situation in the crimea. likely. look so frozen occupational like it was with the occupation of the baltics. we are soviet union. for what like 40 or more years. that didn't prevent the west's. work with the soviet union have relations with the soviet comic ties with the soviet union but when the soviet union and began to collapse the. 'd knowledge that they. were introduced to the european union the need to stop and i think that with the crimea more or less. the same situation we have a low budget would say that it's russian territory but everybody would return. get about it for a while the 2nd which is way more important at the moment the young girl working in eastern ukraine where people are dying every single day and that's where your focus is right now that's where the focus from your feeling is the european union is united states is and the focus of ukraine. i think that's where we will find the new media solution in the meanwhile while 'd. praying for them in. short ordinary craniums they would have been with.

to crimea. other regional fresh in your future they consult a lot of the railway bridge across the reversal basically what the been done right now is it's public relations. would seem to support this popularity. is russia a lot of people in ukraine are angry about this. it's. my personal take on this but at the end of the day. it's a shock remis korea and the occupation is temporary but the crimea back to ukraine this case framed inherit this. huge piece of infrastructure you held for any maybe an earlier story to you're going to got a lot to think about that a lot to comment on as well through this program picked out of it you heard what ilya had to say i mean from the russian perspective this is yet another you might say infrastructure success for the president but in recent weeks in the sort of state of the union the end of year address he did talk about the fact didn't he in his address to the russian people but there were problems with the economy there were problems with corruption and so

and i think with the crimea more or less. the same to patients we have low budget. it's russian territory but everybody would return to get about and for a while the 2nd which is way more important at the moment we're in eastern ukraine where people are dying every single day and that's where your focus is right now that's where the focus from european leaders european union is united states is and the focus of ukraine. i think that's where we find the new media. solution in the meanwhile while. you let me. show ordinary craniums they would have been with. their life. better than it is right now with. a debate yet again for another day with people from crimea victor all of it in moscow i mean you heard our guest in kiev and of course there is obviously 2 sides to this of course from russia's point of view you know as they see you crying getting close to the e.u. or certainly more friendly russia has been thrown out of the g 8 it's had its diplomats removed for example from the united kingdom after the poisoning and the accusation that they were behind the poisoning

after russian troops annexed crimea area -- crimea, a vote was announced to join the russian federation. and putin announced a plan to build a bridge without the consent of ukraine's government. spending 19 kilometers, it is the largest in eastern europe. last year, putin drove a truck over it. sanctions on companies involved in its construction. now trains are running from st. petersburg to crimea. and from moscow. says the of state railway shows russia's control of crime area -- of crimea. isthe economic element vertical. without a bridge, crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourism and economic links to the mainland is critical. in many ways, it is expected. it still violates international law. utility in a way that creates a chokepoint and a hazard for ukrainian shipping. in bridge was constructed ukraine, it would have been a lot higher. russia is using this to choke ukraine economically. increasedes russia's -- continued interest in decreasing ukrainian sovereignty and territory and also rejecting the international sanctions against russia area the international

lack of transparency and say questions remain also coming up russian on grates its 1st eritrea into crimea says an exciting the region from ukraine in 2014 it's a big step toward cementing russian control over the territory despite international sanctions plus fighting racism in football more allegations of racist abuse in english football the players' association now demands a government inquiry after a chelsea defender was allegedly subjected to monkey chants on the pitch. on my ark thank you so much for your company everyone a court in saudi arabia has sentenced 5 people to death for the killing of journalist journalist. the saudi writer and washington post columnist was assassinated and reportedly dismembered inside the saudi consulate in istanbul over a year ago but his remains were never found well despite today's ruling questions still linger the court proceedings were shrouded in secrecy in the i. densities of those who were sentenced today are no. machines in a country that in forces far more than $100.00 death penalties each year the sentence against the suspected murderers of ja

5 years ago and speaking of crimea russia has now launched direct passenger train service to crimea using a route that bypasses mainland ukraine well people cannot travel from st petersburg southward toward the crimean city of sevastopol the trip takes 44 hours and crosses a new crimean bridge that moscow is accused of building illegally. it's the leading story on russian state t.v. bloody near putin's opening of a controversial real way bridge that links annexed crimea to southern russia it's a major triumph for the russian president the bridge was built despite international protests following russia's annexation of ukraine's crimean peninsula in 2014. i know there's no you do you agree with this event is important for crimea for sevastopol for all of southern russia indeed for the whole country and for structure projects like this magnificent bridge we've built will have an effect on the entire economy and if you go to. the mega structure is 1000 kilometers long and took nearly 4 years to build costing more than 3000000000 euros the 1st scheduled train departed from st petersburg

crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourists and economic links to the mainland is critical so many ways are something that is expected but still violates international law the other piece about this bridge i think is critical is its military in a way that it affectively creates a chokepoint hazard for ukrainian shipping that this bridge was constructed in in agreement with ukraine it would've been a lot higher and so in many ways the russians are using this group's choke off ukraine economically just like they per create as a lifeline of crimea showcases russia's continued interest in undermining ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and also rejecting international sanctions that have been put in place against russia the international community rejects that sanctions and use russia and it's not only crimea that's going to come under russian domination there are 2 problems in eastern ukraine that russia continues to occupy that are part of ukraine territory so in many ways the crimea story is a larger part of the future of ukraine in the future of europe

annexed crimea from ukraine in 2014 the us and e.u. imposed sanctions on top and he's involved in the construction of the bridge which was built without ukraine's consent the 1st direct rolling between russia and crimea is being described by critics as a violation of international law until 5 years ago the potential was only accessible from mainland ukraine travelers wanting to get to and from russia had to fly will take a ferry after russian troops and its crimea in 2014 people voted yes in a referendum to join the russian federation president putin announced the decision to build a $4000000000.00 bridge which opened in $28.00 saying without the consent of ukraine spanning 19 kilometers it's the longest in europe and opened last year when putin drove a truck over the us and e.u. imposed sanctions on top and he's involved in its construction now trains are running to and from za petersburg to crimea as largest city sebastopol. see makowski is senior fellow at eurasia center at the atlantic council makis also former nato chief of staff

russia's president has opened a rare bridge linking crimea to southern russia the e.u. and ukraine have condemned it as illegal russia annexed the region from ukraine in 2014. and 16 planets outside earth solar system of been discovered by astronomers in the u.k. the planets are extremely hot making it difficult to determine the type of rock and surface scientists say with further research they could hold the key to unlocking the geology of planets in our solar system for veterans where the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera after inside story stations and so much of africa . islamia putin creating a new reality on the ground in crimea and explained they're from ukraine in 2014 and russia has since been under international sanctions but now the russian president has opened a direct train link to the peninsula so what does this mean for the future this is inside story. hello welcome to the program on the whole robin a new road and rail bridge now connects the crimean peninsula with russia the full 1000000000 dollar transport link is the longest in europe but

of live near putin travels aboard the controversial 1st ever a directory a link between russia and crimea. 5 people have been sentenced to death in saudi arabia for the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi but the human rights group amnesty international has branded the trial a whitewash and the washington post said it was a sham the identities of those convicted were not revealed at the closed door trial in riyadh the criminal court cleared the former royal aide sowed out the timing who was widely suspected of being a ring leader and mohamed al who was the saudi consul general in istanbul where hotshot jew was murdered former deputy intelligence chief alice sciri was also released due to insufficient evidence 3 other people go to jail terms totaling 24 years well charges murder sparked international condemnation the kingdom denied links to the hit squad quit killing but some of the team did work for the saudi crown prince and reports. 14 months after jamal khashoggi was last seen walking into the saudi consulate in istanbul where his fiance ha t.j. genghis waited for hours before cal

russia the russian leader board of the train for the making crossing traveling from crimea to the town of russia's president. putin delivered an address to the construction workers involved in what is a huge ambitious project to report. a very dear friends railway terminal a much bigger one the one in crimea is capital simferopol the one that i you still arrive at has a little kid to go to the seaside didn't see a single passenger train from mainland russia for more than 5 years all i can tell you that crimea do. would want a cheaper way to travel to russia to see their relatives they wanted cheaper goods holidaymakers from mainland russia the ones who couldn't afford a plane ticket were desperate to get it as well while now they do have it we just saw the russian president vladimir putin inside the 1st train there it is right there to cross the railway section of the longest bridge and europe i guess we can call it a test and once the test was over the 1st passenger train bound for sebastopol

putin's opening of a controversial real way bridge that links annexed crimea to southern russia it's a major triumph for the russian president the bridge was built despite international protests following russia's annexation of ukraine's crimean peninsula and 2014. this event is important for crimea for sevastopol for all of southern russia indeed for the whole country and for structure projects like this magnificent bridge we've built will have an effect on the entire economy and if. the mega structure is 900 kilometers long and took nearly 4 years to build costing more than 3000000000 euros the 1st scheduled train departed from st petersburg today starting wednesday up to 45 passenger trains will head for crimea each day that route bypasses mainland ukraine. the bridge spans the current strait although russia hopes to increase tourism in the area the bridge is mainly a display of power until now crimea could only be reached from russia by ferry or plane now there's a direct land route to the peninsula which russia annexed in violation of international law in 2014. it's now been 30

while the railing between russia and crimea is being described by critics of international law until 5 years ago the crimean peninsula was only accessible from mainland ukraine travelers wanting to get to and from russia had to fly or take a ferry after russian troops next crime scene a majority voted yes in a referendum to join the russian federation and president putin announced the decision to build a $4000000000.00 bridge without the consent of ukraine's government spending 1000 kilometers is the longest in eastern europe and opened last year when mr putin drove a truck over it the us and e.u. impose sanctions on companies involved in its construction now trains are running to 1st from st petersburg to crimea's largest cities to bust a poll and on tuesday from moscow to the capital simferopol former nato chief of staff mark simak off skis as the new railway shows russia is solidifying its control over crimea. it's increased its military presence in crimea and so the economic element is critical without a bridge crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourism and eco

crimea primedia from ukraine in 2014 u.s. and you impose sanctions on companies involved in the construction of the bridge which was built without its ukraine's can stand or live in a rebuilding kisan international law analyst researcher he says the rail link underscores the importance of crimea to russia. it's a confirmation of the wish the intention of russian federation to keep and maintain and expand control over crimea of course against the wishes of ukraine they are next the the deep deep and insular the crimea after the invasion in 2014 in march 24 team so. in fact it does not change the illegal status of the annexation remains it illegal they have been sentients by for example the united states and the european union gets going it's building the bridge with the were built by. construction company very close friend of president putin and. it is that confirms deep de facto control of the russian federation over crimea as we say in international law. they have they fucked control but not the u. and so it is illegal but i

five years ago -- speaking of crimea, russia has launched direct passenger train service to crimea thing about that bypasses may lead ukraine. people can out travel from st. petersburg south toward the crimean city. the trip takes 44 hours and crosses the newbridge moscow is accused of bridging -- building illegally. >> is the leading story on russian tape -- russian state tv, putin's opening of a bridge that links crimea to russia. it's a major triumph for the russian president, the bridge built despite russian protests following annexation of from you it's what he 14. >> this event is important for crimea, for all of southern russia, infrastructure products lilike this will have an effectn the entire economy. >> the project took three years and cost 3 billion euros, the first schedule train departed st. petersburg today. starting wednesday trains will had crimea each day, bypassing may lead ukraine. the russia hopes to increase tourism of the bridge is mainly a display of power. until now, crimimea could only e reached from russia by ferry or plane. now there is a direct land route to

since it took crimea, russia has become the dominant force in the black sea region.n't use the word "annexation". crimea, it says, has sailed back to its home port. few believe that outside of russia. what we see is a pattern of behaviour where russia is responsible for aggressive actions against neighbours. that reflects that the main problem of russia is that they still believe in the idea of spheres of influence. in response, nato has bolstered its forces near russia's borders. from estonia's amari airbase, nato jets are regularly scrambled. their main task is to intercept russian planes approaching estonian air space, which fail to identify themselves. russia denies it is a threat to estonia or to any of the baltic states. but nato is on alert and taking no chances. the baltic has become one of the front—lines of what feels like a new cold war between russia and the west. to moscow, the presence of nato troops near its border is a direct threat to russia's national security. but nato insists that all of this is purely defensive, and the reaction to an increasingl

bloody near putin travels aboard the controversial 1st ever direct rail link between russia and crimea. and i'm santa have all the day's sporting puting pakistan celebrates the end of it's a decade long exile from cricket with a victory in karate. 5 people have been sentenced to death in saudi arabia for the murder of the journalist jamal ashaji in turkey but the human rights group amnesty international has branded the trial a whitewash and the washington post said it was a sham the identities of those convicted weren't revealed that the closed door trial in riyadh the criminal court cleared former royal aide saudi. who is widely suspected of being a ringleader and mohamed be who was the saudi consul general in istanbul which is where he was murdered former deputy intelligence chief ahmed alice sciri was also released due to insufficient evidence evidence 3 other people got jail terms totaling 24 years ashaji is a murderer sparked international condemnation the kingdom denied links to the hit squad killing but some of the team did work for the saudi crown prince and to schapelle report

also coming up russia inaugurate its 1st direct train to crimea since attics in the region from ukraine in 2014 it is a big step towards imagine russian control over the territory despite international sanctions plus more allegations of racist abuse and english football the players association is demanding a government inquiry after shell seized on 20 alluding to was allegedly subjected to monkey chants on the pitch. i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us a court in saudi arabia has sentenced 5 people to death for the killing of journalist jamal khashoggi it also handed prison terms to 3 additional suspects in connection with the killing the saudi writer and dissident was never seen again after entering the kingdom's consulate in istanbul last year he was killed and reportedly dismembered inside the building but his remains were never found it was a resit. of the u.s. at the time and known for writing critically about the saudi royal family. for more on the story we can speak to ca toby cadman he's an international human rights lawyer who has followed this case closely toby

and russia and operates its 1st direct train to crimea since annexed in the region from ukraine in 2014 it is a big step toward cementing russian control of the territory despite international sanctions. i'm sumi so much going to it's good to have you with us a court in saudi arabia has sentenced 5 people to death for the killing of journalists. it also handed prison terms to 3 additional suspects in connection with the killing the saudi writer and dissident was never seen again after entering the kingdom's consulate in istanbul last year he was killed and reportedly dismembered inside the building but his remains were never found she was a resident of the us at the time and he was known for writing critically about the saudi royal family. and for more on the story we can speak to agnes cullen matias the un special rapporteur to on extrajudicial executions she delivered a report on the shakti case in june ms cullum out thank you very much for joining us here on t w a you commented on twitter earlier on the sentence calling it anything but justice what did you mean by that. can you hear

plus russia inaugurated its 1st direct train to crimea since annex in the territory from ukraine in 2014 it is a big step towards cementing russian control of the territory despite international sanctions. i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us a court in saudi arabia has sentenced 5 people to death for the murder of journalist jamal kushal it also handed jail terms to 3 additional suspects in connection with the killing the saudi writer and dissident was never seen again after entering the kingdom's consulate in istanbul last year he was killed and reportedly dismembered inside the building but his remains were never found out she was a resident of the u.s. at the time and was known for writing critically about the saudi royal family. for more on this story we can speak to ca toby cadman he's an international human rights lawyer who has followed this case closely toby thank you for joining us what do you make of this verdict. well i think it's it's very disappointing i don't think anybody should be altogether surprised as it was very clear that this was going to be a whitewa

do want an alternative and now they finally got it what crimea is do want is they want to travel to russia to see their relatives also they want the prices for goods to be cheaper now when it comes to hall day makers some people can't afford a plane ticket to the peninsula well now they can use the train i can tell you that the russian president just came out of the white blue train hopefully you can see it behind my shoulder over there and this was the 1st train to cross the bridge now that's not really a train where people that people could buy tickets for but there's another one that just departed from st petersburg and actually you can just think of it it will take more than 40 hours to cross the entire european part of russia before that train bound force of asa paul from st petersburg will reach this bridge then of course it will have to ride all through crimea set off the ball is in a bit of a different direction but just for a moment let's go back to talking about the bridge itself for you to understand how much of an engineering technological marvel it is i can tell you tha

its increase its no terry presence crimea so the economic element is critical without a bridge crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourists and economic links to the mainland is critical so many ways this is something that is expected but still violates international law the other piece about this bridge i think is critical is its military in a way that it practically creates a choke point as for ukrainian shipping that this bridge was constructed in agreement with ukraine it would've been a lot higher and so in many ways the russians are using this group's choke off ukraine economically just like they per create as a lifeline of crimea showcases russia's continued interest in undermining ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and also rejecting international sanctions that have been put in place against russia the international community rejects it sanctions and yes russia and it's not only crimea that's going to come under russian domination there are 2 problems in eastern ukraine that russia continues to occupy their part cranium territory so in many ways

top stories from europe including president putin aboard that direct rail link between russia and crimea that's attractive criticism from the u.s. and the e.u. . algeria's military chief who played a major role in president bush afflict his ousting has done. and i'm sound which i have over the day sporting commuting. celebrates the end of a decade long exile from cricket with a victory in karate. saudi arabia's public prosecutor has sentenced 5 people to death and 3 others to prison for the murder of washington post journalist about and now the verdicts signify the end of a year long trial in which more than 11 saudis were tried however those closest to the royal court appear to have been exonerated and drew schapelle has more. 14 months after jamal khashoggi was last seen walking into the saudi consulate in istanbul where his fiance ha t.j. genghis waited for hours before calling for help a saudi court has issued a verdict us not automatically manages a video of the criminal court in riyadh has issued a preliminary sentence against 11 of the accused individuals and it is as follows the

annexed crimea from ukraine create in 2014 u.s. and e.u. impose sanctions on companies involved in the construction of the bridge which was built without ukraine's consent however the 1st direct will link between russia and crimea is being described by critics as a violation of international law still 5 years ago the peninsula was only accessible from mainland ukraine travelers wanted to get to and from russia had to fly or take a ferry after russian troops annexed crimea and 2014 people voted yes in a referendum to join the russian federation president putin as the decision to build a $4000000000.00 bridge which opened in 2018 without the consent of ukraine's spending 1000 kilometers is the longest in europe and it opened last year when putin drove a truck over the top of it well the u.s. and e.u. impose sanctions on companies involved in its construction and the trains are running to from st petersburg to crimea as largest city for more on this let's speak to on the view relink in amsterdam he's an international law analyst and w

they seized a part of that country called crimea for themselves. they declared henceforth crimea would be part of russia, not ukraine. russia also invaded and started occupying big swaths of eastern ukraine beyond crimea. and to this day russia still claims crimea is there, and they are still waging a war and occupying the eastern part of ukraine. when russia first did that in 2014 it was seen as a really big freaking deal on the world stage. it was the first time another country had seized another country in europe since the end of world war ii. and when russia did that the world reacted as if it was that big a deal because it was. they would make the group of 8 instead the group of 7, the g-7. russia got hit with serious international sanctions, sanction that got even more intense after the russian occupied forces in eastern ukraine slot a civilian airliner out of the sky. that was a totally innocent, totally random commercial passenger, a boeing 777, full of dutch citizens and malaysians and australians, just civilians on a passenger aircraft. 2

the railway station in simferopol the capital of crimea the one that i used to arrive at as a little good to go to the seaside didn't see a single passenger train from mainland russia for more than 5 years because there was an old train route from moscow to crimea but it goes through ukraine and because of the kiev blockade of the peninsula it was shut down well of course crimea do want an alternative and now they finally got it what crimea is do want is they want to travel to russia to see their relatives also they want the prices for goods to be cheaper now when it comes to holiday makers some people can't afford a plane ticket to the peninsula well now they can use the train i can tell you that the russian president came out of the white blue train hopefully you can see it behind my shoulder over there and this was the 1st train to cross the brain. which now that's not really a train where people that people could buy tickets for but there's another one that just departed from st petersburg and actually you can just think of it it will take more than 40 hours to cross the entire e

russia seized crimea from ukraine in 2014 and ever sense, moscow has worked to strengthen its claim tosident putin opened a 19—kilometre road link and now with this bridge, there is a direct railway connection linking saint petersburg with the former ukrainian territory. translation: today we have a very important occasion. it is important for crimea and sevastopol and the whole of russia because infrastructure projects such as this landmark bridge will have an impact on the whole economy. "what a beauty of a bridge", the russian leader exclaimed, a view not shared by the ukraine or the european union. an eu spokesman said the bridge was a continuation of russia's forced integration of illegally annexed crimea — going on to say that the mega structure limits the passage of ships headed to ukrainian ports. relations between ukraine and russia made minor improvements in recent months but the opening of the $3.6 billion bridge makes fast—tracking closer political connections ever more unlikely. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: trade tensions spell an uncertain future for a chinese

bypassing its neighbor ukraine in the midst of a conflict that started with russia's annexation of crimea in 2014 what's at stake for ukraine up to $3000000000.00 intransitive fees for gas coming from the orange gas field in western siberia it flows through the brotherhood pipeline crossing ukraine into slovakia for further distribution within the e.u. with the introduction of the north stream pipeline in 2011 much of the russian gas delivered to the e.u. had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off the spigot repeatedly in the $990.00 s. russian president vladimir putin says similar action is no longer a plan if. we are not going to sign any kind of contract with ukraine in order to stop gas translator no we are interested in this gas transit we are ukraine we want it it's a convenient route incidentally the ukrainian route is longer than the route along the baltic sea it is longer and mor

very dear friends railway terminal a much bigger one the one in crimea is capital sin for opel the one that i used to arrive at has a little kid to go to the seaside didn't see a single passenger train from mainland russia for more than 5 years all i can tell you that climb means did want a cheaper way to travel to russia to see their relatives they wanted cheaper goods holidaymakers from mainland russia the ones who couldn't afford a plane ticket were desperate to get it as well well now they do have it we just saw the russian president vladimir putin inside the 1st train there it is right there to cross the railway section of the longest bridge in europe i guess we can call it a test and once the test was over the 1st passenger train bound for sebastopol departed from st petersburg just think of it it will take 40 hours for that train to reach the crimean bridge. the entire european part of russia. before it gets to the crimean peninsula but just for a moment let's go back to talking about the bridge itself for you to understand what kind of technological marvel it is how much effort