>> the situation we are facing in europe is urgent and dangerous, and the stakes for ukraine and for every u.n. member states could be higher. >> the sound off between russia and ukraine take center stage at the u.s. most powerful body as they try to de-escalate the crisis. ♪ >> hello, this is al jazeera. a step ahead in u.s. capitol relations. washington announces it will

designate it as a non-nato ally. p.m. johnson: i'm sorry for the things we simply didn't get right and sorry for the way this matter has been handled. >> the british prime minister apologizes after his parties failed leadership and judgment. a year on after a military coup toppled a civilian military ship. we talk about what lies ahead for the country. ♪ we are ready no matter what happens. that is the warning from the u.s. president to russia as a tense standoff continues on the ukrainian border. joe biden was speaking on another day from tense diplomacy aimed at diffusing the crisis the u.k. urging moscow to step back from the brink of invasion. president biden: today, and the

united nations, we have laid out the full nature of russia's threat to the utilitarian integrity of ukraine in the core tenants of a rule-based international order. and we continue to urge diplomacy as the best way forward. but, with russia's continuing buildup of its forces around ukraine, we are ready no matter what happens. >> russia has sent a reply to washington's response to moscow's demand in there standoff over ukraine. we speak to patty whose live in washington, d.c., the state department has issued a statement. what does it say? >> they have not very many details as you would expect in a situation like this. let me tell you what the state's department spokesperson told al jazeera. we received a written follow-up from russia, it would be

unproductive to negotiate in public, so we will leave it up to russia if they want to discuss their response. we remain fully committed to dialogue to address the issues and will continue to address closely with our allies and partners, including ukraine. this confirming that they have the receipts, they have the written statement. so far it hasn't leak out exactly what's in it. chances are it will over the next couple of hours, that's usually how these things go. but it is just a sign of the next step in this ongoing process. >> what exactly happens next, do you think? >> i think we could have expected the written reply would come this evening. tomorrow, on tuesday, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and his counterpart, russian foreign secretary is scheduled to have a phone call. basically a -- basically you could expect this to have served

as an agenda for the meeting. the broader point is russia says they want guarantees and ukraine would never join nato. the u.s. responded last week in writing that's a nonstarter. they are not going to rule that out. they have an open policy when it comes to nato. the u.s. did say there were other things they could discuss. things like armed control agreements, weapons placements. at the time the russians responded there were pessimism saying it didn't appear that our opinions were taken into account. the big question we will look at at the meeting once we know about the pressure response is, is there any sort of movement when it comes to nato? was there any wiggle room? a prominent u.s. senator in the u.s. floated one possible solution, he said of course president joe biden cap out to russia's demands when it comes to nato and ukraine, but that the ukrainian president could agree that they will even attempt to join nato for the

next 10 years. so, diplomats continuing to talk, which they will tell you is always a good sign. we will see if anything productive comes out of the meeting tomorrow, we now know the russians have responded and we know that will probably be the agenda for the important phone call between the secretary of state and his counterpart. >> thank you for that update. patty for us live in washington. members of the united nations security council have also, for the first time, discuss the russian troop buildup on ukraine's border. there were deep divisions over who is to blame and whether the meeting should take place. our diplomatic editor has more from headquarters in new york. >> the security council heard two very different arguments about the situation in eastern europe. the u.s., which called this meeting, set the russian military buildup around ukraine is the largest mobilization of troops in europe and decades. >> russia's aggression today not

only threaten ukraine, it also threatens europe. it threatens the international order this body is charged with upholding. we continue to hope russia chooses the path of diplomacy over the path of conflict and ukraine. but we cannot just wait and see. >> russia's ambassador says all his country's troops are on russian soil, they are not close to the ukrainian border, and there's absolutely no proof of a threat for them. he says the u.s. and nato were whipping up tensions as though they want there to be a war. outside the council chamber, i pushed him further. >> under any circumstances that russian troops would cross the border into ukraine. could you just be clear to us. >> i'm not the person to decide with what happens. no public figure ever said that

we are planning to attack ukraine. >> a clear answer it seems, but then he added this. >> we will not exclude provocations from ukraine. they say they have information that the locations may have them. >> russia tried to prevent the meeting by calling a procedural vote at the start. nine countries supported the u.s., but russia was joined by china and objected to the session and three other security council members in kenya and india abstained. the meeting went ahead, but the procedural votes in the comments of the non-western members of the council should be noted. the u.s. aim was to galvanize international opinion against what it says is the russian threat, but to achieve a broad international consensus it still has more work to do. james, al jazeera, the united nations. >> u.s. president joe biden has told qatar that he will soon

designate the gulf state as a major non-nato ally. the leaders have been meeting at the white house do to discuss a range of issues, including a possible row for cushioning the economic impact of a potential russian invasion of ukraine. alan fisher reports. >> a warm welcome on a bitterly cold washington, d.c. for the gulf leader to visit the white house since joe biden took over. qatar has become a key partner on several issues impacted the u.s. president biden: our partnership with qatar has been essential to our most vital interests. >> qatar was the key player for the u.s. to withdraw from afghanistan and still has communications with the taliban and has thousands of refugees that have to be processed before they moved to america. with additional assistance on iran, yemen, the palestinians, the president decided to give qatar special status. president biden: i'm notifying

congress that i am designating qatar as a non-nato ally to reflect the importance of our relationship. >> qatar becomes the 18th country to begin with the allies status that has benefits and areas of trade, defense and security cooperation. qatar was and is happy to help a country it has been an ally with for 50 years. >> we are very proud, we managed to evacuate tens of thousands of people. of course we have other issues as well that we are going to talk about. the equal rights of the palestinian people and other issues in the region. we are very happy in front of this great relationship. >> rushes buildup on the ukrainian border continues to be the most urgent issue from the white house if moscow tries to evade issues. pressure will respond by shutting off gas supplies to a european allies. qatar could have supplies of its

own to ease the pressure. nearby, the qatari purchase of 34 jets was signed with an option for 50 more passenger liners from the american company. qatar was looking at the leds of the trump presidency, but officials insist it has been a steady and reliable partner for the united states in an unsteady part of the world. and with its connections, it could help solve some problem issues for the united states and its president. >> hillary is a former state department official and ceo of strategic of political risk and consultancy firm is at that the key monster in the allies relationship. >> it's an important recognition by the united states of the role that qatar plays in the world, and the region, first of all, in the middle east in terms of what qatar has done to help problem

solve diplomatically, some of the most contract of a problems in the region. in terms of energy security qatar plays a very unique role in the world where they have liquefied natural gas where other countries must rely on pipelines. qatar can ship it anywhere in the world, providing qatar with a unique status for energy security. the united states has seen qatar time and again step up to the plate and be a vital country for stability and security in the middle east and around the world. so for the united states, it's really a long overdue recognition of qatar's role. there's not that much practical impact, but it will make some investment and some technology transfer easier. but the real importance is the honor that it bestows, the respect that it bestows. and, in some ways, the united states taking sides in a region where alliances -- rivalries are

often very deep. so to bestow this honor on qatar before doing so, or doing so without, similarly, giving the honor to, for example saudi arabia or the united arab emirates, is an important civic google -- signal diplomatically that the united states values the relationship with qatar, and if there was a problem again, like there was in the trump administration, that the united states might take qatar's side. it's not legally obligated to do like it would be for a nato ally, but the signals are very, very strong. >> a u.s. state department official says indirect talks between washington and iran on the nuclear agreements are entering the final stretch. negotiations have been taking place in the austrian capital vienna. all sides have to make tough political decisions to return to the agreement. iran wants sanctions lifted on its nuclear program.

this saudi led coalition in yemen has been targeting who the positions. it comes one day after rebels launched a failed attack on the united arab emirates. it was the third attack of its kind in two weeks, and rebels have warned the uae that planning more strikes and the ballistic missile was intercepted early on monday. still ahead on al jazeera, three journalists are murdered in mexico. a media worker is targeted. campaigners call for an end for a deal between e.u. and libya, saying it compounded the suffering of migrants and refugees. ♪ >> look forward to brighter skies, the weather, spence --

sponsored by qatar airways. >> here's your forecast for the first of february across asia. good to see you, temperatures popped up in the northwest of india, new delhi at 23 degrees. by and large we have a stretch of weather, northeast monsoon is not active, that means is dry spells across the southeast of india through sri lanka in the maldives as well. i think the only spot we may see activity is towards the far northeast of india and on that border was bangladesh. southeast asia concentrated bands of rain over sumatra. cascading rain and now we take you to the philippines. this where the northeast monsoon is more active. top to bottom across the islands we will see wet weather and at times we will see pulses of heavy rain. the northeast monsoon bringing out moisture giving showers for coastal vietnam. look at that's temperatures spread. hanoi is 16 degrees in ho chi minh city is 39. southeast corner of china putting a cap on temperatures in

hong kong to just 15 degrees, and more snow on the way for western areas of japan. we will see this spread over the hills. tokyo, 10 degrees for you. enjoy, thanks for tuning in. >> the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. >> a four hour climb for four minutes of practice. but to achieve their dream of becoming afghanistan's first ever winter olympians, they will have to overcome many mountains. carving a path of hope and inspiration where the light shines, witness on al jazeera.

♪ >> you are watching al jazeera, our top stories is our. u.s. president joe biden said washington is ready to respond to russian aggression in ukraine no matter wet. the un security council met on monday for the first time to discuss the troop buildup on ukraine's border. the u.s. has received a written response from russia -- [ standby] saying public negotiation would be unproductive. the u.s. is designated qatar as a major non-nato ally, it follows a meeting between president joe biden and qatar.

the u.k. inquiring into government events during lockdown has found serious failures in leadership and judgment. some of the gathering should not have been allowed to happen. but i has left questions unanswered, including whether prime minister boris johnson misled parliament. here is more. >> a failure of leadership behind the famous black door, the crunch findings, more biting than expected. the report talks of high standards not being met i those setting the rules of excessive alcohol consumption in the workplace, and gathering without clear authorization and oversight. some behavior, she said was difficult to justify against the backdrop of the pandemic. with nothing overtly critical of johnson himself, it's perhaps not the big take down his rivals hope for. the prime minister appearing in front of parliament, promising to overhaul downing street and clean up government. but no talk of stepping down. p.m. johnson: i'm sorry for the

things we simply did not get right and also sorry for the way that this matter had been handled. i get it, and i will fix it. i will say, to the people of this country, i know what the issue is yes, mr. speaker, it's whether this government can be trusted to deliver, and i say, mr. speaker, yes we can be trusted. >> they had been planning to release a fuller report until london's metropolitan police stepped in, calling for her to pare down her findings all they carry out their own criminal investigation into 12 gatherings, including an alleged party in johnson's flat. for johnson's opponents it's not just about what's in the report, but with's not in it. for his fiercest critics, they will have to wait for the results of the police investigation to find out about the most serious defenses that could cause the most harm to johnson's political career.

the results of that investigation could be many, many months away. >> even now he is hiding behind a police investigation into criminality. the british public can't force, they never believed a word of it. they think the prime minister should do the decent thing and resign. >> it is not just the opposition that's been ramping up pressure on johnson. some of his own mps have been quietly plotting against him. other familiar faces are determined to hold his actions to account. >> what the report does show is that 10 downing street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public. so either my right honorable friend did not read the rules and did not understand what they meant, or they did not think the rules applied to number 10. which was it? >> monday saw a flurry of announcements by number 10 on the economy, brexit and ukraine.

this is a government eager to steer attention away from recent scandals. but when it comes to party gate, there are more troops to uncover. heads, including the prime minister's may roll if enough members of his own party decide it's time for him to go. al jazeera, westminster. >> the military, which removed the president from power last week says it will restore power to the constitution and install the lieutenant as transitional president. the announcement comes after the african union suspended the country's membership. it's also been suspended from the regional bloc, which is warning of possible sanctions. the trial of more than at dozen defendants accused of the assassination of the former president will resume on wednesday. temporarily suspended, his lawyers consider the legality of the trial. a media worker has been murdered

in mexico after three journalists were killed in less than a month. robert to lehto was shot dead by three gunmen in a car park in the city. he worked for an online news outlet which had been reporting on government corruption. let's go to john hallman whose live for us in mexico city. what are authorities saying and doing about this killing? >> we've got quite a lot of information about this case since it was first reported. so as you say, roberto did work for this very local website called monitor -- and that website was run by a group of lawyers. that's where the confusion comes in on this. basically, what's been reported to us that happened is that a group of hitmen burst into the officers when filming was taking place, they started shooting people, roberto was the person that got killed.

they may have been after his bosses, the people that were running this website, that were also lawyers, and they left a message on a bit of card that's left by cartels or organized crimes that said, this is what you get, basically for being lawyers from a group that opposes them called la familia and other cartel in the entity. there's a lot of room about what happened exactly in this killing, and whether the killing was because roberto worked for the group of lawyers, or whether because he was a media worker working for the website. we do know for sure is what you reported. that he is a media worker, the fourth media worker to be killed in mexico at this point. in the big picture is obviously irrelevant about the message that was left there in these narco things are misleading. this is another death in the country that needs to be results from the government and

successive governments that haven't done well with that, especially with media workers. >> what exactly is going on as you said there, for media workers killed in just one month, and i believe there have been others injured, why is this happening? >> you are exactly right, and there will be a variety of different reasons, that i think the one to drive home here, and i just got off the phone from someone to protect journalists, is that it's easy to search -- to shoot the messenger. if you are a cartel or a corrupt politician or there is some sort of investigation being exposed, that if you can intimidate a journalist in this country, then that exposé, that investigation is likely not going to come out. and what we have seen over years here is that journalists have been killed with impunity. the press starts to self center and that can only benefit those in position of power on either side of the law and obviously

not the public in this country. the message the press writes out is that until these cases, like roberto and the other journalist killed this month are investigated, the case is sold, until that impunity stops, free expression itself comes under threat in the country. >> many thanks for us -- many thanks for that. john homan in mexico city. calling for an end for a 2016 deal between the eu and libya, which has seen migrants desperate to reach europe turn back and held in dire conditions. the group says in the past five years more than 82,000 people have returned the face arbitrary detention and trustees with forced labor and sexual abuse. the highest number of interceptions was last year, with european supporting the libyan coast guard captured more than 32,000 refugees and migrants. within 12,000 people are being held in 27 prisons and detention

facilities. thousands more held illegally in secret facilities run by armed groups. as a researcher of asylum says the eu could be seen as complicit in enabling rights abuses. >> the situation in libya has been boiling for refugees and migrants for a number of years. potential sanctions where people are taken after being interception -- intercepted with europe are notorious for the treatment of people, people who are not only arbitrarily detained for some time and conditions, but are also exposed to torture and other treatment, sexual violence, forced eber and even killings. and even outside of attention centers, it is incredibly dangerous for refugees and migrants. this is why it europe's actions

supported in the past five years and have arranged to the levels of complicity in these abuses. we have seen from europe, very concrete actions being taken that enable the libyan coast guard to intercept more and more people. we have seen italy getting them news -- new speedboats. on the others, when it comes to the protection of the rights of refugees and migrants, it's only words, there are no actions. we need european governments willing to change approach, suspend any forms of cooperation without drafting people, and do more to address the humanitarian needs. >> kurdish forces say they have fully regained control of the prison from fighters. syrian democratic forces say more than 120 of their fighters

and guards were killed in a 10 day standoff. the group has appealed for international help in taking responsibility for the tens of thousands of fighters and their families detained at stf facilities. a federal judge in the u.s. has rejected a plea deal for one of the men who murdered and unarmed black man in the state of georgia. travis mcmichael was one of the three white men who chased and killed the 25-year-old as he was out for a run in 2020. mcmichael is due to face trial next week on the federal hate crime charges. he has admitted that he pursued ahmaud arbery because of his race. all three men convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery have been sentenced to life in prison. it is exactly one year since myanmar's military cease control of the country, an estimated 1500 people have been killed by

security forces, and 9000 arrested in protest. but as is reported, resistance is still going strong and has been taking many different forms. >> major demonstration since the military to power have been replaced by smaller, sporadic protests. protesters marched quickly before dispersing to avoid arrest. others have taken up arms training alongside ethnic armed groups in jungle camps. they are part of the people's defense force, and armed resistance group set up by the national unity government. a paralyzed -- parallel government. the military has declared these groups terrorist organizations. >> it's very important that the international community or our neighbors understand that these are self-defense forces, these are freedom fighters, these are not just a military coup.

the people who are defending their villages and their loved ones and their family. >> the u.n. reports the military has continued to launch attacks on civilians, including airstrikes. an estimated 400,000 people have been internally displaced since the coup. diplomacy has not yielded any results. the military has failed to implement a peace■ú