these whales have been beaching more and more along the coast. >> welcome to the program. we begin in washington where u.s. president joe biden has worn russia will pay a heavy price if it invades ukraine. it coincided with the release of satellite images showing the scale of the russian military buildup along the border. ukraine says moscow has now deployed more than 127,000 personnel. our white house correspondent has more from the american capital. >> but there is no doubt -- let there be no doubt at all that it put and make this choice, russia

will pay a heavy price. >> speaking from prepared notes on the anniversary of his first year in office, president joe biden sought to clarify the u.s. position on a russian invasion into ukraine. >> i have been absolutely clear with president putin. he has no misunderstanding. any russian units moving across the border, that is an invasion that will be met with severe and coordinate economic -- severe and coordinated economic response. >> it comes as the white house spent the day cleaning up these wednesday night remarks, stunning european allies by suggesting a lesser response to a smaller scale invasion. >> it is one thing if it is an incursion and we end up having a fight about what to do or not do, etc. >> ukraine's president fired back on twitter, blasting

biden's comments. "we want to remind that there are no small nations and minor incursions, just like there are no small casualties and little grief for loss of loved ones. i say this as the president of a great power." biden's statements of a potential russian ukrainian of ukraine have exposed divisions and doubt about the united states' commitment among european allies. >> there is concern among allies that the u.s. did not have the will to follow through on our own, how much are they sure we will follow through on protecting allies, and how much are we willing to protect non-allies when european security is in the balance? >> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is in geneva or a meeting with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. russia is seeking to halt a nato

expansion. the u.s. will not provide such assurances, but instead will encourage diplomacy to resolve security differences. there's new urgency to the negotiations. president biden warned, with russian troops positioned close to ukraine's border, he believes russian president vladimir putin intends to attack, and a russian invasion of ukraine may be imminent. >> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has been in berlin ahead of friday's meeting with sergei lavrov from russia. they are promising a swift and severe response to russian aggression against ukraine. germany's foreign minister called on moscow to take urgent steps towards de-escalation. >> nothing less is at stake than the preservation of peace in

europe. this is existential for us, which is why we have no choice but to defend it firmly and protect it with a shield, even if it could have economic consequences for us. >> let's get more on those developments. >> ukrainians have been closely monitoring the flurry of diplomatic efforts over the past few weeks as this crisis has been deepening. after all, this is a conflict that has cost this country more than 14,000 lives, and after that -- add to that, more than 1.4 million people who are internally displaced, but beyond that, you don't get the feeling that people are worried about an imminent russian invasion, despite all the rhetoric they hear from their own leadership or indeed european and american politicians. people will tell you that this is actually not the right time

for russia to cross the border. they say that the s on is different than back in 2014. they say that the army -- the ukrainian army now is much more capable, much better equipped. it has received training, so they feel that they are much more confident now and that russia knows exactly that. >> russia's foreign ministry is very clear about what they are hoping to achieve from the meeting friday in virginia. that is, they want to take the next steps or negotiations on security guarantees, that they are asking the american government about the possibility of nato expanding further eastward, as well as not allowing ukraine to join the military alliance. that is something that is very much redlined for this country. that is the official position, but what do russians think about the ongoing tensions? we asked some people here in the capital what they have to say. >> i think there will be no war.

it seems to me that we have this situation from time to time because authorities need to keep people up with something apart from covid. putin's rating is going down. >> i don't believe it's possible that these nations would ever start a war. i would not want it. what would it prove? to whom? >> i wish we don't make war, especially with ukraine. we are brothers indeed. that's all i can tell you. >> as the world waits to find out what happens in geneva friday, many are hoping that diplomacy and dialogue can continue to be a path forward to try to de-escalate the looming crisis. >> the first german of international aid arrived in tonga after it was shaken by a volcanic eruption and tsunami. war -- more aid is on the way and phone lines are being

restored. authorities have confirmed three deaths and extensive damage have caused violence. >> we just really did not know how bad the damage was because communication was so difficult. those two planes arrived on thursday, one each from new zealand and australia, and now the first of whaling ships has arrived carrying humanitarian supplies but also has high-tech surveying equipment on board and specialist divers as well. their first job, which is under way right now, is to assess any damage caused by the tsunami beneath the surface of the water to shipping lanes getting into their port and to the port itself. obviously, that will be crucial to allow more ships to deliver the aid. a second new zealand ship will arrive later friday and a third,

the hms canterbury behind me, which is tied up at a nubile base in auckland, is being loaded as we speak -- tied up at a naval base in auckland, is being loaded as we speak. it will set off friday morning with more equipment on board. telecommute occasions are being approved slowly as we know that undersea fiber-optic cable will take at least five weeks to repair. in the meantime, another telecommunications company has managed to get some satellite links up and running to enable phone calls and internet connections to be established. it is at about 10% capacity, so slowly but surely, things are starting to improve. >> sudan's military chief has appointed 15 government ministers following a visit by u.s. officials. sudan's ruling council promised to amend the document governing its transition to democracy. thousands protested against military rule.

at least 71 protesters have been killed since the government was overthrown in october, including seven this week. the vice chair of the sudanese american public affairs association joins us now from nebraska. good to have you with us. can i just begin with -- or can we assume that every time the u.s. actually gets involved to find a solution for sudan and visits the country and then leaves, the military then makes a move that sort of adds fuel to the fire and angers the public in a way that basically says, "we don't want outside interference?" >> yes, thank you so much for having me. i think the u.s. owes the sudanese people an explanation of why this is happening. they are even not sending a clear message to the military

that they are supporting civilians, as they claim, or worse than that, there are -- or worse than that, they are on the military side against civilians. >> you think americans are not sending the right sort of message. what sort of message should they be saying either publicly or privately? what should americans be saying publicly to the sudanese people that we should all here? >> i think they are saying publicly. what we need is dire actions need to follow their talk. they released a statement saying they are on the civilians' side, and they're working hard towards a civilian-like government, but in the same statement, they said the military showed its commitment to work toward that democratic government based on consensus, and what happened right afterwards is totally against that because the civilian cabinet that the general claim he formed, which is unconstitutional because he himself is unconstitutional,

completely goes against the statement that was released by the u.s., so the actions that need to be taken by the u.s. really need to show that they are truly committed to what they say -- what they are saying they are. >> but then we go back to what we were saying before, that if everybody is saying it is unconstitutional and the military in charge do not allow any sort of civilian to take charge of the endless cycle, will we really be able to find a way forward? how do you break that cycle? >> breaking the cycle is very clear because the military needs to step from power. this is not their role. they should not be enrolled in pop -- they should not be involved in politics. we need our military to do the right thing, to first engage in a massive reform to gather all the malicious and other powers in one unified national

military, and they need to stick to the role that is assigned to them by the constitutional declaration of protecting the government. however, the coup they committed on october 25 nullifies the constitutional declaration, so that is no longer an action, which basically means they do not have a role in the government of sudan right now and what is happening right now is completely unconstitutional. >> it is the dead of night across sudan. we will see how the public react to that news in the morning. until then, thanks for joining us from omaha in nebraska. >> thank you. still ahead -- >> still ahead, a german inquiry bounced -- finds that former pope benedict new about sexual abuse but did not do anything to punish those sponsor will. also, mp's for the united kingdom's ruling party say they are facing intimidation for

speaking out against the prime minister. those stories after the break. ♪ >> look forward to brighter skies. the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. >> the tsunami that has been going in japan for about four days, but i think by the end of friday, you will see more or less the end of it. the weekend weather is lifting temperatures. the cloud level on top of beijing keeps it cold. there has been snow falling as well, and that is true throughout the interior of china with rain further south, which might spread toward shanghai with snow on its northern flank as well. pretty standard weather, really, for the middle of winter. the concentration of seasonal rain has shifted eastward, so it is potentially wet in carter,

but more so, i think the eastern side will keep going beyond that to the philippines. it is also pretty dry for most of india and sri lanka, but when you might like some rain because it will improve the air quality, it is coming in from northern pakistan and the plains of india. temporarily, air quality would improve in new delhi, but it is only temporary. >> the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. >> being a refugee means starting again, but building a new life in a new country is no easy task. "witness" follows one of the last refugee families from syria to be granted an american visa,

from their personal sacrifices to the family's triumphs, meet the syrians on al jazeera. ♪ >> welcome back. you are watching al jazeera. a reminder of our top stories -- u.s. president joe biden has warned the kremlin it will pay a heavy price if forces invade the ukraine. he said any russian move across the ukrainian border will be considered an invasion and be met with a severe economic response. new satellite imagery shows the scale of russia's literary buildup along its border with ukraine. kiev says moscow has now deployed more than 127,000

personnel. foreign aid has arrived in tonga five days after it was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami. more supplies are on the way and phone lines are being restored. at least 17 people have died in an explosion in western ghana. police say a truck carrying explosives between two gold mines collided with a motorcycle. rescue teams say most victims have been moved to hospitals. people are being advised to evacuate the area in -- and nearby towns are opening rescue centers and churches and schools. the french prime minister says the country's fifth wave of coronavirus cases is showing signs of waning, but he warns that hospitals remain under pressure. the government plans to keep the current restrictions in place 12 more days. a new vaccine passport will come

into effect on monday. it will bar the unvaccinated from restaurants, sports arenas, restaurants, and many other venues. >> the evolution of the situation allows us to envisage an easing of constraints from the beginning of february. we can consider it because we will have at our disposal very soon a new tool -- the vaccination pass, which lawmakers have voted to approve. >> the transformation of the health pass into a vaccine pass is a necessary and coherent development. it is necessary if we want to preserve and increase our vaccination coverage in the event of new variants. it is coherent because it clearly puts constraints on the unvaccinated and therefore, we will be able to lift the measures we have taken to counter the latest wave. >> in the u.k., the health secretary says the country needs to learn to live with covid-19. england is scrapping all coronavirus measures meant to

battle the omicron variant. some hospitals in england continue to be overwhelmed with patients. a senior mp from the ruling conservative party has accused the government of using intimidation and blackmail against those in the party calling for the prime minister to resign. downing street says it has not seen any evidence of the allegations. johnson is under pressure to quit after it emerged at parties were held at his official residence while the rest of the country was in lockdown. >> it is, of course, the duty of the government with's office to secure the government's business in the house of commons, but it is not their function to breach the ministerial code in threatening to employer investments from members of the parliament which are funded from the public purse. additionally, reports to me and others from number 10 downing street, special advisors, and

others, encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the prime minister is similarly unacceptable. the intimidation of a member of her limit is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i'm aware would seem to constitute blackmail. >> paul brennan is in london and says allegations of wrongdoing are getting closer to the prime minister. >> the very public complaint from a senior conservative mp, the chairman of the public at ministration committee who put aside the business of the committee -- it was meeting this morning -- to make this extraordinary statement, essentially accusing government whips, the officials that make sure the mp's vote in the way the government wants them to, but all the way up to government ministers, accusing them of strong-arm tactics against those rebel mp's who expressed disquiet about boris johnson's character and judgment and credibility, up to and including

the possibility of withdrawing government funding from projects within the constituencies of those mp's, to a level where it amounted to possibly even blackmail. the prime minister, though, when asked about it later -- he is on a visit away to the southwest of england, said he had seen -- have not seen this pressure. it is an indication of how much of a hotbed parliament is, but it edges closer and closer to the prime minister. the prime minister, when he attended that party on may 20, 2020, he thought it was a work event. to be fair, downing street is both his home and workplace, but the question is if the man who organized that event, martin reynolds comedy prime minister's private secretary, should have known better. it has emerged today that a senior official warned him by email that the party would be in contravention of the current

covid restrictions that the rest of the country are having to abide by. although we have not been able yet to formally say the prime minister new, certainly, his closest private secretary was informed by email, and that really puts martin reynolds' head very much on the chopping block. >> the u.s. department of justice has charged for government officials from belarus with aircraft piracy for diverting a flight last may. it was flying in from greece to lithuania when it was forced to land in minsk. belarus is accused of faking a bomb alert to force the aircraft down so a government critic on board could be arrested. a german inquiry has found that former pope benedict knew about abusive priests but failed to act when he was archbishop of munich from 1977 to 1982.

benedict was known as cardinal joseph ratzinger at the time and has repeatedly denied claims he covered up abuse. >> former pope benedict xvi failed to take action against clerics in his native germany. that's the conclusion of a report by a munich law firm. the archdiocese was asked to investigate allegations of sexual abuse between 1945 and 2019. pope emeritus benedict, formerly joseph ratzinger, archbishop of munich, has previously denied wrongdoing over the cases. >> essentially, he claims a lack of knowledge of the facts and a lack of relevance under canon law. in doing so, he continues to claim ignorance, even when in our opinion, it is difficult to reconcile this with the facts of the case. >> the report says there were at least 497 victims of abuse, mainly young males. it accuses the current archbishop of munich of

misconduct in two suspected abuse cases. last year, pope francis rejected an offer by him to resign, but the new claims have brought fresh pain to survivors of abuse in germany. >> clearly, it affects me very much on an emotional level, and it is the same area where the abuse also happened in my childhood. about two hours by train from munich and a small town. >> the archdiocese is set to give a full response to the report next week while the vatican has put out a statement that it will evaluate the full report. benedict, who is 94, has lived a secluded life in the vatican since stepping down as leader of the world's roman catholics. the church has been dogged by a series of scandals including popes in australia, chile, france, and the united states. the german court concluded more

than 1600 clergyman had committed some form of abuse against minors. the real numbers thought to be much higher. >> the europe coordinator for the survivors network for those abused by priests says it is hard to know how the church will react to the inquiry. >> this has been a pattern in other countries. of course, i cannot really predict what is going to happen, but they do have a way of always doing the minimum, doing the absolute minimum, and they may or may not take action when what is really needed is recognition of the crimes committed in the past and also compensation, and also actions to make sure these things don't happen again. to be fair, the vatican has in

its university in rome a program that teaches safeguarding to future priests. this is a small step in the right direction, though it begs the obvious a little bit, the frightening question of why do priests need to be told that sexually abusing children is bad ? i don't quite understand, but there's very slow progress being made, and it is often one step forward and two steps backwards. the progress is slow because there is a long, -- long entrenched culture, unfortunately, of sexual abuse in the catholic church due to the fact that catholic clerics have a grip on people's mind and soul, unfortunately. >> chile has established a climate change conservatory as part of a new effort to speed up

vital information to scientists who predict and mitigate the effects of extreme climate change. our latin america editor reports now from southern chile. >> this is the magellan straight that separates the south american continent from tierra del fuego. it is often referred to as the end of the world but also as a gateway to antarctica. less than 1000 kilometers south of here. we are on an expedition with chile's science minister to inspect one of 180 climate change stations. on the way, we find the remains of a beached whale. this is just a fraction of what is covered by the southern hemisphere's longest climate change observatory just launched by chile. >> we will have sensors from the peninsula all the way to the arctic, and we will use a single platform to provide access to the data in an open access

format. >> until now, data has been scarce from the southern cove. client -- scientists say the new conservatory will provide badly needed data to track temperatures' changes, the direction and strength of wind, and sea levels in real-time. that includes antarctica, which is a key modulator of the earth's climate. >> when i'm sitting in my laborde torrey in my office in winter in australia, i can still be seeing what is happening in antarctica, because there are also -- all sorts of climate effects that happen when we are not there. >>'s expert in dinosaurs, fossils, and climate change in antarctica and patagonia, where chile's antarctic institute is based. >> i'm actually tracking a dinosaur that lived here in patagonia and most likely in antarctica, because at that time, both landmasses were one. it was one solid semi tropical

jurassic park. scientists believe that learning more about how and why dinosaurs like this one died could be vital to the survival of our own species. >> climate change experts insist that we are at the stage where we must predict and prepare for what is coming. >> the keyword is mitigation and adaptation, but we still have time to produce behavior more suitable with this new mission, that we have to adapt and mitigate the changes in the coming years. >> chile will launch an international antarctic center later this year. it's proximity to antarctica makes it an ideal location for global scientists to put their heads and data together. they will anticipate everything from floods in china to heat waves in northern europe to droughts in australia or chile.

fortunately, unlike the dinosaurs, mankind has the ability to access data and new science to help mitigate what is