wednesday. willing to give diplomacy a chance for now but both leaders agree no deal will mean stricter sanctions against the russians. >> if in fact diplomacy fails what i've asked my team to did is look at all options. away other means can we put in place to change mr. putin's calculus. >> translator: if at a certain point in time one has to say that success is not possible even if one puts every effort into it, then the united states and europe have to sit together and try and explore further possibilities. >> european union has backed stronger sanctions at a meeting of foreign parties in brussels. >> we're delighted that there are negotiations and discussions going on but until we see russia complying on the ground, stopping the flow of weapons we can't relieve the pressure in any way. >> vladimir putin's spokesman has warned against impose imposing ultimatums or deadlines. >> if we can agree with a number of positions we've talked about in the recent fast. >> wants those to be

leaders reaching agreements in belarus on a draft these plan in the 10-month conflict and separatistell us what you are following today. manus is in zurich. >> you are looking at live pictures from minsk where the russian, ukrainian, german, and french leaders are negotiating a cease-fire. they are all there in independence palace. talks are entering their 14th hour. ukrainian president petro poroshenko is meeting with angela merkel and francois hollande, we understand. we will keep you updated throughout the morning. ♪ >> welcome back. thought we'd have a quick peek at our digital pix. just a day after apple crossed the $700 billion market cap it climbed another 2.3% to $124.88. its new market cap, 720 $7 billion. you can see where this is going. every day, we are inching closer to the magical $1 trillion. apple continuing to rise our story by tim higgins. analysts, tim tells us, and i looked it up and tim is right analysts have a 12 month average target price of $132. the highest target is $165. yesterday, we closed at $124. were apple to reach that mark the market value would exce

. >> despite the peace deal hammered out in belarus ukrainians head for the border. they are holding out little hope that this cease-fire will stick. al jazeera. >> charles starter ford is following developments for us in eastern ukraine. he joins us now from donetsk. what have they told you? >> the separatist leader here in donetsk has released a statement that doesn't bode well at all for this cease-fire. excuse me if i paraphrase it. he said, refer together separatests, will stop firing throughout the area excluding the town of debaltseve. he said there were no words about the town of debaltseve, and any attempts by the ukrainian army to escape from the town or break out will be regarded as a violation of minsk. the ukrainians have been pouring in troops to it. we were there yesterday. the separatests have for the last week or so claimed that they have completely surrounded it. we understand that there are as many as 8,000 ukrainian troops inside debaltseve. and it's very obvious by the statement that he considers debaltseve to be part of the territory area. you >

warring sides agree to a ceasefire after hours of tough negotiations in belarus. >>> the korean air executiverage packet of nuts has been found guilty

will simply continue to rise. >> it's intriguing to me jim, that missing from the peace talks in belarusorrow in minsk will be these pro-russian separatists, no delegation representing them and the united states won't be there either. what does that say? >> the first point, the perception is russia controls those separatists. if russia is pulling the strings and they make an agreement, they'll be able to hold them back. there are plausible questions about that because there had been previous splits or public comments by some of the separatist leaders in previous agreements saying, we're not pulling back. but they are being armed by russia so they hold the real leverage there. the u.s. not being presence u.s. diplomats say, we are in lockstep with our european partners our nato allies germany, et cetera if they're there, we're in agreement on how to proceed. but one area of disagreement is whether arming -- potential disagreement i should say, not in agreement on arming ukraine. >> so far, the u.s. is saying no decision has been made on whether to sentd so-called defensive lethal aid to t

the meeting will take place in belarus, where delegates have already begun preliminary talks. >> theine continues to get worse. fighting is continuing with heavy shelling reported inand another strategic town is now under fire. >> reporter: this is what eastern ukraine sounds like, hours before peace talks. the target in the distance. through that distance haze is the key access road into the city the separatists claim they have cut off and taken. that sound is of the constant shelling and at times you can hear small arms fire. clearly the fight for that town under way. snipers testing their aim. and down one lane a unit of front line separatist troops. a local policeman we recognized from months ago. yet flying hear the official flag of the russian airborne division. did these modern tanks also come from russia? they pushed out across the fields to this the main road we had traveled down a week ago. as peace talks looked imperilled rockets slammed into the otherwise ukrainian up to killing several and wounding dozens. on the military base nearby many believe was the target. the viol

two men that they had sent to meet in belarus on their behalf had authority to make the decision for them. and a reference to the recruitment drive that they spoke about earlier. they want to try to get 100,000 volunteer fighters here in the donetsk, fighting as soon as possible. that drive within the next 10 cause also pointing the finger at ukraine, saying they were sending to the front would not. a reference to ukraine bringing an additional 50,000 ukranian soldiers to their frontline. talks at the time of increasing violence here in the region. there are attacks both in and out going shelling from here across the front line and the civilian population that frankly spent most of their time hunk ared down in their basement and houses. we have heard shelling a few minutes here. as i say, some fairly saber-rattling used this evening in the context of violence in this region >>> b.p. says it will curb billions in spending across the company to cope with falling fuel and a lose of earnings. they will release hundreds of jobs in the north sea and is trying to reduce spending by $22 mill

. >> the leaders of ukraine russia france and germany will meet in belarus wednesday. following a phone conference on sunday. pro-russian separatists are also expected to attend the new round of talks. >> the new greece prime minister is alexis tsimras stayed true to his policy. a. >> the greek people gave a mandate, to change policies. consequently the notorious bailout was first cancelled by its very own failure and its destructive results. >> that means at the end of this month there will be no more bailouts for grease. instead mr. tsipras wand a sort of bridge being agreement. >> we will say it again and again. grease wants to service its debt. if our partners want this too they can join us at the table to find a way to make it viable. >> but to be viable, the greek government needs to deal with debts totally around $362 billion. and it will need to reassure euro zone members that it is serious. >> i think it's the right time to hear from the greek government what their proposal would be to move forward and we'll have a first round debate on that. i don't expect co

breakthrough on the ukraine crisis warring parties agree to a ceasefire after hours of tough negotiations in belarus. >> the korean air executive who flew into a rage over a pack of nuts is found guilty over a violation of air safety. >> greeks show support for their new government, but debt talks with the e.u. have failed so far. >> first and eception court released to al jazeera journalists on bail, mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed were detained 411 days in cairo. they're accused of colluding a the outlawed muslim brotherhood charges they and al jazeera deny. their clothing, australian peter greste was freed and deported february 1. he'd suspended 400 days behind bars. the trial will resume on february 23. victoria reports. >> al jazeera english's cairo bureau chief mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed were arrested december 29, 2013 always peter greste correspondent. originally it was believed to be temporary and based on bureaucratic problems with media accreditation. within days, egyptian's top prosecutor announced they were held on terror related charges alleging they were aiding the outlawed musl

john. >>> the next big location in the discussion is belarus. and ukraine and france have been communicating for days. let's bring in erin mclaughlin live from moscow watching this. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, john. all sides say they want a peace of the resolution to the crisis but all sides continue to blame each other as well. today, we heard from the spokesperson for president putin who he criticized the west saying they are trying to destabilize the situation in eastern ukraine with talks and potential weapons supplies to the ukrainian government. we also heard from the russian defense ministry announce they will now allow ukrainian military inspectors into the region of russia which is on the border to southeastern ukraine. they will be allowed there until february 12th. no word if the ukrainian military will take them up on the offer. this is an attempt on the part of russia to counter accusations ongoing accusations that russia continues to supply military personnel and equipment fueling this conflict. it could also po

top officials from france germany, russia and ukraine are belarus. their goal is to negotiate a deal to end fighting in eastern ukraine. more than 5300 people have died in battles between ukrainian troops and russian-backed separatists. just in from capitol hill. a bill authorizing construction of the controversial keystone x.l. pipeline is heading to president obama. the house approved the measure this afternoon. the president has threatened to veto the bill saying he favors the traditional approval process. it's unlikely congress has enough votes to overcome a presidential veto. the national transportation safety board says metro needs to improve the way it ventilates train tunnels. the recommendations follow last month's deadly smoke incident near l'enfant plaza. they include the creation of a uniform ventilation procedure and the full review of exhaust symptoms. today, the ntsb said metro's response to the january 12th tunnel fire made things worse. >> that initial action of turning on the fans in the station actually sucked the smoke from the so

russians and ukrainians were going to be in belarus. they will come up to a demilitarization of conflict. president obama nose the damage that sanctions have done. and vladimir putin, if there's no peace deal they'll pay a price. talking about increased sanctions from the u.s. and the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons to president obama. they are under pressure essentially they are saying to vladimir putin, if you don't do a deal. you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> they were reporting that the ukranian president said that ukraine is prepared to introduced martial law in all regions, as the crisis in the east goes. the prospect of the intructed of martial law. there's more on that as we follow the process that it gets under way in minsk. in the meantime we'll look at our other main story, a situation in yemen there. the country is on the brink of civil war. houthi rebels consolidate their hole. they have been attending talks involving the rival groups in the capital sanaa. >> the situati

chancellor merkel and president hollande travel to belarus today for peace talks. banking on private wealth. we speak to the ceo of italy's second-largest bank, on his plans for growth and whether he's concerned about and we hear from sergio marchionne. welcome to "the pulse." i'm francine lacqua. a crossroads for europe. greece and ukraine face critical meetings that will determine their path for the next couple months. let's get straight to our reporter on the ground. the greek prime minister, alexis tsipras, won a vote of congress -- a vote of confidence for his anti-austerity program. now, the tougher task of convincing creditors to a new agreement. germany is showing no sign of backing down from its opposition to the new deal. for more, we are joined by hans nichols. you will be going to brussels later today. what can we expect from the meeting? >> we are going to get the formal presentation from yanis varoufakis on what he wants in terms of a bridge loan. what we expect is 8 billion in increase in the t-bills, and an additional 1.9 billion. let me read you so

we know that the russian and ukrainians will be in belarus. they'll be accompanied by the french and the general j who came up with a plan they believe will head to a ceasefire in ukraine and a demilitarizing of the conflict. president obama knows that the damage that sanctions have done to the russian economy, and told vladimir putin, if there is no peace deal. the russians will pay a price for the ongoing violence. he's talking about increased sanctions from the u.s. and the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons to the ukranian army. he is under pressure domestically to do that. he is essentially saying to vladimir putin look we want to deal and if you don't do a deal at the least you'll pay for it financially in the short term >>> in eastern ukraine 12 died in a rocket attack. ukranian president petro porashenko visited kramatorsk to inspect the damage. pro-russian rebels denied any role in the attack. >> charles stratford has more from donetsk, where fresh attacks were carried out. >> this attack happened arou

russians and ukrainians will be in belarus, accompanied by the french and general jnls coming up with a plan leading to an extended ceasefire. president obama knows that the damage sanctions have done to the russian economy, and told vladimir putin, if there's no peace deal the russians will continue to pay a price for the ongoing violence. he is talking about increased sanctions from the urks and from the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons to the ukranian army although president obama is under pressure domestically to do just that. he's essentially saying to vladimir putin look we want to deal. if you don't do a deal at the least you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> on the ground in ukraine. 12 people have been killed after a rocket attack deep in government controlled territory. >> ukranian president arrived in kramatorsk to inspect the damage. talks in minsk aiming at ending the conflict. charles stratford reports. >> destroyed tank and weapons abandoned in the snow. the town is virtually deserted. fighters with the donetsk people's r

the call came ahead of peace talks planned for wednesday in belarus between mr.rs of ukraine, france, and germany. preliminary talks have already begun. >>> a verdict is expected today in belgium where 46 suspected jihadists have been on trial since september. they're suspect members of the group sharia for belgium and are accused of brainwashing young belgian men to fight in syria. most of the suspects are being tried in absentia. >>> police in sydney have arrested two men for allegedly planning terror attacks as revenge for incidents overseas. anna coren has developments live from australia. what are thoughts telling us now, bring us up to date on all that we know about this alleged terror plot. >> reporter: well the only reason police knew about this was from a tip-off that they received yesterday. so around 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon, they raided a home in western sydney where they found not just these two men, but also a hunting knife, a machete, an isis flag as well as a video recording. police believe they were about to carry out an imminent attack a viole

. >>> they call the scheduled peace talks in belarus one of the last opportunities to end the fighting in his country. this morning at least one person was killed when a shell hit a bus station in the rebel-controlled city of don evening. fighting between them has intenseified intensified. ukraine said 19 of its soldiers were killed today. germany and france are trying to broker a truce. >>> viewer won't see brian williams on the nbc anchor news desk for six months. he was suspended for mislead the public about an incident whilecovering iraq war. >> reporter: brian williams took himself off the "nightly news" desk with the intent of returning in a few days. nbc spinsded him for six months without pay. deborah tur is in release add statement, this is a very hard decision. certainly there will be those who disagree but we believe this is the appropriate action. >> when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an rpg. our traveling nbc news team was rescued, surrounded, and kept alived by an armored mechanized. >> he does not recall the helicopter getting hit

leaders from russia ukraine, france and germany have been holding talks in belarus capital minsk >>> greek hopes to revise debt terms, and has not made much head way in talks with european creditors in brussels. finance minister are due to meet again on monday. seven are dead in yemen, where al qaeda fighters overran two army bases. four of the gunmen and three soldiers were killed. many were were injured. >> candle lit vigils have been held for three students shot dead in the united states. a neighbour has been charged with their murders. andy gallagher has the story from north carolina. [ bells toll ] >> reporter: as church bells rang out thousands gathered to remember the lines this three young and gifted students. the campus at the university of north carolina chapel hill never witness said scenes like these before. the loss of 23-year-old deah shaddy barakat his wife yusor mohammad, and her 19-year-old sister razan shocked the community. the three lived in this apartment. tuesday. the couple and razan, were shot dead. >> we ask you to celebrate the memory of our family members.

. >> the leaders of france germany, ukraine and russia held all-night talks in belarus. they are trying to reach a peace deal after a ceasefire collapsed. >> and an italian court convicted the captain of costa concordia. he was sentenced to imprisonment >>> a man found guilty of recruiting young people has been sentenced to prison. part of the mass trial of 46 young muslims, the biggest of its kind in belgium. simon mcgregor-wood reports. >> there was high security outside the courtroom. of 46 accused, fine were in court. >> in a close hearing. the judge declared that sharia4-belgium was a terrorist organization. all found guilty for recruiting dozens of muslims to fight in syria. around 350 belgians have done so. the greatest number in europe. >> the verdict is designed to send a signal to those thinking of going to syria. regardless of what they do when they are there are, they face progress if they return to belgium. >> if you want to be a member of a terrorist organization and if you go for the same activities cooking, cleaning other events substantial things to peop

. >> a key summit on ending the conflict in ukraine is due to be started in the belarus capital of minsk in a couple hours. >> the leaders of france, germany, and ukraine are making a fresh attempt after a previous attempt failed. >> the german chancellor's office spoke ahead of the summit, saying the talks offered only a glimmer of hope. fighting intensified in eastern ukraine, both sides limning the other for trying to grab as much territory as possible. >> once again, people are dying in the city of donetsk. a rocket exploded killing civilians. government forces have launched an offensive along the city in an attempt to fight off separatists. president petro poroshenko visited the city last night. 50 people died there in a rocket attack on tuesday. officials say the region has seen some of the worst fighting so far of the past 24 hours. >> we have terrorists attacking the city, attacking the peaceful city. this is absolutely unacceptable. that is why we think these crimes should be punished and demand immediate and unconditional cease-fire for the talks. >> given the heavy fighting in

ukrainians and russians are in belarus. france and germany have come up with something they think will lead to a ceasefire and demilitarization aft conflict. president obama knows what sanctions have done to the russian economy, and told vladimir putin, if there is a peace deal the russians will pay a price for ongoing violence. he's talking about sanctions from the u.s. and also from the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons. president obama is under pressure do that. he's essentially saying to vladimir putin - look we want to deal if you don't do a deal at the least you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> the u.n. envoy to yemen warned that the country is on the brink of civil war as a hold is consolidated on large parts of the country. u.s. u.k. and france closed their embassies, and nine people have been killed 15 injured in fighting in the central province of al-bayda. houthis have been battling while trying to take control of the city. this month marks the fourth anniversary o

the meeting in the belarus capitol of minsk discussed ending the fighting between pro russian separatests and ukrainian military. the separatests have been advancing on government-held territory. ukrainian forces said that force. five people have been killed and several injured in a bomb explosion in a bomb bus station in donetsk. >> the burned out wreckage in the city of donetsk just hours before we get another attempt in negotiating, an end to this conflict. when i ran here i saw two people being pulled out. one was in very grave condition. he had his legs broken. there wasthousands of civilians have been killed in seemingly indiscriminate shelling. the attack came a day after soldiers were killed when a missiles hit a residential area. ukrainian president visited the hospital and spoke to some of the wounded. >> civilian people living in their houses where there is no military. this is almost 50 kilometers from the front. and the russian attacking. this is unacceptable. these crimes will be punished. we demand it immediately unconditional cease-fire. >> the separatists denied the attac

. >> on wednesday, chancellor merkel will travel to the belarus capital of minsk for talks with the leaders of russia, ukraine, and france in an attempt to end the crisis which has killed over 5,400 people. we'll have more on ukraine after headlines. syrian president bashar al-assad has said his regime is receiving updates on u.s.-led airstrikes against the islamic state in syria. assad told the bbc that while there is no direct cooperation with the u.s., other countries including iraq, have been supplying syria with information. assad's force have been conducting strikes against both isis and the anti-government rebels supported by the united states. in niger, lawmakers have voted to send troops to fight the nigeria-based militant group boko haram. the decision came after boko haram set off a deadly explosion in the niger town of diffa. the group also attacked three towns in cameroon, kidnapping over 30 people, including 20 who were on board a bus. a nato drone strike in afghanistan has killed several people including a former guantanamo prisoner suspected of ties to the islamic state. mul

a new round of talks will take place in belarus. >> the phone call happened earlier on today on sunday. it was the same group of people who had met in moscow friday night. that's vladimir putin, angela merkel and president hollande, but also petro poroshenko was involved in that phone call, too, the ukraine president. so what they cussed was the various things that they were talking about here on friday and also how they are going to move things forward. it does seem to be a growing amount of hope in the various capitol city that is have an interest in this crisis to the talks in minsk wednesday are going to be a big deal. they might as well be quite cub standive. that was the impression given in moscow at least where the foreign ministry here thought important decisions would be taking applies in minsk. vladimir putin is not commit be fully to these talks. we hear comments that he made in sochi earlier on sunday now. >> conversation with colleagues from kiev, berlin and paris in the so-called normandy formality has just ended. we agreed that we will otherwise a meeting in the same for

after negotiations in belarus, leaders from russia france and germany brokered a peace with the government and forces. it takes effect. both have two weeks to withdraw troops. more than 5,000 people have died in the fighting. i.s.i.l. fighters launched a new offensive in central iraq. local police tell al jazeera that 16 died including iraqi soldiers and tribal fighters happening near the military base hundreds of u.s. advisors are taken there. the base 50 miles were ramadi is safe. they have fallen for i.s.i.l. control. >>> the nation's next defense secretary got a vote of approval from the senate. ashton carter is expected to take office in the next few days succeeding chuck hagel. carter has been the chief operating officer, and held a number of key posts during the defense career. >>> coming up a worse stoppage at dozens of ports. >> it affects every part of my business. it affects my customers, for sure. >> a labour dispute on the west coast is stalling trade. we'll see what it means for the workers and the fallout for the american economy. also, the chemical cloud that forced tens of

it is awaiting the outcome of wednesday's talks in the belarus capitol of minsk. the sanctions would target 19 people including ukrainian separatists and russian individuals. >>> they face visa bans and will have their assets frozen. >>> we're live from brussels. now simon the e.u. agreed to those knew sanctions. why are they delaying implementation? >> well, this new list of 19 individuals and nine entities, companies, was actually agreed formerly last week, and it was due to be rubber stamped if you like monday in brussels by this gathering of foreign ministers. between the list being confirmed and today, of course, we've had the pledge ling european peace proposal shepherded by angela merkel and franÇois hollande showing some signs of getting off the ground. one official told me it was necessary that the european foreign minister felt to give the peace talks a chance to allow some space for events in minsk on wednesday to unfold before imposing these sanctions on the new group of people. assuming these talks don't take off and gain real traction the names will

. ♪ >>> the leaders of germany, france, ukraine, and russia are now in minsk, the capitol of belarusg to get a peace deal hammered out for eastern ukraine. since the beginning of this year hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between ukrainian troops and pro-russia separatists. rory challands with more on what the leaders hope to achieve. >> reporter: we're talking about things like ceasefire lines, where are the front lines that separate the ukrainian army and the separatists themselves. we're talking about things like the border between russia and ukraine, who is going to make sure that border is not the conduit for weapons and men as the ukrainian governments and western governments have been accusing russia of using that border over the last year or so and we're talking about self determination, independence autonomy for the self declared republics themselves. but it's the sequence of them how do these things get put in place, the order in which they happen that can allow a ceasefire to take place, hold and deliver some sort of meaningful situation by which a proper po

on al jazeera america >>> leaders in europe and russia arrive in belarus for talks on the crisis in eastern ukraine. ♪ >>> hello there, you are with me david foster watching al jazeera. also coming up in the next 30 minute as many as 300 migrants feared dead in the mediterranean after trying to reach europe. >>> just too dangerous, the u.k. and france follow the u.s. and close their embassies in yemen. >>> and the european space agency tests technology from new reusable space plane. ♪ >>> european leaders have begun arriving in minsk for discussions on the situation in eastern ukraine. here we see the ukrainian president petro poroshenko a second attempt needed after a ceasefire deal which was reached last september has failed. since the beginning of this year hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between ukrainian troops and pro-russia separatists. fighting between ukraine's military and pro-russia separatists continues. a number of people hurt at an motion at a bus station. >> reporter: the burnt-out wreckage just hours before yet another attempt at negotiating an end to this co

. >>> the leaders of four nations have gathered together in the capital of belarus.hey're trying to seek a political solution to the crisis in ukraine. the presidents of russia and ukraine are taking part. their counterparts from germany and france are mediating the talks. russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president petro poroshenko are meeting face to face. a russian news agency says the foreign ministers of the four countries are also attending. the participants are trying to make sure all sides observe a cease-fire in eastern ukraine. negotiators reached a truce in september, but fighting has been escalating since the start of the year. delegates for ukraine's government are holding separate talks with pro-russian groups in minsk. putin had suggested that both ukrainian troops and pro-russian separatists need to make concessions. poroshenko has said if the talks do not result in an agreement and the situation worsens he's ready to introduce martial law in ukraine. >>> the united states had been increasing pressure on russia ahead of the four-way summi