he example you gave of russian policy towards eastern ukraine. i'm going to combine it with a question on crimea, whether it was an opportunity or a plan. and i think that going into it we saw that the crimea was -- was an opportunity on the back end of the sochi olympics. you have forces available. and i think eastern ukraine, frankly, was another opportunity. the difference was the geography of crimea was fairly well set, and that was -- that's where that opportunity probably had a little more solidity, it was a little more solid than in eastern ukraine. we saw the eastern ukraine movement, going back to what we said before, it's all about maintaining the regime. and those were opportunities to create instable. that's why you didn't see the tractions in many areas, frankly. there wasn't a clearly identified geographically limited goal that was the aim of what we saw in eastern ukraine, as opposed to what we saw with crimea. >> and on the second part of your question, on the -- can you compete with somebody who is so that? sorry for that. it's n

i think eastern ukraine, frankly was another opportunity.the difference was that the geography of crimea was fairly well set and that was -- that's where that opportunity probably had a little more soldty to -- it was a little more solid than in eastern ukraine. we saw the eastern ukraine movement going back to what we've said before, it's all about maintaining the reregime. and those were opportunities to create instability. that's probably why you didn't see attraction in other areas frankly, there wasn't a clearly identified geographically limited goal that was the aim of what we saw in eastern ukraine as opposed to what we saw with crimea. >> and on the second part of your question on the can you compete with somebody who's so brutally -- how you say that? yeah competing -- sorry? >> [inaudible] >> breaking international laws, yeah, that was the english word i was looking for sorry for that. i think it's not a question whether you can i think you must. putin is a person that sees if you don't react it's a signal of weakness. so i think i

there is no doubt that there are russian soldiers inside eastern ukraine. >> when you confront the russian president vladimir putin with the information, what does he say to you? >> they deny it. they say the soldiers that are in ukraine are on leave. i think hardly anyone believes that. and we have many sources, open sources with media confirming that there are russian soldiers in eastern ukraine. >> i want to continue this conversation. putin, from your perspective, secretary general of nato is lying? >> they are not telling the facts when they are trying to deny there are russian soldiers in eastern ukraine. >> but you don't want to say he's lying? >> i will limit myself to saying what they are saying is not the correct facts because they try to deny that they don't have -- that they have forces in eastern ukraine. >> secretary general we have more to discuss. i want to take a quick commercial break. the stakes obviously are enormous. what's going on in europe. hard to believe this is going on this day and age. take a break. much more with the nato secretary general right after this. am

includes photos of russian tanks and anti-aircraft missiles that are believed to have been taken in eastern ukraine. opposition members say the military intervention has increased russia's financial burden, worsened relations with ukraine and harmed russia's standing in the world. putin has strongly denied the military's involvement. >>> francois hollande has become the first french president to visit cuba. he met with his counterpart, raul castro. the two men met in havana on monday. official details of their talks have not been released. media sources from the two countries report that the leaders discussed ways to boost cooperation. hollande also delivered a speech at a university in havana. he indicated hope that the united states will ease economic sanctions against cuba. >> translator: as you know, france's position has always been that embargoes hindering development in cuba should be lifted. >> hollande also met with former president and revolutionary leader, fidel castro. they spent about an hour discussing economic sanctions and other issues. france is apparently trying to boost economic

what he wants is a deal which leaves him with crimea and leaves eastern ukraine nominally under ukraine but more autonomous, because he doesn't want a war with the west basically. he could have that anytime he wanted. i think president obama has wisely kept us out of there militarily, and i think it's a mistake to send in troops start training troops for poroshenko so he can restart the war, which has been basically in abeyance since february. >> this is the day that pat buchanan approves of the policy. i this i you're right on though. >> i think he's right on iran. >> we'll have to show some measure that we do care, that we're not disinterested, but at the same time -- >> we don't want war. war is not going to be good for the ukrainians. their economy is a basket case! >> we do have to accept that the nato border states are very concern about russian movements. carter has improved things a lot with the presence there. we need to move on. >> he does -- oh. >> why hasn't president obama agreed to provide u.s. weapons to the ukrainians? i don't get it. >> because he doesn't want a proxy w

reporter: for teenagers in war-torn eastern ukraine, even little things can mean a lot.ascha and his friends at the children's home in druzhkivka are getting new soccer shoes. the four boys came here half a year ago after fleeing from rebel-held territory in the donetsk oblast, in donbass. >> we were brought here by bus. we were told we had to go away because of the war -- 200 of us from the children's home. reporter: escaping meant travelling right through a war zone, but now they're safe. this part of the region is currently held by ukranian troops. for now, all is calm here. a million people have fled their homes due to the conflict. some just cross from one side of the front to the other. thousands of children are among them. >> it was awful, just awful. i was scared. reporter: we ask if he knows where his parents are. >> in donetsk. but i don't call them. i don't even have their phone number. reporter: genadiy is doubly traumatised. even before the fighting, his parents neglected him and then he had to flee from war. many others here share his fate. >> we saw them s

and kiev says they are russian soldiers captured fighting with separatists in eastern ukraine and moscowupplying them with weapons or troops and simon mc-greger woods reports. >> reporter: ukraine authorities wasted no time in showing the men off both wounded in fighting in eastern ukraine last saturday and give their names and admit they are members of russia's special forces. ukraine say both were wearing russian uniforms and carrying these russian weapons proving their point that moscow is supporting separatists with equipment and regular soldiers on the ground. on tuesday the russian foreign ministry demanded the right to see the two men. but yet again denied they currently serve the russian army. >> translator: on may the 16th at around 1500 local time two russian officers were captured from the third unit of a special unit of general intelligence. >> reporter: russian-backed separatists have been fighting ukraine troops in eastern ukraine for over a year and 6100 people have been killed. ukraine and western officials have long claimed regular russian troops have also been fighting

and i think eastern ukraine frankly, was another opportunity. the difference was the geography of crimea was fairly well set, and that was -- that's where that opportunity probably had a little more solidity, it was a little more solid than in eastern ukraine. we saw the eastern ukraine movement, going back to what we said before it's all about maintaining the regime. and those were opportunities to create instable. that's why you didn't see the tractions in many areas frankly. there wasn't a clearly identified geographically limited goal that was the aim of what we saw in eastern ukraine, as opposed to what we saw with crimea. >> and on the second part of your question on the -- can you compete with somebody who is so brutally -- how do you say that? sorry for that. it's not a question whether you can. i think you must. putin is a person that sees it. if you don't react, it's a signal of weakness. it's not a question of whether you can compete in that environment. we believe you have to compete in that environment. because that's the game he's

hoska has provided a gas boiler for the children's home, fighting in eastern ukraine has led to regular power outages and the previous device wasn't sufficient. >> it is constant stress. last year we had no idea where to take the children. whether the war would continue or our city would be attacked. >> this is the last major town on the ukrainian held side before the front line. the children's home is providing refuge for dozens of children and young people. christina is 18 and fled here on her own from the separatist stronghold. she came before the cease-fire in mid february when the fighting was at its worst. >> it was horrible. i can't really describe it. the windows shook. grenades exploded not far from us. just going outside shots were firing right above you. >> she left her vocational school for the children's home after reading about it online. her parents couldn't provide for her but she was too old for state-run institutions. homes like these reflect the area's economic and social decline. many house the children of alcoholics or the long-term unemployed. that was true even be

and i think eastern ukraine, frankly, was another opportunity. the difference was the geography of crimea was fairly well set, and that was -- that's where that opportunity probably had a little more solidity, it was a little more solid than in eastern ukraine. we saw the eastern ukraine movement, going back to what we said before, it's all about maintaining the regime. and those were opportunities to create instable. that's why you didn't see the tractions in many areas, frankly. there wasn't a clearly identified geographically limited goal that was the aim of what we saw in eastern ukraine, as opposed to what we saw with crimea. >> and on the second part of your question, on the -- can you compete with somebody who is so brutally -- how do you say that? competing, yeah, sorry. breaking international laws, yeah, that was the english word i was looking for. sorry for that. i think it's not a question whether you can. i think you must. putin is a person that sees it. if you don't react, it's a signal of weakness. it's not a question of whether you

>>reporter: tensions in eastern ukraine remain high. there's sporatic shelling and russia is conducting large scale exercises on ukraine's border again and the minsk talk agreements are still not effective and russia's allies are gearing up for another round of fighting. russia admits there's another list of banned u.s. officials but that's yet to be officials. >>> a social media campaign is calling for a boycott of united airlines after a muslim woman accused them of discrimination. she says a flight attendant refused to serve her an unopened soft drinking saying it could be used as a weapon and then later served another passenger an unopened can of beer. >>> it's white arm band day -- every year residents in bosnia commemorate the atrocity by wearing white arm bands >>> two cultures with seemingly little in common are being brought together. the aboriginal people of australia are sharing their thoughts and experiences with visitors in the other side of the globe. andrew thomas reports from australia's gold coast on a unique cross cult

the question is whether there is some kind of a negotiation that can take place that keeps eastern ukraine part of ukraine even if it has considerable autonomy -- >> rose: you mean autonomy just to eastern ukraine? >> yes. >> rose: all right. but i think putin has basically played a very -- he's played hard he's played very -- he's been very tough in his resistance to the sanctions and everything else and, right now, it appears that that situation is going in his direction. and the ruble has regained some of its strength. >> rose: oil prices are up. oil prices are up a little bit. my guess is he's feeling pretty good. >> rose: sanctions aren't working then? >> well, they're having an impact. my guess is that the drop in an oil price that a more dramatic effect on the russian economy. >> rose: you don't have any concerns he may want to go into the baltic countries? >> i'm worried about him stirring things up there. i'm not particularly concerned about a direct military action, but his ability to use the many russians who live in all those countries, particularly in estonia and latvia, to st

charlie: you mean autonomy just to eastern ukraine? gates: yes, but i think putin has played hard he has been very tough in his resistance to the sanctions and everything else, and right now it appears that that situation is going in his direction, and the ruble has regained some of its strength. oil prices are up a bit. my guess is that he is feeling pretty good. charlie: the sanctions are not working then? robert gates: well, they are having some effect, but i think the drop in oil prices had more of an effect. i worry about him stirring things up there. i am not particular concerned about a direct military action but his ability to use many russians who live in all of those countries, particularly estonia and latvia to stir things up and create instability, i think we should not underestimate that. he has already launched a cyber attack against estonia in 2008, so i think -- i do not think we should relax when it comes to the baltic states, but i think the pressures are more likely to be more subtle and covert than they have been in

[singing] damien mcguinness: now, to eastern ukraine, where in theory, there's a cease-fire. in reality, some fighting still continues between pro-russian separatists and ukrainian forces. here in germany, people feel the conflict is very close, and n fact, geographically it is. that's also because of the close links the germany has to both ukraine and russia. there is now increasing concern about german citizens starting to get involved in the fighting themselves. reporter: the last control post before donetsk. it's almost like an international border. no one gets past year without being checked by the pro-russian militia. one of the militia men is a man who lived in germany until he joined the separatists five months ago. he wants to see our passports. born in russia, he had his parents emigrated to germany as ethnic germans. he is one of many fighters in eastern ukraine. >> we simply want our peoples republic of donetsk. people here don't want to be a part of russia. at first they believed in putin, but he left us in the lurch. he could have ended all of this without firin

the report alleges that at least 220 russian soldiers have been killed in eastern ukraine.t goes on to say that the kremlin has spent more than a billion dollars sending arms and other supplies to the rebels in eastern ukraine. specifically mass cow is alleged to transferred the surface to sir missile system that was blamed for shooting now the malaysian airlines report. >> reporter: compiled by allies of the murder activist this report contains damming claims. >> translator: we collected and analyzed exhaustive evidence that russian troops are present in ukraine as well as mercenaries recruited, financed trained and sent to take part in the war against the ukrainian armed forces. >> reporter: according to the report, the russian army made two major incursions into ukraine, helping the separatists fighters gain ground. soldiers were ordered to go to fight as volunteers. at least 70 have been killed here in this town. opposition activists also believed moscow oversaw the transfer of military equipment. including the surface to air missile system used to shoot down the malays

their report alleges at least 220 russian soldiers have been killed in eastern ukraine and it claimsprovided sure as to air missle system blamed to shooing down malaysia air lines flight mh17. dozens of people killed in sudan's east darfur state. tribes men building up before fighting broke out. ongoing tensions overland ownership rights and allegations of cattle theft caused the latest cop flick. >>> east african leaders are preparing to meet in tanzania over the escalating crisis in burundi, pleased fire at protesters on tuesday since last month there have been frosts against the president's bid to run for a third term. seven people have been killed with machetes and ax in the eastern democratic republic of congo. the attack took place close on a u.n. peacekeeping base, erica wood has more on this. taking with them what they can hundreds leave their homes because they no longer believe it's safe to say. the north privilege of practice ins of the east correct contract i can problem are remember are recognize i go of congress so has seen 300 people hacked to death and raped by fighte

russia knows that, that is why they want to keep the instability and ukraine's eastern border. was in ukraine last year and kept in touch with a lot of the people in ukraine. they do think the russians will launch of more major offensive in the spring they think vladimir putin figures nobody is going to respond the americans won't response, germans won't response nato won't get its act together, ukraine is not a member of nato. it is unlikely the europeans will rush to ukraine militarily. arthel: you have security officials say we are open to having a ballistic missile defense provided by the u.s. a what is going to happen next? >> you don't know where is going to go. the biggest problem with ukraine and russia is we america, president obama has failed to get the number on the russians. two things he didn't get. the russians are transactional. if you give us something we will give you something back. we keep saying we will give you something as a goodwill gesture and you give us something back, i you kidding? the second thing we never understood about vladimir putin is usable le

of the west and ukraine on his aggression was expectations that ethnic russians in ukraine and eastern ukraine and southern ukraine would be meeting tanks with flowers. instead he met very steep resistance and that's the reason why ukraine managed to survive and the western powers have no choice but to gradually come into agreement with ukrainian government about supplying it with small weapons and other means of resistance. >> host: gary kasparov, why do you think the west has been reluctant to be more aggressively antiputin? >> guest: actually that's why i wrote the book, because it's like in the game of chess. you look at the position and before you understand what is happened in the game you have to go many moves a bit before. you have to analyze the game. i do this from the very beginning. and to understand what kind of mistakes you made. so i think it's important for us to look at the event starting in '89 '90 '91 talking about the collapse of the soviet empire the fall of the berlin wall the freedom in eastern europe. huge expectations in the soviet union -- former soviet union russia a

the situation on the ground in eastern ukraine is volatile and fragile, and we remain convinced the best way to bring the conflict to an acceptable lasting solution is through a political settlement. one that respects state's sovereignty and territory integrity, and while many question the kind of assistance the u.s. should provide, we need to expand the conversation of it to ensure we include all elements of national power to support ukraine, using the dime formula that we use in the military of diplomatic informational military and economic. we cannot fully be certain what russia will do next, and we cannot fully grasp putin's intent, but we can and are doing is learning from his actions, and what we see suggests growing russian capabilities significant military modernization, and ambitious strategic intent. we know that putin only responds to strengths and seeks opportunities in weakness. we must strengthen our deterrents in order to manage his opportunistic response. nato and alliance are adapting through, and improving our readiness including our responsiveness adapting to the chall

is moscow calling the shots in eastern ukraine? gen.reedlove: you may have heard this morning that the state department actually started using a different term and that term describes that it is paired forces, russia forces and ukrainian forces. i have said, always said, that these are russian-led forces because we've seen russian command and control structures for a long time in there. as you know, in the early stages of this, the separatists were not well-organized, not acting in a military formation. and we saw efforts almost immediately by russia to organize those formations, give them the enablers that they need to be able to do their job et cetera et cetera. so i believe that russian command and control is prevalent. >> how many forces are there? gen. breedlove: we are not -- we have stopped talking about numbers a long time ago. remember that this border is absolutely and completely porous, wide open. forces, supply, money, people, equipment moving back and forth all the time across the border. inappropriate to try to label it on

russia's flouting of the two minsk agreements that was supposed to end the military tensions in eastern ukraine and set the stage for some sort of political reconciliation in that country. and in the u.s.' view russia has not done anything to make that possible, and so a warmer, closer relationship isn't going to happen, at least not any time soon. >> you say it's not going to happen any time soon, but the fact that they sit down with each other in a meeting at a high level mean anything at all? >> it makes in difference to reaffirm that relationships are not so strained that these two countries can't discuss their differences. a that is what they did. the secretary of state john kerry speak out a short time ago saying he had frank discussions about the many issues facing both countries and in diplomatic terms. frank is pretty honest, pretty blunt, and basically not sugarcoating anything that the two sides had to say about their views on the situation. but they do have diplomatic relations. they don't always agree. there certainly is concern about both countries' efforts to extend their influen

both were wounded in fighting in eastern ukraine last saturday. both admit they are members of russia special forces. the cranes say both were wearing russian uniforms and carrying these russian weapons proving their point that mass co is supporting separatists with equipment and regular soldiers on the ground. object tuesday the russian foreign ministry demanded to see the men, denying their with the russian army. >> on may 16, aren't 15:00 local time, two russian armies were captured from the third unit of a special mission of general intelligence. >> ukrainian and western officials have long claimed regular russian troops have also been fighting in ukraine. moscow said any russians that may be there are merely volunteers. the two sides signed a peace deal in february in minsk which was meant to see a separation of forces, but neither said fulfilled obligations and the front line remains volatile approximate in european capitals and nato headquarters, they claim the frank i am. m. >> peace is undermind. >> we speak the same language, respect the

since then at least 6200 people have died in eastern ukraine. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> the united nations special.envoy for syria has strongly condemned the death from barrel bombs dropped in aleppo. >>> while in iraq, fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant have lost a string of attacks, eight suicide car bombs, and killing at least 20 soldiers happening east of fallujah. >>> in yemen more feaf fighting fighting in ta'izz, and along the border with saudi arabia, a saudi rebel guard killed and seven others wounded by houthi shelling. >>> in other developments houthi rebels are taking part in talks in oman. ha hashem ahelbarra is here with us. hashem. >> to negotiate a political settlement the u.n. was of the view that geneva would be the best place for talks on normality. but the saudi said we will only go if the houthis guarantee they are pulling out. >> hang on. this is more or less talks about arranging more talks at this stage. >> yes. the u.n. envoy was in oman, then flew to sanaa to talk to top houthi leaders about explor

organization for security and cooperation in europe has always warned about the spread of violence in eastern ukrainead says both russia and ukraine have failed to withdraw their heavy weapons to from the region. they signed a peace deal in minsk in february. >>> there is a request by the bald tick states to protect against a possible russian invasion. the move would protect them from not having soviet bases in the countries. russian military jets routinely fly over the baltic sea, and that has already lead to increased tension with moscow. lawrence lee reports. >> reporter: it's a drill, but the intention is real enough. the pilots have 15 minutes from the alarms sounding to take to the skies. they will scramble for real 150 times last year to shadow russian aircraft over the baltic. the current lead nation in this nato mission is norway backed up by the italians. this is all about reassuring the tiny baltic states that they won't let the russians do to them what they did to ukraine. >> we show them our presence by being up there and -- and show them that we're nearby and we're on alert. we are airb

we don't believe what needs to happen is more acceleration in terms of more arms flowing into eastern ukrainee opposite de-escalation. it's a constant conversation. we're always looking at ways to do more but nothing's changed partnership. >> what's the downside of trying to help the ukraine military with lethal u.s. or european-supplied weapons? >> we've helped the ukrainian military with training. also with nonlethal aid. there's a variety of ways we're helping them. >> what's the downside of sending them lethal military equipment? >> what we believe needs to happen is de-escalation and demilitarization of the situation. you have russians pouring arms and weapons in. what we believe needs to happen is implementation of the minsk agreements. i was with secretary kerry in sochi, he met with president putin, they committed publicly and privately to implementing the minsk agreements which means withdrawing weapons, withdrawing troops getting back to a border here that is respected. so they have -- >> has any of that happened since sochi? >> on the russian side this is where it's been really cha

since then, 6200 people have died in eastern ukraine. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> still ahead the need for life's most are precious resoces plus. >> behind me is a person carrying on a transition of mississippi blues music where does this music go from here? here? . >> did welcome back. let's recap our headlines here on al jazeera now . schools have reopened in nepal a month after the devastating earthquake killed more than 8,000 people. most children will now be taught outdoors. the european union has confirmed that the travel ban for 89 minister are arbitrary and unjustified. one of the officials is nick klegg. monsoon rains are on the way but parts of india are still sweltering. liddy dutt is reporting from the section where 125 people have died. >> reporter: in some of the most impoverished sections of this country families are holding last rites ceremonies for their loved ones. >> my father got sick from the heat he wasn't well, we gave him water that didn't help. we decided to take him to the hospital he died on the way. >> rep

bbc news in eastern ukraine.ty: for more on tuesday's talks, set to take place in sochi between american and russian officials, matthew ridge and ski -- rojanski. i want to talk about the optics of this visit. the state department is concerned secretary kerry is going to sochi and planning to meet secretary -- meet with putin. how is that going to go? matthew: if there was not something substantive on the agenda, president putin would not be showing up. kerry has, until now, only seen lavrov. they have seen each other frequently and the meetings have not been very productive. he is going to sit down with proven. the signaling his they must have something they want to get done. the message from the russian and american side is very different. from the russian side, it is the americans have finally come around and realized they need to stabilize things. we shall gain -- deign to speak to kerr from they americans, we are going to remind the russians to be. a civilized country, remind them of the minsk framework on u

when abc 7 news kellye: an emotional milestone today into the investigation of the crash over eastern ukraine. a final flight carrying seven caskets arrive saturday meeting all the human remains found are back home. the passenger plane was shot down in july of 2014 with the loss of all 298 people on board. a group of women and girls freed from boko haram are at a refugee camp in nigeria. the army released these photos of survivors. they are receiving medical care and food after traveling for three days in a military convoy. the survivors are among 700 women and children. nigeria's says it rescued this week. kellye: the wait is over. prince william and his wife welcomed a princess into the world this morning. it is an announcement that has people talking all around the world. sam sweeney has been following the story today and says the people he spoke to are thrilled with the news. of course they are, sam. sam: so many people smiling about this story. we went around the city and talked to people. finally, a positive story making headlines. the princess did not meet deadlines for the morning nei

andrew simmons, al jazeera in eastern ukraine. >> people in ireland are celebrating over the result of the same sex marriage vote. tim friend has the story. >> the yes vote campaigners are jubilant. the size of their victory is even bigger than they'd anticipated. it's the world's first national vote on the issue. not long ago the result would have been unthinkable in this staunchly catholic country. >> never felt happier than i have this day because we did it. we did it. i'm so proud of this country. >> i'm so proud to be irish. you don't get many times when your life, you can be proud you're irish but this is one of them. >> reporter: even before the official declaration it quickly became clear who had won. all the main political parties backed a yes vote along with big business and celebrities. >> i'm so proud to be irish today, it's been a very emotional journey. >> in the time between their wedding and their reception party newly wednesdays vincent and dan coal. >> nobody told us we could or couldn't get married. you should be able to get married to the person you love. it's a won

former deputy prime minister as retaliation for eu sanctions imposed on russia for its role in the eastern ukraine conflict >>> a heat wave in india has killed nearly 2,000 people in the past two weeks. the south has been hardest hit. it's putting pressure on communities struggling with a lack of water. >>reporter: in some of the most im -- hundreds are holding last rites for their loved ones. this man's father died from heat stroke. he was 85. >> my father got sick because of the heat. he wasn't well for a few days. water didn't help. we then took him to the hospital but he died on the way. >>reporter: stories of illness and death are being told across the area. despite the enormity, some doctors say they're equipped to deal with the growing health crisis. >> fluids and water and liquids is the basic medical treatment to treat sun stroke patients. that is enough for each care center. >>reporter: but in one district what's being described as an unprecedented heat wave has once again raised questions about an old problem. water supply. for communities across this area pools like these are an import

activists are putting on the conflict in eastern ukraine could face jail terms of to 20 years. boris nemtsov was working on a report dealing with russian casualties when he was killed in february. his murder is still unsolved. >> the new decree is designed to put pressure on civil society. you can't talk about it. >> they were able to finish their performance. the police's message was clear. the audience aren't the only ones washing. -- only ones watching, the government is as well. >> we will take a break. a historic day in nigeria a >> in nigeria the new president has been sworn in. >> international leaders turned out at the ceremony. it is the first democratic transfer of power in nigeria's history. reporter: there are high hopes for the first president to come to office through a peaceful transition following an election . >> protect and defend the constitution. so help me god. >> the 72-year-old defeated the incumbent goodluck jonathan in elections two months ago. one of his biggest challenges will be fighting the islamist militant group boko haram. the uprising has killed

. >> reporter: tensions in eastern ukraine remain high. there's sporadic shelling and russia is conducting exercises on ukraine's border again. the minsk agreement is still not implementand both ukrainian and western officials fear russia and its allies are gearing up for another round of fighting. russia admits there is another list of banned u.s. officials but that has yet to be published. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera, london. >> china has reacted angrily to u.s. criticism of reclaims land in the south china sea. the ongoing diplomatic row has dominated a meeting on regional security in singapore. jerald tan explains in more detail. >> the south china sea rich in marine resource he and minerals. a third of the world's shipping passes through he here. the shore line is shared by eight countries each with claims to the sea many of which overlap. china's claims are by far the most extensive around include the vast majority of the sea but these two sets of islands are the main focus of territorial spats and china's ambitious land reclaima

. >>> it is by the latest person who was shot dead, 220 russian sources have been killed, in eastern ukraine and they provided the surface to air,. >>> french resident has pledged to payback what he called a moral debt to haiti on tuesday. now, he was met by protestors, angry, about a debt tjat france forced them to pay during the slave rebell yes. >>> and now, from the capital. >>> this is only the second time a sitting french president has visited haiti and latest stop on a tour. but despite the warm welcome from the president the relationship between their two nation says uneasy. >>> many is a painful reminder of a bad task, and revolt, and it demanded, compensation, from london slave owners and it has crippled haiti- >>> if haiti is in misery, that's pause of france. >>> that's why we want to be compensated. >>> if he wants to visit haiti he has to come with restitution. >>> when fought them for our indopep dense and they forced us to recognize it. >>> but, like generations of french leaders before them, the president spoke of a moral debt and, not financial compensation, and he talked a

it does appear that the russian clearly, clearly russian-backed separatists in eastern ukraine are preparingfor another round of military action that would be inconsistent with the minsk agreement. and we are supporting the ukrainian military not with offensive arms but with defensive arms. but i think chancellor merkel is also making an important point that need not be at variance with helping the ukrainian military, namely that the big influencer, if there's anything that will influence russian behavior, it is the combination of economic sanctions and the fall in oil prices. that is what is punishing russian now. and it's also true that, since you mentioned chancellor merkel, it is the weight of european sanctions that matters most because they do most of the trade with russia. that's why we are so intent on working with the europeans, led by germany and i appreciate the steadfastness of germany in leading those sanctions. because by ourselves we would have a lot less pressure to apply to russia, simply because the fog of trade of us is less with russia so we need russia, i mean we need ge

implement the minsk agreement and russia to stop supporting the separatist and rove their forces from eastern ukraine. >> obama also commented on the fight against the islamic state militant group. he said nato is playing an important role in counterterrorism efforts and is part of the military coalition backing the iraqi government in the fight against the militants. >>> a nuclear power plant in southwestern japan has cleared government guidelines put in place after the disaster at fukushima daiichi. it's the first facility to meet the tougher rules. japan's regulator has approved all the paper work for the plant to go back online. officials at the nuclear regulation authority endorsed the emergency plans for the number one and two reactors at the sendai plant. the next step is for regulators to fin jush up their on site inspections and checks of emergency drills. then the plant's operator will be able to load the reactors with nuclear fuel. training workers and holding drills is important to avoid serious accidents. >>> they hope to begin loading fuel into reactor number one next month with an eye

. >> video released by europe suggests a ceasefire in eastern ukraine has been violated. the video appears to show pro-government forces coming under sustained shelling near mariupol. >> the president in burr unity says it's impossible to hold free and fair elections. with foreign donors withdrawing support, he's asking burundians to help pay for the polls. we have this report. >> nina can't believe her brother, alexander, was shot and killed by police. he was protesting against burundi's president, running for a third term in the june presidential election. >> my baby brother is dead. how can he be so cruel. >> the broken family has to find a way to cope without alexandra. >> elsewhere another family is concerned about the situation in burundi. he is determined to run in the elections, violating the constitution. >> international donors are funding the elections. pierre nkurunziza asked burundians to pay for the polls. >> translation: look at the economic situation. people have no money, we have not been working because of the protests. maybe they can help but we can't.

. >>> sanctions on russia could be lifted if the cease-fire agreement in eastern ukraine is honored.in sochi speaking with vladimir putin and sergei lavrov. an aftershock in nepal kills 45 people. the truss gets under way in yemen, several ministers are headed to washington for talks with president obama. the saudi king declined the invitation to the talks. riyadh say it was because of the peace talks with yemen. but some say it was a nub. >> when prince salmon became king, president obama cut short a trip to make sure he was in the country. and the white house says king salmon promised to show up but canceled at the last minute. the white house tried to put the best spin on what seemed like a very obvious snub. >> i know there have been some speculation that this change in travel plans is an attempt to accepted a message to the united states. if so, that message was not received. >> still most analysts say that this is saudi arabia's and bahrain's way of showing how unhappy they are with the u.s. president. this is one reason. >> i think one of the biggest threats they mace may not

borders that have kiev and the west fearful that russia will initiate another round of fighting in eastern ukraine. sporadic clashes continue. this hospital in donetsk was hit by shell fire on friday. the minsk agreement, which was meant to end the fighting and separate forces, still has not been fully implemented. the ukrainians accuse the russians of continue to go send weapons and troops into rebel-held areas into the country. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera. >> farmers in southern peru refusing to give up their fight to the copper mind. four people have been killed in two months in protests across the country. the farmers say that the mine will destroy their crops. they are convinced that the new mine will not bring new jobs. >> they have been farming in the valley for more than 50 years. in that time he has seen a decline in the quality of the land and the local water supply. >> the dust comes from the smelting facilities kilometers away. it travels with the wind. >> this olive tree is covered with dust from the mines. he said its dying. >> another rice field ready for harvest may be lost. fa

ukraine. as well as on going fighting in various communities in the eastern part of that country. certainly though as we heard the secretary of state say the u.s. and e.u. are prepared to roll back those sanctions depending on how closely the russians and those in eastern ukraine comply with the terms of the minsk agreements. there are two of them, the most recent one was achieved in february, but there has not been 100% compliance, and so that karat was tangled out there, but as of right now unless the u.s. says concrete action on the ground, it's not going to change it's position okay, thank you indeed. let's bring in rory who is in sochi for us, so russian foreign minister, said the meeting helped to understand each other better, in practical terms where does that leave us. >> well, as all of the participants here, sergei lavrov and john kerry were saying it is basically good to talk. i don't think kerry said this was an important visit at an important time, he didn't come here expecting any break through, he came here basically just for the purposes of dialog. and of course th

and the west accusing russia of supporting separatists in eastern ukraine, still very angry over russia'snnexation of crimea ongoing sanctions against russia by the west. only last month, sepp blatter met with the russian president in sochi on the sidelines of some games, an event there, and mr. blatter said to mr. putin, that the russian steering committee, the world cup steering committee deserved five stars in its performance so far. so a lot of mutual back slapping has there been in the past and now from mr. putin with respect to his support for mr. blatter. but, you know, there's a lot at stake here. $50 billion it is rumored is going to be spent on hosting these games here in three year's time. already the stadiums are being built, 11 stadiums in russia the source generating vast amounts of income and employment for this country, but it seems certainly at this stage that this unfolding scandal is something that could rel potentially reflect on russia's reputation on the international sporting stage, and the international stage in general yet again. >> charles stratford reporting fro