the people of moldova have their own problems.e moldovan population does not live in moldova because the place is a basket case of corruption under more than a generation of poor elite. maybe things have gotten better recently in moldova under the current leadership, but that is not felt by the population of moldovans who live and work in italy, portugal, or elsewhere. let's talk about ukraine. is hard toconomy measure because there were no unionrices in the soviet and exchange rate fluctuation with the dollar and the ukrainian currency. inexact. ukrainian economy today is definitely smaller than it was in 1991 when they broke away from the soviet union. poland was three times larger. >> the ukrainian economy is under 200 billion in the russian economy is more than 2 trillion. you can talk about the lack of diversification in the terrific. the russian economy has expanded be about 11 times the size of the ukraine economy when the russian population is only three times the size of the ukrainian population. something awful has happe

. >> you're reporting, josh, that moldova, which is right next to you, which borders ukraine, moldova be next on putin's target list? >> right. moldova has 2500 russian troops in transistria, the same trigger that caused the russians to push back so hard late last year. what the moldovan leaders have been telling me is that the russians are pouring in russian forces and threatening to do economically destabilizing things in moldova in order to destabilize the process there so that they can defeat the liberal democrats. >> that is where moldova is, right next to ukraine. not a member of nato. so technically, there's no automatic trigger that the u.s., the other nato allies would have to come to nato's defense. >> that is the problem with small towns like moldova. they recognize the international checks and balances has gone by the wayside now that putin is not respecting it so they are coming to the u.s. and saying we may not be in nato or the eu but we need to push back against the russians and we need your help. >> if this goes on like this, jim, and you know this as well as anyone,

this as she warns of the stabilization in moldova.eastern european country should not be rced to choose between a relationship with russia and the eu. what was the occasion for these comments? >> angela merkel invited the prime ministers of ukraine, georgia, and moldova to berlin. ahead of the meeting, moldova at the end of next month, and georgia will be signing these association agreements with the eu. this means those countries are looking to the west towards europe and not the east. merkel is trying to prepare, if not the international community, russia for the idea that these countries may be inching towards europe. she wants to make it clear that this is not an either/or proposition. there was a conciliatory language to russia. but eachno either/or country is able to choose its own path." at the same time, as you mentioned, pretty terse when she talks about not mincing words and not going any further. she wants to send a clear message to putin that is what is happening now, russian troops moving away from the border, is somethin

did you think that putin was going to use that for propaganda and try to move so moldova and take over that conflict. >> well the transnistria confli conflict has held over since the end of the first bush administration in 1991-'92 and i think it's another place where putin could agitate and it's a foreshadowing of what could happen in all of the soviet republics, and you have to love it when an apparatchik goes to a place like transnistria and come back with boxes of petitions and these people have real chutzpah, and they continue to display it. again, we may not like the outcome or what the russians are doing, but they are on the move and we are not. >> the russians on the move, we are not says ambassador john bolton. ambassador, always good to talk to you on the telephone this morning. thank you very much. >> thank you, eric. >> heather. >> speaker john boehner talking to sunday morning futures anchor maria bartiromo about lois learner and the irs targeting scandal. congress voted to hold her in contempt week for refusing to answer questions, and this morning speaker boehner spoke a

. >>> the question some are asking today, could moldova soon be in the same boat as ukraine? authorities in the one time soviet republic confiscating boxes that were carried by a visiting russian deputy prime minister. in them were signatures for a petition calling on moscow to recognize the separatist province while visiting the province, they offered support for the rseparatists collecting the signatures take back to moscow and he criticized moldova's government for seeking closer ties with the european union. >> and back here at home, people asking today, will the democrats play a part in the new benghazi investigation or sit it out? all eyes are now on capitol hill. you're looking live as washington waits to find out if democrats will participate in the new select house committee on the benghazi terror attack. that panel will investigate if the obama administration downplayed the terror aspect of the 2012 attack that killed four americans. by blaming that internet video for political purposes, just weeks before the presidential elections. at this hour, it's naurt clear if

taking steps to prevent that in moldova? >> the nato today announced thinking about putting more permanent troops in eastern europe, but moldova is afraid of russian aggression pushing towards them. they have a region where there are about 1500 russian troops stationed there, a very pro russia area and moldova is worried that that sort of russian aggression could push into their territory, so they have reason to be concerned. whether or not it will get that far, we don't know yet. >> what's next as far as the possibility for a diplomatic resolution at this point? on tuesday, european foreign ministers held another meeting with russia and ukraine's foreign ministers, but are hopes for a diplomatic resolution fading? >> i think among the people, yeah, there has been a lot of talk here about trying to form some sort of dialogue between the easement and west of the country, but from my reporting, it just seems that both sides are very entrenched in their belief and the media is playing with those sort of emotions and it really i

eat prime ministers of moldova, georgia, and ukraine are in berlin.had dinner with angela merkel last night. that is because there signing and association agreement with the e.u. the same sort of political steps the ukraine took, which precipitated the entire crisis. it is not insignificant that merkel is reaching out to the moldovan and georgian prime minister's. there is a frankness to merkel's remarks. here are some quotes. she talked about not mincing words when things need to be called out. we want with respect to russia no either or but that each country is able to choose its own path. she is talking firmly about russia. but at the same time, she doesn't want to set up confrontations if and when moldova and russia moved closer to the european union. when you look at the journal that merkel has made, she tried to translate put in. -- putin. now she is going the other way around. translating the west for put in. making it clear that the european union will not abide any further incursions. >> what is angela merkel's stance on additional sanctions?

man and beast to keep the design cause i was in the bottom spanking but that don't the seaway to moldova and belarus not the case that if the autumn of trust. that and a t team and will not address the problem until the pasta on the tube but she lets on the nose the ciabatta see all the ones that negative stuff please don't get most of the team under the troubled people will stop by at most appropriate to comment. my dumbass. this team can even see the design defect and indifference to all of that and it did in the outcome of the elections. how would he get a new approach to the proper artist on within the county and with the needed in panties off a stunning and the trust of the denizens of the funnest on with the international community. video question the neat toys to one point i was thinking that the unique talent. some may call it quits at the olive them last year. the nation complaints commission is looking nice and cool with some hundreds of polling stations. even youth of the platoon been on of the suspect who was under investigation into the woods and fallen short of the fifty pe

minister dmitry rogozin said his plane was turned back by ukrainian fighter jets and forced to land in moldova with he's since managed to make it back to moscow and there was a similar situation with russia's minister of culture he says his plane was also threatened by two fighter jets and ordered to return to moldova the aircraft was told it would be forced to land in ukraine if it didn't. we can find all the latest . updates for you on the crisis. to war in afghanistan. more than a hundred thousand. by the war in the last year alone forced to flee violence. and economic uncertainty many have found. the want to be. but there are too many still left wondering. the spring storm in the baltics biggest ever training exercise held right on russia's doorstep amid the ukraine. good luck. to build a. nuclear. mission to teach music why it should care about. this is why you should care only. this immediately so we leave that may be. hard to see your. play your part of the. issues that no one is there with to get that you deserve answers from. politics. it's breaking news here on r.t. international a c

minister dmitry rogozin said his plane was turned back by ukrainian funded jets and forced to land in moldova with air he's since managed to make it back to moscow and there was a similar situation with russia's minister of culture he says his plane was also threatened by two fighter jets and ordered to return to moldova the aircraft was told it would be forced to land in ukraine if it didn't. well you can also find all the latest for money or pull on other europe ukrainian cities online at r.t. dot com we've got minute by minute updates for you on the crisis just log in. well coming up on all t. international in the next few minutes life off to war. more than one hundred thousand afghans have been displaced by the war in the last year alone forced to flee violence a growing taliban insurgency and economic uncertainty many have found refuge in camps like this one the war may be coming to an end for international forces but there are too many afghans still left wondering when they'll be able to return home . plus report on spring in the baltics biggest of a training exercise held right on russ

georgia, moldova? other places in the former soviet union where additional russian pressure might be able to be applied more effectively because they have the bulwark of this deal? those were all possibilities that could lead to russia being more effective in the future as a result of this deal. >> morina, given what david said and he just said, i don't want to over emphasize this russian weakness. we are talking about a country with a big empty east that's next to the most crowded country in the world. >> yes. >> go ahead. >> that's right. and i have been -- i have been in russia, which is appropriate since yesterday for this interview. the observers i have talked to are emphasizing the fact that russia with this deal hasn't become a an appendage of china. russia has received a lot in return for signing this deal. for example, development, the development of infrastructure in the far east and in eastern siberia, not only pipeline but, also, railroads. roads are part of this package, which according to

carriages derailed and hit the passenger train which was on its way to moldova. because of the crash is not been established and traffic has been suspended. general motors is to recall another 2.4 million vehicles in the united states because of safety concerns. gm says there have been no fatalities related to these defects to take the total number of cars to over 30 million in america. more than the carmaker actually sold last year. centralars after the intelligence agency used a public health campaign to track down osama bin laden in pakistan, the white house says the cia will no longer use vaccination programs as cover for spying operations. complaints from top u.s. medical officials welcomed by the world health organization's. the taliban have targeted polio vaccination workers and there has been a resurgence of the disease there. thank you for coming. do we know when the cia actually stopped? >> what we know from the cia is when john brandon made the decision, he made the decision in august of 2013, 8 months after those public health deans wrote a letter to

order and have elections we'll see not just the russian conquest of ukraine, but also perhaps of moldovand aggression in central asia and the baltic republics. >> you were shaking your head. what do you hear that you didn't agree with? >> just what andreased. the question rhetorical - how did it happen, why now. it lays the blame on russia. i point to the common denominate scror between maydan and eastern ukraine as being discontent with status quo, decades of bad government and including the orange revolution that took place with the backing of the west. people were fed up. fed up - they were fed up in donetsk. that's the common denominator. you can't lay it on russia. without disregarding the internal tensions within a profoundly divided and country with years, decades of administration. >> a quick response before we go, andreas. >> well, ukraine is a plural society. it is not a monoethnic society. it is not deeply divided country. it has had, of course, always the separatists, but we have never seen anything like this particular kind of aggression and i do think that this is mainly co

and the new economic evidence is that they are in recession, and other countries like ukraine and moldova looking to join the international union of being kicked out. so i get it when people are parading around crimea, this is a sense of strength, but for right now, this is a crisis for the russian e domestic policy and international policy, and it is important to sort of view all of the actions in crimea and eastern ukraine in that prism. >> and one more piece of evidence that may be driving this in some part which is if you look at the poll spolls, an popularity seems to be higher than ever, and if they continue this aggression towards ukraine, and obviously, and not occupation which would carry a high price tag to moscow, and do you believe that putin believes that it is better to keep ukraine smoldering rather than burst into flames. >> well, he clearly has the strategy and done in places like georgia and moldova where he is going to keep enough instability so that there is not an appetite on the part of europe or nato to join into the alliances, but ultimately, his popularity has bee

a passenger train was on its way to moscow to multiple -- moldova.leanup is underway in the balkans after the worst flooding in more than half a century. if forced hundreds out of their homes, with hundreds of thousands still without freshwater. authorities now face another problem, with floodwaters dislodging unexploded landmines that have been buried since the war in the 1990's. >> a town submerged in water. south of belgrade, it is part of the region in serbia hardest hit by flooding. it is a ghost town. authorities ordered tis 20,000 -- its 20,000 residents to evacutate. the prime minister declared three days of national mourning in honor of the victims who died. >> thank you to the people who agreed to the evacuation. it is more important that we save lives. considering the scale of the catastrophe and material damage, we were hit 10 times harder than all the other counties in the region. i hope this will not be true in regard to the number of victims. >> flooding has affected more than 1.5 million people in serbia and bosnia. the relatively war

a quarter of the moll doll van population doesn't live in moldova because the place is a basket case of corruption .. under more than a generation of poor elites. maybe things have gotten better rently in moldova under the current relationship but that is not felt by the current population of moldovans who work in italy or portugal or elsewhere. let's talk about the ukraine. let's talk a little bit about the ukraine. the ukrainian economy, it is hard to measure because of course there are no real prices in the soviet union and as exchange rate fluctuation with the ukrainian and soviet currency, it is inexact but thee ukrainian economy is definitely smaller than it was in 1991 when they broke away from the soviet union, they have shrunk. >> correct. the ukrainian economy is under 200 billion gdp by any measurement. the russian economy is more than 2 trillion. and you can talk about the corruption in the russian economy, which is horrific, you can talk about the lack of diversification, it is horrific. but russia's economy has expanded about 11 times the size of the ukraine's economy w

bordere moldova and looks pretty far from everything. a 700 mile border with ukraine.his is just dirty miles from odessa. they are concerned they brought the border to high alert. most of the trouble has been in the far east of the country. is when ukraine goes to hold its presidential election on may 25. the central government is concerned they may not be able to hold the election and those eastern regions. if they aren't, that would give russia a reason to doubt the legitimacy of the election. we have seen most of the fighting in a place -- really heavy fighting in the last several hours. we have seen fighting on both sides. the rebels telling us 20 of their fighters have been killed. for government troops. a helicopter shot down as well. very difficult to guarantee casualties. the region is intending to hold referendums just like this sunday where they would ask people to vote whether they wanted to secede from ukraine. >> shopping just got easier. amazon and twitter have signed a deal that would allow customers to shop on amazon by retweeting twitter posts. get my

they announced to the they are putting their troops at high alert and the turmoil creeps into moldova all of that is pretty far from where the actual fighting has been in the last 24 hours. the places this morning where the airport has been closed for 24 hours. the airportl that was floating crimea, as well. the fighting has been in a city that is not big but, has seen heavy fighting. -- big, but has seen heavy fighting. killed at least 30 separate this. an important place to keep an eye on and, increasingly, what we're seeing is civilian casualties. is that the eastern part of the country could be alienated from the central government. two things to watch. the regions that are set to hold referendums where they will ask the people if they want to secede from the ukraine, despite the fact that there is fighting in the regions. they plan on going forward with the referendums. >> thank you for bringing us up to speed with what we need to know about the situation in the ukraine. let's get some more insight on the situation. kit juckes is a strategist. good morning. people are worried abo

russian citizens, people brought across from nearby pro-russian transnistrya, a breakaway province of moldova. turning to the police will not help. they said a government-led commission of inquiry is under way. the prime minister from kiev, is in odessa and blamed the security forces for failing to act to stop the violence. >>> senn european military -- seven european military observers held hostage by pro-russian gunmen have been released. they are relieved at being released. the captors set the observers free without conditions. >>> three people have been killed in two bomb attacks in the kenyan port city of mombassa. there has been no claim of responsibility but the government blamed similar attacks on the armed group al-shabab. >> jane ferguson's report contains images you may find concerning. >> this is all that is left of the bus. police say attackers threw a grenate at it while riding past on a bike. blood sustained the street as emergency services arrived to carry away the injured. >> i saw three dead after the blast. many were injured. we took about eight people to hospital. many too

moldova is probably the most obvious. you have a russian community that claims it's oppressed in the ways russians in eastern ukraines have been claiming. you have large russian populations in some of the baltics that are nato members. that would be explosive if russians were on the borders of estonia or latvia. that would be a much different kind of situation. i think for the moment with putin, there's a sense this a ad hoc policy. i don't think he knows his next move. that's what makes it dangerous. >> turning to 2016 politics here. if anybody believed marco rubio was still on the fence for president, his latest interview is leaving little doubt he will go for the office even after suffering from immigration reform. goes as far as to pledge an all or nothing campaign if he decides to run. >> if i decide to run for president, i want to have some sort of exit strategy to run for the senate. that would be a decision not to run for re-election. i believe if you want to be president of the united states, you run for presiden

remains to be seen whether donetsk people's republic follows the breakaway states of georgia and moldova into this international economic limbo, or whether some form of a crimea-style merger with russia is in the works. i don't think people have actually decided what to do here, or in moscow, for that matter. >> our reporter from "the wall street journal" joining us via skype from donetsk, thanks so much. >> my pleasure, thanks for having me. >>> defense secretary chuck hagel said today america will do all it can to help the nigerian government in its search for those 276 schoolgirls abducted by islamic extremists. but during an interview that aired this morning on abc, hagel set limits on the american role there. >> we're going to bring to bear every asset we can possibly use to help the nigerian government. >> i know one of the things people keep saying is, why wouldn't u.s. special operators go in and try to find the girls? >> yeah, well, i think you look at everything. but there's no intention at this point to be putting any american boots on the ground. -- in an interview with the a

moldova is the next risk. the baltic states are not at risk.e will have to deal with ukraine before he can get to moldova. >> we will talk more about this. right now, the great merger. it is decidedly dead. the publicist at omnicom agreed to disagree so much that they broke off a agreement. levy made martin sorrells's day. phone.tin joins us by is this a surprise to you? you never believed the hugs and kisses in front of the arc de t riomphe. >> i have been on your program one or two times. we cut the deal would fall apart. we did not think it would fall apart so quickly. we thought they would wait until july 27. and they risks that $500 million break fee. they got so painful that they decided to call it quits early. the deal crumbled. they must've spent $100 million abouts. there >> what does it say about the greater advertising industry? we look at traditional advertising and media and the new digital space. is there a message there? >> i do not think there is a message in that. both sides are trying to say that this is as good as if they cam

detained in a pilot for russian nationals and residents of tennis history of the breakaway region of moldova to receive support from moscow the creek is on high alert amid warnings of further provocations during the holiday. great news for you. this year on victory day in ukraine organizers for world war two commemorations are urging ukrainians to wear a red poppy instead of the more traditional st georges river which in recent months has suffered from associations with pro russian separatism in ukraine the move is designed to distance ukrainian commemorations from the increasingly bombastic nationalism of the kremlin while still acknowledging the debt owed to those who died defeating ism. each spring on the ninth ukrainians marks the end of world war two in the defeat of ism with parades and celebrations in recent years russia has promoted the use of orange and black st george's ribbons as a symbol of pride in the soviet victory. however in recent months the symbolism has become increasingly associated with russian separatist forces in ukraine walk in sport is in george's ribbons as an expr

moldova is coming and wanted to bid for the scifi arab town of constantine alcoa getting reports of a garden full of fight may be in that time shots apparently be heard. alarms going off around the area. big time again for this i still don't ask steve to his seat in the restive regions self defence course the abc's the security service headquarters building was a party of god that the times to leave it open just a few minutes. see you fall amongst the thousands of anti government activists of memory those killed in odessa on friday. this isn't a this could also be in control of city hall for many months now and finally the situation sometimes it remains to anticipation about the city's been encircled by ukrainian troops citizens are being advised to stay and goals but they soon may be left with any food because supply lines of the cot. covering the outside is too closely. i miss the people inside sebi on tuesday that the court to remain indoors keepers have read enough icing someone taking a typical that the stillness the calm before the storm although it's not that calm that they fee

she did have the prime ministers of georgia, moldova, and the ukraine here in berlin for dinner. they are going to be signing association agreement with the european union and moving closer to the west. here is the basic point. she does not want russia to think of any of the central european countries moving to the west as in either-or proposition. russiae the point that cannot think of this as a zero sum game. she is trying to play both sides. we will see if they translate in russia. let alone rubles. >> i'm going to keep the currency thing going i am about to do a really tangential segue. merkel.tik from the brazilian currency. the real. let's talk about it. >> i am still dying. i am trying to walk off the set and the cameras are picking me up. i am stuck here. arehe central banks maintaining their rate. no change. two words that bored me to death. it has not been boring. back basis points. the big problems are inflation. it is running at 6.5% and the other is growth, which is heading south. it is all heading towards an election in october where it is not good news for the elec

of argos and said his plane was turned back by ukrainian fighter jets and then forced to land in moldova although he has since managed to make it back to moscow there was a similar situation with russia's minister of culture he says his plane was also threatened by two fighter jets and ordered to return to moldova the aircraft was told it would be forced to land in ukraine if it didn't turn back. now a reminder of our breaking news story the eastern ukrainian city of slovyansk has come under artillery fire from the army this is according to a local autonomy activists these are the latest pictures from the area protesters say that the army has shelled a checkpoint outside slovyansk for the second time in the space of a few hours of course we will be keeping close track of the developments right here on r.t. . coming up on our to international life after war in afghanistan. more than a hundred thousand afghans have been displaced by the war in the last year alone forced to flee violence a growing taliban insurgency and economic uncertainty many have found refuge in camps like this one the

we're working on right now, get it up to the hill, and get some funding for ukraine and also for moldova. >> i hope at some point, i have to give it to other people here, but you never answered my question. you never told me what you'd like to do. what would you like to do in layman's language? >> what we would like to do is use those authorities with the right amount of appropriations to support ukraine and, as i mentioned, and another neighboring country. the problem is we have to work within the existing funding streams we have, so we are working to find the necessary funding and we always welcome additional help with that. >> that was a nonanswer, but thank you. >> as i turn to senator corker, maybe before it's over here, i think what senator corker is looking for is not only do you need authorities and funding but what would you do with that funding? what would you do that we are not doing today? don't answer it right now because in fairness to other members i need to manufacture on but we may want to get you to that at some point in the hearing. senator cardin. >> thank you, mr. ch

this is particularly true in the country of moldova. >> how would you analyze the that thevements presidentf the united states can take based on what russians have so far done? obamahink, in fact, the administration has very strong cards to play if it chooses to use them. we have taken economic sanctions and helped persuade europeans to take economic sanctions, although, frankly, they have not been strong enough. disruptussians presidential elections, and i think there's a good chance they will, if we take strong sanctions, it will give mr. putin reason to reconsider. even if europeans do not want to do this, if the united states wants to take on sanctions with the same determination and the same focus with which we pursued sanctions against iran, europeans would have no choice but to follow us. however important russia is to the european economy, the united states is much more important. >> ambassador herbst, what is the relationship now between germany and russia? >> complicated. that there are many businesses in germany that would prefer not to make sanctions against russia. a substantia

they would get this land bridge that would take them to a pro-russian enclave within the republic of moldova. russia could extend its border all the way to romania. ryan playing out the geography. moscows of the view from in terms of creating such a land bridge, how realistic is that? that would take significant amounts of military hardware and a lot of political capital. is that the direction of travel right now or is this an exercise in upsetting the political story in advance of the elections? >> rispoli, i do not think that the russians have decided to do that yet. their strategy has been a different one. they have been using support for separatists in the east and now in the south to try to stoke unrest and sabotage the elections. when these presidential elections happen on may 25, they will not be able to be held across the country and therefore, russia will be able to say, whatever government that emerges does not have national legitimacy. that, for the moment, remains their goal. >> we will leave it there. thank you very much indeed. let's turn our attention to portugal, the country

he has made all of those former nervous.ublic stand's moldova, some of the nations that are still connect did on that western european edge. whatbody's very nervous on is in his mind. i think we need to be resolute and firm. the west needs to be together on this clearly whether it is the eu, nato. >> i'm asking this also because there are some and former secretary gates, your predecessor, said to me that he was concerned about the west. this was sometime ago when ukraine began to emerge with a focus that we now have that the western nations in europe who have an economic relationship with russia would have the same commitment that we would. goes back to my point about the cold war and the interconnects. all of those larger western european nations have some connection whether it is energy, natural gas, some connection to the russian economy. remember that this is a two-way street. there are consequences both ways and i think president putin has a pretty clear understanding about. secretary gates question is very legitimate. it is something i talk about when i meet with my nato colleagues.

we're helping moldova, we're operating relations with azerbaijan. so those partners, in fact, are receiving assistance from nato, but we have to be clear. the article v obligation extends only to nato allies, and that's what we're doing when it comes to the reassurance package. but, of course, just one other point, russia also has to play a role in rea assuring -- reassuring the countries of central and eastern europe. just coming back to what was said a moment ago be i may very briefly, pause this is my last intervention. the war that mr. putin used to threaten these countries, made it clear their sovereignty in terms of what they were able to do was limited. the more it drove them into the arms of nato, and the more they became worried or became even more determined to seek nato membership. if russia -- [inaudible] it doesn't have to see that in terms of you are a vassal or an enemy, it has to adopt an approach to security as well. that's not what president putin is doing in the current crisis. >> ambassador. >> just very briefly as a footnote to

and then of course, it's a hop, skip, and a jump to moldova.he cost ratio so far has been virtually nothing for vladimir putin. i'm not positive he will go to odessa. i know that his troops haven't withdrawn from the border as he claimed they were. so it wouldn't surprise me. i predicted he would go to crimea because he needs the naval base in sevastopol which he pulled into with his ent enterouge. after furious debate in the white house though didn't wa to fly them in in u.s. military airplanes because that would provoke vladimir putin and i'm not making up that story. >> let's turn now to nigeria. do you think that's enough or should the response look more like uganda where the pentagon has 150 forces going after joseph coney? >> i hate to use the words "if i were president" so i won't. as soon as we know that these young girls were kidnapped, this is an issue that crosses international borders and is against humanity. we should have used every capabilities that we had to go after them. we didn't have to wait until the nigerian government, th

attorney said the alleged creator of black shades was arrested in moldova.ls said black shades had sales of more than $350,000 and infected more than half a million computers. >>> all right. when we come back, philadelphia's rocky middle class, a look at why so many families have fallen out of it and how the look of the middle class is change for the future. >> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance. ♪ >> philadelphia has seen a shocking decline in its middle class over the last 40 years. the driving factors behind it include the loss of the city's manufacturing base. and the decline of the city itself. high crime and a poor public school system. but there is some good news a recent report shows philadelphia's middle class has started to stabilize. but it's different than it was in the 19d -- 1970s. less blue color, more professionals. i want to take you to south philadelphia

attorney said the alleged creator of black shades was arrested in moldova.ials said black shades had sales of more than $350,000 and infected more than half a million computers. >>> all right. when we come back, philadelphia's rocky middle class, a look at why so many families have fallen out of it and how the look of the middle class is change for the future. >> al jazeera america presents the system with joe berlinger >> mandatory minimums are routinely used to coerce plea bargains >> mandatory minimums >> the whole goal is to reduce gun crime, now we've got people saying "this isn't fair"... >> does the punishment always fit the crime? >> had the person that murdered our daughter got the mandatory minimum, he wouldn't have been out. >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america >> philadelphia has seen a shocking decline in its middle class over the last 40 years. the driving factors behind it include the loss of the city's manufacturing base. and the decline of the city itself. high crime and a poor public school system. but there is some g

simultaneously with moldova and georgia. >> ol esksiy, thank you for sharing with us the challenges of petro poroshenko. >> jackie roland in kiev there. now libya's general national congress has given a vote of confidence anti-government groups. i know there were a lot of difficulty getting the number of members into the building for a proper quota to vote. tell us what is happening. >> well, just in the last hour or so they managed to get 93 people into that building. it took eight hours. they have voters, and they have approved the government which means that libya has a government. four cabinet posts remain empty. this ithis is key because therea lot of power issues here. many people will say that the move by the gnc is a very dangerous one. they have said that the gnc has no legitimacy, why? because it's mandate ended in february, and the election was controversial. some say that it actually ended. anyway, a lot of complications back and forth. the reality is we'll have to see how it weighs out. it's very complicated allegiances, tribal, regional, we'll have to wait and see how it

vladimir putin steadily encroaching on and grabbing a russian enclave of neighboring states like moldova, georgia, ukraine, and potentially others like azerbaijan, that is a position he has tested over the years, and i would say more of what we have done in this crisis, what we did not do in 2008, has affected the world we are looking at today. >> one last question. the question, there has not yet been a release of an obama administration second-term national security strategy, so there is opportunity to put something in there about this issue to signal very publicly on this issue said that we brought up here. what would you recommend be in the national security strategy? i am not saying that putin will read it, but it is a chance to have a discussion internally in the and frustration like we're having here. what are some of the issues they need to take a hard look at? the second part of the question, we just had the release of a new defense strategy in the form of a 2014 quadrennial defense review. did that strategy adequately capture the space we are in now with russia? is russia prope

that he has the right to protect ethnic russians, and there are ethnic russians in estonia, latvia, moldovaukraine - in lots of other places. his policies are to destabilize the government. he's doing it in an insidious way - not by rolling tanks across the boarder, but by instigating and helping to instigate the disturbances. >> russia has been on a propaganda blitz, they have been stirring things up and focussing on candidates who are anti-russian, right wingers, despite polls showing they have not support. two top candidates are from the east and are native russian speakers. petro porashenko, a chocolate magnate was a minister under viktor yanukovych. shouldn't this calm vladimir putin down when he talks about protecting russians in other parts of eastern europe? >> i think vladimir putin made it clear, including saying he doesn't want to own ukraine or take it over. it's too big, the economy is a mess. it's deeply fractured. i think he wants to destabilize it so ukraine is not strong enough to reorientate itself in trading relationships. he wants a ukraine dependent on russia, that's wh

moldova. >>> welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper.instead of bringing back the girls, more girls are gone today. people would live in a northeast village say armed men went door to door and grabbed eight more girls who are just anywhere from 12 to 15 years old. the terrorist with the islamist group of boko haram have already vowed to sell these girls and more than 200 that they have already abducted into a life of slavery and arranged marriages. he welcomes the offer from the u.s. to send a team to explain how the u.s. can help find these girls has been frustrating for the u.s. many officials not understanding why there have been many reluctance to accept the help before now. i asked representative bob menendez what he made of this reluctance. >> it is beyond my imagination. i cannot fathom why they have not readily accepted the assistance and have been out there asking for it. you know, boko haram is a real challenge to the nigerian government. whether they feel they are embarrassed by this challenge, this is the most populist and la