will it be on the special status of donbass? well, according to the minsk accords, for anything to be done regions, you have to get approval of those regions. there has been no approval. that is alarming. -- next meeting is in april it will only be relevant if we see positive changes. have there been positive changes? yes. it is true the law on the special status has been -- on the donbass has been extended. , thee saw disengagement pullout of the troops from several areas. our partners in ukraine do not want to pull back the troops from the entire front line. that's a mistake, but that's their stance. number of shelling and, you know, bombings has decreased, but there are still incidents like that. so there are positive changes. some alarming news, but i think it makes sense to continue working in the normandy format. you mentioned colleagues in the ukraine? do we have anyone from the ukraine? let him have the mic. roman: hello. my name is roman tsymbalyuk, and i represent the ukrainian unian news agency. we have no problem doi

president putin warned that he donbass region in eastern ukraine could face a massacre at camp restores full control over the area. also this hour tightening the noose on donald trump the house democrats would roll out 2 articles of impeachment against the president accusing him of abuse of power and obstructing congress. and refusing to back down protesters in france continue to make a stand against the government's plans to overhaul the pension system had a speech by the prime minister on the issue. here watching our 2 international bring you here live news update from our studio here in moscow welcome to the program a lot of reporting has expressed fears of a massacre if kiev takes back control over the rest of donbass territory in the east of ukraine without guaranteeing safety to citizens living there. the mc law has made put in place yet we decided on that 2015 some decisions have been made by hasn't been put into force the ukrainian side is always saying let us close the border with force i can imagine what happens then srebrenica nothing more. we're joined live by our correspond

force and actually is seen on the ground that will be a huge step forward for people on the ground in donbass for the civilians and a step towards making life more bearable for millions of people and this is the 1st time that these 2 leaders have met nic you mentioned chemistry do you think the change in chemistry between the chemistry between russia and ukraine will change under this new ukrainian president. well definitely volume's entity has been putting in a lot of legwork even to make this meeting happen and showings of the open to discuss things directly one to one with president putin they saw each other yes a one to one for the 1st time as part of this big summit with the president of france and the german chancellor i think the expectations were a little high that somehow seeing into each other's eyes they could somehow really deal with all the problems that have been dogging this conflict for years that didn't happen but they were pointedly polite about each other they were clear they would see each other again at a summit early next year but that didn't stop the fact that at the pr

he is taking risks, and in those forward to get russia out of donbass, to raise ukrainian flag in donbass and of the cities to restore our jurisdiction and her sovereignty over those territories. to reach out to the people of those territories who are ukrainians. in that sense, the normative beating that took place on monday is a a success in itsel. because we haven't had meetings at the level of the leaders of state and government in normandy since late 2016. you know, and russia it's simple. if you want to solve something you have to talk to putin. you cannot solve the problems without talking to him. so when he's stage conversations, when you do not sit with them at the table, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to solve problems. did we register -- russia to deny, to change his behavior? not really. but the overall spirit of the conversation was different, and i think that what we can achieve together was within the normative format. is to start slowly building trust with russia, by doing small projects together. and if we see that russia is willing to resolve, we will be ready to

killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass region our correspondent nick kali traveled there and filed this report. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists facing them the whole night without a single shot i don't remember a day like maybe on the 1st night of the cease fire it's a strange and there's no fi at all you get all nervous we're used to the shooting let's assume. the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death continues less than a 10 minute drive away a young woman out walking with a child was severely wounded by a stray bullet just last week our guide through the trenches on xander was in his 2nd year cadet school when the conflict recount where he rolled he could hardly have imagined that he would soon find himself a 1000 kilometers from home fighting a trench war. everyone is tied of the war has parents wives wore it about them back home but if the p

president putin warns the donbass region in eastern ukraine could face a massacre of here restore full control over the area. tightening the noose on donald trump the house democrats to impeachment articles against the president accusing him of abuse of power and obstructing progress. refusing to back down protesters in france continue to make a stand against the government's plans to overhaul the pension system head of a key speech by the prime minister on the issue. that great to have you with us this is our internet. but i'm a putin has expressed fears of a massacre of kiev takes back control over the rest of us territory in the east of ukraine without guaranteeing 1st safety to the citizens living there. the arms the law has been put in place yet we decided on that in 2015 some decisions have been made but it hasn't been put into force the ukrainian side is always saying let us close the border with our force i can imagine what happens then srebrenica nothing more. than a dinner for marty correspondent down whole can see joins me on the london surprising somewhat i think the words

settlement 1st of all it means amendments to the constitution that will ensure a special status to donbass on constant terms need to prolong the agreement of special status of several regions of donbass it should have constant character as agreed in the minsk accord selenski made it clear that he would not compromise ukrainian sovereignty. i want to establish the principles that i'll never violate as ukraine's president and that the ukrainian people would never accept the federal laws ation of ukraine is impossible ukraine is a sovereign state. more than 13000 people have been killed in the 5 year war in eastern ukraine between government forces and russian backed fighters close to the front line wary residents in the city of donetsk said they were cautious about the talks. most of the things should be decided through negotiations and not through war i see the world like this and we should be stopped because it is difficult to live here it is difficult morally and psychologically we need peace and tranquility of. this some it's been a delicate balancing act for all sides but particularly f

or parts of the donbass, which you will explain. what we are hoping today to speak to you on a couple of issues in conversation. we will start and that often it up to those who are participating. this is obviously an on the record conversation. we very much appreciate that you could be here and spend some time. but really to speak both about normandy, about what's taking place in terms of reforms in ukraine. you are the minister for euro atlantic integration. just yesterday, the e.u. came out with a very positive report on anticorruption reforms. if you haven't read it i have a a copy here, i will not share with with you because i don't have enough for everybody, but it is really important to show this progress that has been taking place at a time in washington when there is a bit of a swirl about ukraine. you might've heard about it. it's important to set the record straight about what is actually taking place in ukraine. the challenges you face across your border, internal, external. the track -- n.a.t.o. summit just happened just

coming up russia and ukraine agree a tentative cease fire in the donbass region the tensions all fall from easy battle mode stories on how to humphrey thanks for your company and by sending. shock hello this is you new balls speaking when i come to the show with the ding dong xoai concerts with the extremist guests. credible. welcome to. the week w. this week on world stories. cracking down on pirates in the gulf of guinea. and indian company converts garbage into bio gas. we begin in eastern ukraine where a ceasefire between ukrainian troops and russian backed rebels has to be implemented by the end of the year. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists facing them the whole night without a single shot i don't remember a day like that maybe on the 1st night of the cease fire it's a strange and there's no fire at all you get all nervous we're used to the shooting at us and the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death con

ukrainian president of a lot of ms lewinsky but for the 1st time to discuss the conflict centered on the donbass region is currently held by russian backed separate since. there is so are under way in a number of french cities as labor unions press ahead with another day of strikes to protest the government's planned overhaul of the retirement system now in their 6th day the strikes have caused mass disruption to transport and other public services the action is in response to presidents and many were not const proposed pension reforms which unions unions rather say would force workers to work longer and for smaller pensions and to be corresponding just so was after the strikes in paris or earlier today and he filed this update. the strike here in paris is a big test for the french president manuel my call whether he can implement of the reform of the pension system of the retirement system in funds as he has a promise to things the system is unfair and it's sinking into debt with an aging population in france no trade union and the protesters here can really argue against that there are concern

killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than a 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass reach. or corresponded to your boxes in paris covering those talks tours good evening to you georg so what is the latest there done with dinner i understand they're done with dinner or just about done done with dinner a little information here and there trickling out of those big solid walls of the n.s.a. policy which you see right behind me one of the pieces of information is that reportedly flooding the putin was rather happy about his fust bilateral meeting with the ukrainian president selenski he said it was good to meet him and the meeting went a well now what do we make of that that we'll have to see leaders set down the 4 of them over this working dinner or hammering out the details of what comes out of this midnight meeting here in paris we know that ukraine's president selenski he wants to bring the eastern donetsk region back under control of his government is there any sign that that will happen anytime soon. well re-establishing control over the sovereign territory of ukra

we still have russians in the donbass. we still have a president in ukraine working to the challenges to make sure we work through the challenges the country has had for a long time. the state department has been working on that for a year and a half plus and will continue to work on it. every action i have taken is driven toward that objective. >> voice of america, thank you. >> reporters without borders strongly condemned the iranian threat against journalists. there is intimidation on social media and of relatives in iran. some are in for interrogation. what is your take? sec. pompeo: i have seen those reports and i have seen iranians engage in activity that is at odds with understandings we have in america about how the press ought to be treated. i don't know that i have much more to add other than that the entirety of how the president has thought about the middle east and the level and activity of the islamic republican -- islamic republic drives toward working to eradicate what you just described. what we have advoc

that proceeds to be joined by some of the people who were done displays to you had to leave the donbass of the occupied on but now 1st of all these steps towards peace 1st of all we finally had a meeting if we didn't want peace we wouldn't come here we just talked to pilots the prisoner swap that everyone talked about that the president. the german chancellor president putin said. we don't exchange 35 for 35 and so the ships are back but fully. but we're still waiting which we all want. to have peace and we are ready to do whatever we can to have bring peace. but a lawyer think you have 10 years if you are not. because if it is worse if you finish your response i mean you know turn of mind. which. well that's fine it is just plain. it's an invitation to everyone. i invite all of you but you bring it you have any issues when crossing the border only points you sponsor you you put you know you can. see through. it if it were leave it there you don't just. here on the contrary we take 4 questions. 4 questions have been ousted but i thank you for your patience and i thank you for the work a

and 2nd you need direct dialogue with the donbass there's no dialogue they said there would be changes related to decentralization that's good but we would instead of the courts would be instead. of the special status. of the. well according to the minsk accords if anything has to do with the those 2 regions you have to get approval from those 2 regions there's been no request to get that approval. now in the future meeting in april it will be relevant if there are any positive changes do we have any positive changes yes. it's true. that a lot more on the special status of the dog has been extended so we still have the foundation of where the settlement. which we saw disengagement. the pull out of the troops from several areas higher because our partners in ukraine don't want the troops from and the entire front line that's a mistake but that's their stance. with. the number of shelling in. bombings has decreased but there are still incidents like that this is positive changes there are some that there is some alarming news but i think it makes sense to continue working as part of the

ability of the ukrainians to negotiate against iathe russians with the ru for an end to the war in donbass depends on the united stat and other international support. if we withdraw, or suspend, or threatened to withdraw our security assistance, that's a message to the russians who are looking for any sign of weakness pp any sign that we are withdrawing our t for ukraine. reporter: ukrainian inn rudyuk's home was once on the ukraian side of the frontline. now her village has ended up in one of the newly establishedde litarized zones, hemmed in andeen ukrainian troo russia-aligned forces. thaoutcome of the talks is matter of life and death for her town.e ukrainian troops pull back from their forward positions a few weeks ago. slatedr): personally was worried. i was afraid. our defenders were pulling outy. so i was une the most important thing is that it's quiet and there's no shooting. we hope that it stays that way, thathe peace talks are enrced and result in something. >> reporter: although the fighti has quimoed in recent hs, the war is far from over. since july 18 when it beca known thr

on constant terms need to prolong the agreement of special status of several regions of donbass it should have constant character as agreed in the minsk accord selenski made it clear that he would not compromise ukrainian sovereignty. i want to establish the principles that i'll never violate as ukraine's president and that the ukrainian people would never accept the federal laws ation of ukraine is impossible ukraine is a sovereign state. more than 13000 people have been killed in the 5 year war in eastern ukraine between government forces and russian backed fighters close to the front line wary residents in the city of donetsk said they were cautious about the talks. most of the things should be decided through negotiations and not through war i see the world like this and we should be stopped because it is difficult to live here it is difficult morally and psychologically we need peace and tranquility of. this some it's been a delicate balancing act for all sides but particularly for selenski the former t.v. actor made ending the war in ukraine one of his campaign promises but he's bee

claimed more than 30000 lives and displaced more than a 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass region our correspondent nick connelly traveled there and he sent us this report. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists replacing them that whole night without a single shot i don't remember a day like maybe on the 1st night of the see saw and it's a strange and this new financial you get all nervous we used to the shooting at the . the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death continues less than a 10 minute drive away a young woman out walking with her child was severely wounded by a stray bullet just last week. through the trenches on xander was in his 2nd year cadet school when the conflict broke out when he rolled he could hardly have imagined that he would soon find himself by 1000 kilometers from home fighting a trench war. everyone is tired of the war has parents wives worried about them back home if the polit

ukrainian president vladimir selenski met for the 1st time to discuss the conflict centered on the donbass region it is currently held by russian backed separatists mian mars leader aung san suu kyi has arrived at the international court of justice in the hague to defend me and maher against accusations of genocide the case over the military campaign against their will hinge on minority was brought by the african stage of the camp suchi is due to speak on wednesday. ethiopia's prime minister abi ahmed has received the nobel peace prize at a ceremony in norway the nobel committee praised the for his efforts to end 2 decades of conflict with ethiopians longtime enemy eritrea since coming to power in 2018 is made sweeping political reforms in his acceptance speech are being warned that militant groups continue to pose a threat to peace in the horn of africa. abhi has also stepped up as a mediator in political crises in eastern africa and at home he's led radical reforms but his country still faces challenges following a rise in ethnic violence. july 16th 2018. ethiopians prime minister eritre

reducing control of the territory so everybody knows that each ukrainian considers donbass and crimea to be ukrainian. today from the name of all the people of ukraine i mentioned that ukrainians have the rides and promises and who really have true hope that all the agreements will be followed and we all understand that specific moves and specific steps will be the proof of. providing the peace from our part we are ready to actually follow all the agreements but this is the 2 way street thank you everybody. was very. distinguished colleagues in germany. overall enjoy the previous speaker. with concur with the previous speakers we have passed the final. document the minsk accords. from between for february 2015 will have to be complied fully and are on the queue vocally. there needs to be direct dialogue between the call parties we'll discuss. the disengagement and 3 pilot areas. on the path to further does collation in the southeast of ukraine. making sure there's a full says for we hope the disengagement will continue and there will be demining indeed fortification of words were also

ukrainians that spent years in the custody of the separatists in the rebel—held territories of the donbasseople are seeing their relatives for the first time in two, three, five years. and, of course, that's the best possible new year gift for these families. translation: the main thing is that the people are home. we did what we said before the new year. they will celebrate new year with their families at home, with parents or children. it is great, i am happy. i'm sure they are happy too. in return for servicemen and civilians, ukraine has handed over to separatists five policemen charged in 2014. altogether, ukraine released over 120 people. some of them were allegedly involved in terrorist attacks. for some of them, rebel—held territories could be just a transit to russia. many criticised zelensky for agreeing to the russian terms of this swap, and paying such a high price. this prisoner swap was a part of the deal brokered in paris in december this year by zelensky, putin, macron and merkel. they all are involved in the talks intended to bring peace to the eastern ukraine where govern

after all this time we need to resolve this war it's been 6 years since it all began i'm convinced donbass is part of ukraine. the if i don't understand what madeleine mccann want to do selenski and putin should sit down together drink some vodka together and put all this behind them. the. we need a united ukraine and we need an end to all this. so people don't have to suffer in these queues anymore you. don't yet see what if you cranes biggest cities it's less than half an hour's drive down the road behind me we can't go that the pro russian separatists in control of the city a wary of the foreign press presence selenski was elected early this year on a promise to bring down yet back to ukrainian government control that's what this meeting in paris is all about. back in the front line it's quiet at least during daylight hours silence allows time to think about the future. of. the i'm not interested in this normandy summit what will happen will happen. this war needs to end i've lost so many comrades already. true giving the other site making peace and that's going to be to the. repercussi

in the first place, this means introducing changes to the country's constitution, which gives donbassesults were pretty thin — another ceasefire and another prisoner swap by the end of the year. 0n the big issues of border control and the status of separatist areas, there is still open dispute. but as these leaders left paris, there was a new sense of momentum. the four have all agreed to meet again in four months, and that in itself counts for progress. sarah rainsford, bbc news, paris. keep it with bbc news. still to come: liverpool face a battle to stay in the champions league as they travel to salzburg. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn

floating a selenski were meeting for the 1st time to discuss the conflict that is centered on the donbass region in ukraine now this region is a currently held by russian backed separatists at the talks in paris the 2 sides agreed to take some steps that are aimed at easing tensions now they have agreed to a release in exchange all detainees by the end of the year they've also agreed to disengage military forces that are currently in those 3 regions in eastern ukraine and they've also agreed to hold more talks and for months to check in on the progress of the ceasefire the leaders made separate announcements at the end of the talks station a little this was a meeting was long and difficult but the mood was rather positive that's the truth and i really want to emphasize that point we will continue the discussions in 4 months and see the results of what we've achieved it is. on the some of them this is certainly an important step towards deescalating the situation in eastern ukraine as well as easing tensions with. our correspondent nick connelly is in paris he was following the talks for i

on a platform of unity of healing these political and civil divides in ukraine and resolving the donbass conflict through negotiation with moscow and that point is something that nationalists really object to they see this as a capitulation or surrender to moscow they regularly express their disdain and anger over any sort of compromise or negotiation process regularly holding protests across the country in fact one rally was held there just a couple of days back on the eve of this paris one thousands took to the streets to protest against these negotiations with moscow so this according to putin remains a sticking point. we've seen zelinsky holding talks with nationalists it's unclear who is stronger and what happens there and who will be leading those nationalists when they enter that territory without any guarantees for people this is one of the problems which surely is of the political nature. that will put in use quite quite stark language for every sort of course being one of the darkest incidents of the yugoslav wars 9095 when thousands of men and teenage boys in the quarries were

been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during the country's conflict in the eastern donbass region the battalion's also notorious for its use of nazi symbols back in october 40 members of the u.s. congress demanded ourselves be recognized as a terrorist organization and journalist martin summers says that such appearances at the hong kong protests a detrimental to the movement that. bucket imagine if i was a home call protester i wouldn't particularly like these these rather unpleasant forces for ukraine's to enjoy the more protests but you can't really stop people from turning your city this even if you wanted to. do that if you approach us through the phone call you need to be demonstrating some cause of loyalty to the. nice community or not to be seen as a foreign influence the foreign aid to you and therefore you don't particularly need to have loads of people tell you to make it look as if you are in section of the foreign influence but with what we've seen protesters in hong kong waving american flags with example this back in the days of the chinaman square protests a

in the first place, this means introducing changes to the country's constitution, which gives donbass the concrete results were pretty thin — another ceasefire, and another prisoner swap by the end of the year. 0n the big issues of border control and the status of separatist areas, there is still open dispute. but, as these leaders left paris, there was a new sense of momentum. the four have all agreed to meet again in four months, and that in itself counts for progress. sarah rainsford, bbc news, paris. a thick blanket of smoke is smothering australia's biggest city, sydney, triggering a chorus of smoke alarms in offices, shops and homes. schoolchildren are being kept indoors at break time, some ferries have been cancelled, and sports activities curtailed. rising temperatures have again aggravated the wildfires that have been burning for weeks. conditions are expected to worsen, with winds forecast to strengthen and further fan the blazes. the chairman of the housejudiciary committee has said mr trump's conduct is a threat to the united states, and clearly impeachable. concluding his

in the first place, this means introducing changes to the country by the constitution, which gives donbasstatus. the results were pretty thin. another ceasefire and another prisoner swap by the end of the year stop on the big issues of border control and the status areas, there is still open dispute. but as they litres left paris, there was a new sense of momentum. the four have all meet —— agreed to meet again in four months, and that in itself cou nts four months, and that in itself counts for progress. the chairman of the housejudiciary committee has said mr trump's conduct is a threat to the united states and clearly impeachable. concluding his panel's hearing on monday, jerrold nadler said his committee would proceed with impeachment. the watchdog that oversees the united statesjustice department has concluded that political bias played no part in the fbi inquiry into possible collusion between russia and mr trump's 2016 election campaign. laura trevelyan has this story. raise your right hand. the impeachment enquiry is hurtling forward, and today, the judiciary committee was centre s

president vladimir selenski were meeting for the 1st time to discuss the conflict centered on the donbass region in ukraine this region is currently held by russian backed separatists now at the talks in paris the 2 sides agreed to take steps to aimed at easing tensions they've agreed to release in exchange all detainees by the end of this year also to disengage military forces in eastern ukraine who are currently in that region and also to hold more talks and for many months to check in on progress made now the leaders made separate announcements at the end of the talks. the meeting was long and difficult but the mood was rather positive that's the truth and i really want to emphasize that point. we will continue the discussions in 4 months and see the results of what we've achieved. this is certainly an important step towards deescalating the situation in eastern ukraine as well as easing tensions. you know our correspondent nick connelly is in paris he was following the talks for insight and joins us for more hi nick so these 2 leaders have agreed to a prisoner swap and also to impleme

france earlier this month they great to implement a full ceasefire in a bid to end the war in the donbass region of ukraine relations between russia and ukraine soured when protesters in kiev managed to drive out a kremlin backed government in 24 tane russia then seized control of crimea from ukraine and within weeks russian backed separatists took control of the eastern part of ukraine more than $13000.00 people including civilians have died during 5 years of conflict ukraine wants to join nato once your european union wants to move west last so the poles on the or ukraine and this is a strategic difference a major strategic. risk as well a prisoner exchange there is little will among civilians caught up in fighting for this war to continue this prisoner exchange a sign the tensions could be easing nicola gage al-jazeera. vote counting is underway and getting a presidential run off to former prime ministers are competing to replace president jose manuel vassie fate marial vast rather he failed to get through the 1st round last month one candidate has accused the interior ministry of stuf

france earlier this month they great to implement a full ceasefire in a bid to end the war in the donbass region of ukraine. relations between russia and ukraine soured when protesters in kiev managed to drive out a kremlin backed government in 24 tane russia then seized control of crimea from ukraine and within weeks russian backed separatists took control of the eastern part of ukraine more than 13000 people including civilians have died during 5 years of conflict ukraine wants to join they want your european union wants to move west so the poles kind of for ukraine and this is a strategic difference a major. risk as well a prisoner exchange there is little will among civilians caught up in fighting for this war to continue this prisoner exchange a sign the tensions could be easing nicola gage al-jazeera. we'll get a weather update next here on al-jazeera then stop the crimes against humanity libya's u.n. backed government calls on the international community to act against war come before halftime plus. let's call it what it is these people are domestic terrorists new york's governor t

france earlier this month they agreed to implement a full ceasefire in a bid to end a war in the donbass region of ukraine. relations between russia and ukraine soured when protesters in kiev managed to drive out a kremlin backed government in 24 tane russia then seized control of crimea from ukraine and within weeks russian backed separatists took control of the eastern part of ukraine more than $13000.00 people including civilians have died during 5 years of conflict ukraine wants to join nato wants to european union wants to move west moscow's told the poles that kind of for ukraine and this is a strategic difference and major strategic difference is not the result why a prisoner exchange there is little will among civilians caught up in fighting for this war to continue this prisoner exchange a sign the tensions could be easing nicola gage al-jazeera. yemen's government is blaming the rebels for a missile attack on a military graduation parade which killed at least 7 people there's been no claim of responsibility for the strike in the southern town of delhi the apparent target was se