east berlin is down here west berlin is here. you come through the buildings the car lanes are over here and this is the final guard post in the final bridge. and the man in charge that night, the senior stasi officer on duty that night is this man to his name is harold yager. l. gigot is a man who opens the berlin wall. harold yager is an unlikely candidate for the title. he is a complete loyalist. he's been working at bornholmer street for 25 years. at an additional three years of service before the. he helped to build the wall but i pulled his entire service record that still survives, and he had the knowledge is a service only one minor to merit and a rack of awards and promotions. this is a very, very low surface of the regime. he said i believe the wall was tragic but necessary because it would not build the wall there would've been world war iii between the soviet bloc and the west. the wall was bad but it was better than the alternative. he was very committed to his job. it is not a man who was seaglider and bring down th

sentenced there it was so bad being a russian being a commy i had to pretend to the kids i was born in east berlin not len ingrad. i was trying to convince jewish kids i was actually a german. [laughter] you know, what 10 years later i showed up at overland college, a small marxist college in ohio. and being an immigrant was the coolest thing you could imagine. i mean everyone, nobody wanted to be the heterosexual white male. so i got as russian as could be. i was. the bullets and all that. i tried to annex another college. it was, you know, a really productive --. >> you have not annexed any other colleges like gary has. >> no i haven't. >> you came to america from holland by turkey if i'm not mistaken? >> well, i'm a permanent migrant. my father is irish. i was born in ireland. my mother is turkish. i grew up in africa and holland mainly. i speak french with my mother. so in other words new york was a very good fit for me. and i felt at home there. >> so we're in washington. we probably have, it is an appropriate place to ask this question. what is the relationship of the novel to politics? you

here's a picture of a store in east berlin in 1988. you see a long line of people trying to get bread. there is war damage on the building. there were better things in extra workers could have done with their time but they thought it was a good idea to follow me around on this august day in 1988. this is me taking notes on the streets. they took secret photos of me and they followed me around minute by minute trying to assess what i was up to during the day. as you go forward a little bit of this year is the outline of the 60 page file just for that day. here's what it says for example. at 8:00 it has become. i've left the hotel npk w. which is on the mobile. i was traveling in style back then. at 8:55 i arrived at the opera and so on and so on. they make a lot of data and if you read the file in greater detail you see what i was up to a lot of detail. some of it is comical because i'm wandering around in wandering around at one point it says 10:57 he is looking at a map and 11:01 still looking at a map and 11:03 asking a passerby for

here's a picture of a store in east berlin in 1988. you see a long line of people trying to get bread. there is war damage on the building. there were better things in extra workers could have done with their time but they thought it was a good idea to follow me around on this august day in 1988. this is me taking notes on the streets. they took secret photos of me and they followed me around minute by minute trying to assess what i was up to during the day. as you go forward a little bit of this year is the outline of the 60 page file just for that day. here's what it says for example. at 8:00 it has become. i've left the hotel npk w. which is on the mobile. i was traveling in style back then. at 8:55 i arrived at the opera and so on and so on. they make a lot of data and if you read the file in greater detail you see what i was up to a lot of detail. some of it is comical because i'm wandering around in wandering around at one point it says 10:57 he is looking at a map and 11:01 still looking at a map and 11:03 asking a passerby for

i would be at their mercy. >> reporter: 25 years ago, a few weeks after the collapse of the berlin wall eastns stormed the headquarters. today the new museum gives access to all, and to the thousands of secret files. a museum but also a memorial to darker times. neave barker al jazeera, berlin. >>> and a reminder you can keep up to date with all of the news on our website, there it is on your screen new and improved aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. people were found a month ago. the bodies were dumped in a mass grave just below this house. those who were killed are believed to have been held here after they were kidnapped. only a few of the bodies have been identified.

meaning there wasn't some east berlin west berlin white knights remembers where you have people walking across the border at the same time. just because there is an interest needary that you -- an interest.we think the administration is hiding behind semantics and equivocating. bill: why do you think if you are right about this, why do you think this is the policy? >> i think you a separation from reality in what we are doing fighting islamic terror around the world. i think the one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing. i think we have a very left-leaning president and administration who is getting the upper hand when it comes to what should we do when islamic tear rights kidnap americans. they are taking the lead on this when in reality the people who can do it the best are the department fence people who have boots on the ground and do not want to see islam its released when we are fighting the war on terror. martha: lawmakers and congress are moving closer to defying the white house to the threat posed by iran. a new pose in the senate for sanctions against the regime despi

inside me, then i would be at their mercy. >> 25 years ago a few weeks after the collapse of the berlin wall east germans stormed headquarters. today the new museum gives access to all, and to the thousands of secret files. a museum, but also a memorial to darker times. al jazeera berlin. >> and just to remind you, you can always find out much more on the stories we're covering on our website. www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com. really it's the best way to keep in touch with international news and sport pretty much wherever you are in the world. i do recommend that you check it out. >> the far north of europe - a place of extraordinary beauty - home to an astonishing array of

after temperatures that will be cooler than they were yesterday all the o'clock feature cast 56 east berlin widespread and then range anywhere from 6 seed to a 69 and then been entire range encompass there 69 san jose lotus mid- 60's these bay valets and mid-60's for the north bay severances go right around 64. sunday on before crest cooling and the weekend's heading up the top zero is no amount that comes your report conditions looking good norstar base up to 31 in. 42 an embargo 25 none is now but over martin luther king day weekend will change that >> : would be more excited about college football playoffs monday this weekend's downed eight down four by monday. have to say that a football and the nfl some say that's the best sales season. like the arch in volume but fell at my but now in full days. and college never watched honestly speaking or given a full game new year's day just shut the how fast they play i'll think he can go wrong either way. the rules means oregon cannot practice as much as ohio state and the 20 hour deal they limit their athletes. rule is that they can practice fo

inside me then i would be at their mercy. >> 25 years ago a few weeks after the collapse of the berlin wall east germans stormed headquarters. today the new museum gets access to all and to the thoughts of secret files. a museum but also a memorial to darker times. al jazeera berlin. >> that is your news hour. viewers in the u.s. back to local programming. and we'll go back to news in just a moment. >> because i was african american i was trying to fit in >> misty copleland's journey wasn't easy >> dancing gave me the opportunity to grow into the person... i don't think i could be without it >> now, this trailblazer is opening the door for others >> i wanna give back to ballet what it's done for me... >> every sunday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> aljazeera america presents a break through television event borderland... >> are you tellin' me it's ok to just open the border, and let em' all run in? >> the teams live through the hardships that forced mira, omar and claudett

, then i would be at their mercy. >> 25 years ago a few weeks after the championships of the berlin wall east germans stormed stasi headquarters. today the new museum gives access to all and to thousands of secret files. a museum, but also a memorial to darker times. al jazeera berlin. >> well, all right. as promised we'll go to sport now with robin in doha. >> felicity. thank you. it has been an absolute cliff-hanger with the final round of games taking place before wednesday' action all four teams were on level on points. all of them with an equal chance of reaching the last eight. would you believe knocking out the champions, cameroon with the winning goal. the other group gain with 1-1 draw. there is only one quarterfinal place left which means they'll draw lots on thursday to see who stays and who goes. andy nervous for guinea, but it seems to be a cruel end to either one of those teams for contrasting reasons obviously. >> yes, it's a really bizarre situation. initially it had been penciled in if lots were to be drawn it would take place just after the game. but now they've moved it to

sentenced there it was so bad being a russian being a commy i had to pretend to the kids i was born in east berlin len ingrad. i was trying to convince jewish kids i was actually a german. [laughter] you know, what 10 years later i showed up at overland college, a small marxist college in ohio. and being an immigrant was the coolest thing you could imagine. i mean everyone, nobody wanted to be the heterosexual white male. so i got as russian as could be. i was. the bullets and all that. i tried to annex another college. it was, you know, a really productive --. >> you have not annexed any other colleges like gary has. >> no i haven't. >> you came to america from holland by turkey if i'm not mistaken? >> well, i'm a permanent migrant. my father is irish. i was born in ireland. my mother is turkish. i grew up in africa and holland mainly. i speak french with my mother. so in other words new york was a very good fit for me. and i felt at home there. >> so we're in washington. we probably have, it is an appropriate place to ask this question. what is the relationship of the novel to politics? you have

inside me, then i would be at their mercy. >> 25 years ago, a few weeks after the collapse of the berlin wall east germans stored the headquarters. today, the new museum gives access to all and to the thousands of secret files. a museum, but also a memorial to darker times. al jazeera berlin. >> all the sport now. >> men's world number one djokovic is through to the semifinals of the australian open. he beat the canadiens in straight straights to advance to the semifinal. he'll face the defending champion. >> playing the best match of the tournament so far is affecting me in a positive way and hopefully i can carry that into the next one. >> the swiss had a straight sets win. >> serena williams progressed to the semifinals of the australian open. the world number one moving a step closer to her 19th grand slam title defeating her opponent 6-2 6-2. the last time times she has advanced to the last four, she has won the title. >> i felt i played well. i had to. i feel like when you're going against a player like her very confident on the court she had a good few matches. i knew that i needed to reall

the released agents often crossed sides at the border between east and west berlin. but prisoner swaps with extremist groups remain controversial. in 2011 israel made a major concession to its arch enemy hamas. exchanging prisoners for someone kidnapped in 2006. hamas celebrated the deal as a major victory. a risk consultant says swapping prisoners for hostages is still better than paying for the release of prisoners as some european countries do. >> if you hand large amounts of money over to terrorist organizations, there is no doubt that that money is going to go and fund future terrorist atrocities buy weapons, buy explosives buy people buy opportunity. so it is a direct link to paying a ransom and fueling terrorism. >> in the case of the two isis captives a swap might be one of the few chances they have to stay alive. cnn, london. >> let's get back to our panel. joining us, retired lieutenant general, former commander of the u.s. army in europe. barbara starr is joining us now. generally general, is there a distinction to be made in the case between a prisoner an

sentenced there, it was so bad being a russian, being a commie, i had to pretend that i was born in east berlin. i was trying to convince german kids there that i was german. [laughter] 10 years later, i show up at oberlin college, this small marxist college in ohio. being an immigrant was the coolest thing you could imagine. nobody wanted to be the heterosexual white male. so i got as russian as you could be. i wore the whole thing with the bullets and all of that come up i tried to annex another college . [laughter] it was productive. >> that is part of the washington ideas for an airing tonight at 8:00 p.m. also a conversation with the founder of not impossible labs, talking about his efforts to bring prosthetics to war-torn sudan. former new york governor mario cuomo died yesterday at the age of 82. he let the empire state for two terms from 1983 to 1984. here is his keynotes beachfront the 1984 democratic national convention which put him in the national spotlight. >> the 100 14th congress gavels in this tuesday at noon eastern. watch live coverage of the house on c-span and the senate liv

the released agents often crossed sides at the border between east and west berlin. but prisoner swaps with extremist groups remain controversial. in 2011 israel made a major concession to hamas, exchanging more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners for the return of a soldier who had been kidnapped in gaza in 2006. hamas celebrated the deal as a major victory, and the netanyahu government was heavily criticized. duncan bulivant a risk consultant says swapping prisoners for hostages is still paying for the release of some prisoners. >> if you hand large amounts of money over to terrorist organizations, there's no doubt that that money is going to fund future terrorist atrocities. buy weapons, buy explosives so it is a direct link between paying a ransom and fueling terrorism. >> reporter: and in the case of the two isis captives a swap might be one of the few chances they have to stay alive. >>> now to a story out of the netherlands and a bizarre yet dangerous situation at a tv station. take a look. a young gunman dressed in a tie and jacket got into the studio of a natio

and whichever one is chosen will square off with paris, berlin and rome. live from the east to you. >> thank you, tara. hopefully we will get good news. >>> the time now is 5:39. today is another spare the air day. the bay area quality management district says more alert comes be called through the weekend. district officials say wood smoke represents 40% of air pollution this time of year. that is why burning wood and solid fuel in fireplaces, pellet stoves and fire pits is banned again today. >> many people are upset about not being able to burn, but many more are upset about not being able to breathe. we are required to meet federal health standards or we could actually lose our highway funding. >> the funding, $9.5 billion in federal transportation money for the bay area is at risk if we don't meet the air quality standards. anybody caught will pay a $100 fine or attend a class for a first offense. a second offense could mean a $500 citation. >>> two bay area teenagers are helping needy girls get new clothing and accessories. they are both 17 years old. they started a no

berlin wall splits the city in two. >> the wall was this sinister symbol of the division between east and west.n you went to see it in person, i'd been there several times before, you could never adequately convey the coldness of it on camera. it was this ominous piece of slab of concrete. and we knew obviously about all the people who had paid for their lives trying to get over it. >> the day after arriving in berlin brokaw attends a press conference called by the minister of information for the east german republic, a man named gunter schabowski. >> the room was about half asleep at the time, and then he read this statement from the politburo that all citizens of the gdr would be able to leave and return. and it was as if it had arrived from the moon. did we hear what we thought we'd heard? >> nbc news arranges for brokaw to interview schabowski after the press conference. >> do i understand it correctly, citizens of the gdr -- >> i had an interview with him, ran upstairs, got him to reread the statement -- >> it is possible for them to go through the wall at some point? >> it is possible for

went head an off and worked for other ts als nations, too.and work and after the fall of the berlin wall, eastese plans, nefarious n plans, it's. ended up with the zimmerman telegram, the germans when it gets intercepted by the british. you know, they're trying to convince the mexicans to come in against the united states so they could have, you know -- and it remind me of some of the es stuff that, you know, other powers, including ourselves, have done.e of some really nitwit things. where is the mental thing on ot some of this?he you don't want to irritate the -- some of these major elve powers. so where does the mental ideas ment come? the thinking? >> far be it for me to get in r 0x the mind of what makes spy ? master things to convince mexicoar be to go to war against the united it me states and it works, but it agai becomes, as always has taught and i us, a great deal of arrogance of people in power and they think -- arrogant people think they can do whatever they want. they can change the course of history. and sometimes they do. thank you very much. >> thank you. [ [ applause ] >> you'

here's that brighter band just east of philadelphia so if you're in berlin right on the white horse pikee you're getting some steady snow, medford lakes on route 130 you're near that brighter area and along the coastline you have the snow and some wind matt and tam. >> thank you karen. >>> we're going to go on over to chad pradelli. he has been rating mother nature almost like a fight card. he says the region two, mother nature zero but the wet snow has pick up since we started chad. would you keep that rating? 82 your in pennsauken camden county. >> reporter: we got light snowfall. we talked about this yesterday familiar. you said i was poking the bear. you said i would be knee deep in snow. it's not the case. we have a little bit of accumulation on some of the untreated roads and lawns here. i would say about an inch. like karen was talking about if you look at route 70 here, it's wet no accumulation. we've seen nj dot trucks going up and down applying some of that salt so when that snow touches down it is melting. road conditions pretty good here in south jersey. traffic is picking up

east germany in 1989 were in leipzig. this is where the peaceful revolution began that led to the fall of the berlin wall.now opinions in the city are polarized and tensions are high. quick as we heard there, very tense situation in parts of leipzig. florian joins us from there now. we see some of the police behind you. what is the situation right now and our police expecting violence? >> 20 minutes ago, it was very loud here because the supporters had started their march. they were about 1.5 hours delayed due to the fact that half of the city is basically block off. there are lots of police blockades in order to make sure that the pro-and anti-demonstrators are kept apart, so is very difficult to get to the starting point of the march. they have started walking down one of the major alleys here. the anti protesters were very loud. they said we don't want any of that here. the police have their hands full trying to get those two groups holding them apart. there have been minor incidents by left wing extremist apparently incidents that involved clashes between the two groups, but also clashes just with the

east and central europe are warmer than normal. about 5 to 10 degrees higher than normal 11 degrees berlin 7 degrees in vienna and 1 degree in moscowith snow on the menu on tuesday. now across the americas from the second week of january through the second week of february, it's the coldest time of year for north america. very frigid air is blanketing central parts of the u.s. as well as western canada. and windchill values as low as minus 35 degrees in some places. so cover your skin to avoid frostbite. now, across the west winter storm conditions are still happening over the four corners region, and 40 centimeters of snow is likely into your tuesday. now temperatures are as follows. quite low, minus 12 degrees for the high winnipeg minus 9 degrees and chicago minus 10 degrees in toronto and your high in new york city will be minus 1 degree. but temperatures will slightly moderate on wednesday, and coming back to more average levels as we go in to thursday. now finally over japan, looking quite calm for many areas. but things will change as we go in to wednesday, a new system is coming in from the west. that will provide widesprea

berlin agreement the s.a.l.t. agreements, our new relationship with china, the unprecedented efforts in middle east are immensely encouraging. but the world is not free from crisis. in a world of 150 nations, where nuclear technology is proliferating, and regional conflicts continue international security cannot be taken for granted. so let there be no mistake about it, international cooperation is a vital factor of our lives today. this is not a moment for the american people to turn inward. more than ever before our own well being depends on america's determination and america's leadership in the whole wide world. we are a great nation spiritually, politically, militarily diplomatically and economically. america's commitment to international security has sustained the safety of allies and friends in many areas. in the middle east in europe, in asia, our turning away would unleash new instabilityiesnstabilities new dangers around the globe which in turn would threaten our own security. at the end of world war ii we turned a similar challenge into an historic opportunity. and i might add an historic achievement. an old orde

east of germany, particularly in the city of dez dresden. >> all right neave thanks very much brinking us the latest from berlin where the chance her is addressingw, two climb nurse california have made history by scaling the peak of yosemite national park's el captain rock without losing climbing tools they cheered with joy after rink the top of what many consider the world's most difficult rock climb. the summit is higher than the world's tallest building in dubai. they were free climbing. meaning they only used harnesses and ropes in case of a fall other, wise they had to rely on their own strength to climb the nearly vertical wall. >> really i would say relief is stronger emotion than pride. i have been proud of him for a long time. you know, the whole world is just learning about the person that i have known for his whole life. so i have always been proud of him. >> as a matter of fact, one of the guys, his finger was sawed off, used to be a carpenter so he's actually only climbing with nine fingers and i think that's just amazing to just the integrity and the fortitude. >>> right. so this is the website everything you need to know all the

the country's east as a government offensive continues around donetsk and the international airport. those claims are likely to add to the attention surrounding high-stakes talks in berlinn wednesday and the -- on wednesday, aimed at stemming if i can violence. >> we will be going to care for the latest. first, this report. >> destruction on the outskirts of donetsk following the most intense fighting in weeks. just a few kilometers away life the airport, or what is left of it. ukrainian authorities say that pro-russian separatists began firing on the airport from this neighborhood and they had little choice but to return fire. local residents are caught in the middle. >> after the first explosion, we all fell to the floor. after a minute or two, with there was another explosion and we heard people screaming. when we went outside, we heard crying and sobbing at one of our neighbors was injured. my neighbors has been was dead. we called an ambulance. -- my neighbors husband was dead. we called an ambulance. >> units are battling for control of the airport. the ukrainian government [no audio] >> our guys have advanced pretty far forward, to three kilometers from the airpo

east and come back. that is the official response. merkel is back in berlin. she was in paris and she met with ukrainian president poroshenko as well as francois hollande about the next steps for ukraine. in berlin, foreign ministers are meeting just outside of town. they want to see if they can have any progress going forward. what merkel has said is if they make progress, she may attend this summit and kazakhstan which poroshenko wants to bring together as some sort of normandy style conference on ukraine. still looks like there is quite a bit of difference. merkel spoke to putin on saturday night and urged him to try to influence the separatists in eastern ukraine. >> thank you very much indeed hans nichols joining us from berlin. let's continue the conversation and examine the political implications for europe. some lawmakers calling for tighter security measures and border checks in the wake of the terror attacks. what will this mean for passport-free travel? the spanish and marine le pen in paris have been talking about this over the last 24 hours. let's

east of the country since april of last year. the u.n. puts the death toll at over 5000. >> what could be in store for further sanctions? we put that question to our chief correspondent in berlin. >> the eu has some and all of its foreign ministers to meet to discuss the issue. he said there is no eagerness among the ministers to rush toward additional sanctions, but that much would depend on the weather and renewed fighting which is the worst consists last -- the worst since last september. the germans have long pursued a double track on the one hand -- a double track, on one hand, diplomatic, but also a very firm commitment to saying look, you got to keep your promises. just last week, the russian foreign minister agreed there would be pressure on the rebels to pull back. the russians are not pulling back, though, and new sanctions could well be the next step. >> marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz in poland. >> welcome back. german chancellor angela merkel said germans have responsibility to fight all forms of racism. today marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. among the speakers, two survivors who both spoke of their experience

berlin wall. it was a very ominous location. most of the people didn't seem to understand why it was so ominous. several hundred miles east.nd dividing europe once again. no one in europe thought possible that it could ever happen non-european territory. it is -- the european continent to place earlier this year. there's more going on on the european continent. the past several years, i was working for radio free europe and colleagues repeatedly warned us about russian aggression and russian influence and money and aggression against their neighbors and they were always derided as being these silly cold warrior people stuck in the past and don't you understand we have a new relationship with russia and why are you dragging us into these problems? now those people are proven right and i would say there were -- there were some nightmares, they could have said even worse things. look what vladimir putin this week has defended the hitler/stalin pact of 1939. this is very scary stuff. i don't think most people in europe have come to terms with enormous people in the united states of come to terms with how unpredictable this reg

berlin. she has worked for the news agency bloomberg. and pleasure to welcome martina sabra. she has worked as a journalist for 20 years in the middle east and africa. and it is a pleasure to have with us once again michael lewders -- luders. he worked for the german newspaper "die zeit" he writes fiction and nonfiction on middle eastern topics. let us start out by reviewing what we know so far about the perpetrators. the youngest one hamyd mourad has report gliven himself up. and the other two cherif, are at large. cherif already known to the french authorities. geraldine schwarz, what can you tell us? >> yes, cherif was to send them to iraq. he himself tried to go to iraq. really important right now in france is this an islamic terrorist attack? these three gunmen, when they appeared in the -- at the beginning of the attack on wednesday, claimed that they were actually from al qaeda. and when they escaped from the building, journalists heard them saying allahu akbar, which means god is great. we avenged muhammad's -- charlie hebdo is dead. >> right. what do you make of the fact that they had such military expertise? apparently they wer

berlin wall. who is a very ominous occasion almost of the people there didn't seem to understand why it was so ominous for only several hundred miles east the russians are busily militarily dividing europe once again. something that no one in europe really thought possible that could ever happen on european territory, and onslaught is what it is on the european continent took place earlier this year and there is still work going on on the european continent. and for the past several years i was living in europe, working for radio free europe, and our polish colleagues would warn us about russian aggression, but the spread of russian influence and money and aggression against their neighbors. they were always derided as being these silly cold war era people stuck on the pass comment on to understand we have a new relationship with russia? and what are you dragging us into the all these problems? they have been proven right and i would say that the worst nightmares have actually gotten that they could've said even worse things. look what putin this week has defended the hitler-stalin pact of 1939. this is very scary stuff. i don't think m

berlin wall. and there was a very ominous occasion although most of them people there didn't seem to understand why it was ominous, for only several hundred miles east the russians are busily militarily dividing europe once again. and something that no one in europe really thought possible that could ever happen on european territory. there's still war going on the european continent and the past several years i was living in europe working for john o'sullivan of radio free europe and our polish and baltic colleagues would warn us about russian aggression, about the spread of russian influence and money and aggression against their neighbors and always derided as being these silly cold war era people stuck in the past-don't you understand that we have a new relationship with russia and why are you dragging us into these problems. now those people have been proven right, and i say there were some nightmares, actually gotten -- they could have said even worse things. look what putin this week has defended the hitler stalin past of 1939. this is very scary stuff. and i don't think most people in europe have come to terms with it and most people in the

berlin. the government of jordan and good for them has condemned this attack from the middle east.ct that has become a so-called meme and it's gone viral, these folks may have lost this battle. yes, tragically a number of people died but we may have citizen vigilance and a response here that ends up protecting journalists. >> is this a game changer, this event that happened in paris today? >> no. this is just part of the continuing war on terrorism that's been going on for decades. it preceded 9/11 and it will go on for many more years. even right now, we can't tell is this from the al qaeda groups in north africa because there are many immigrants in paris from north africa and they spoke french and arabic at the crime scene. is it from yemen, the middle east syria? there are so many -- >> you agree, peteer? >> i totally, agree? >> it's all not negative. we have to win the argument with these folks. they're recruiting folks because their arguments are better than ours. let ours be better. >> we have to leave it right there. much more coming up. a massive manhunt under way for the g

east of the country peace talks edge forward. . we will bring you an exclusive interview with ukraine's finance minister next. ♪ >> some members of ukraine's government are in berlin ukraine's prime minister will meet angela merkel to discuss the countries conflict with russia and how germany can help ukraine. ryan chilcote joins us. in terms of this crisis, it never ceases to grab attention. she left london last night to go straight back for this talks. >> ukraine is in dire need of all kinds of assistance. one of the things that will be discussed his financial assistance. george soros gave an interview where he said the ukraine russia conflict is a bigger threat to the eu's economy and to the eu's survival than greece.e he said the west was making a mistake by not following through on sanctions against russia with financial support for ukraine. he says kiev needs $50 billion of assistance in the first quarter. the ukrainian prime minister is in berlin. the ukrainian finance minister is in berlin. she's brand-new to the job. we asked her about it. >> we are indeed and a critical financial situation. that means going from an external payments perspective, but also