then they are off to moscow. we'll show how this is becoming. >> yes, an explosion of diplomatic activity in the last few hours. as you say, john kerry in kiev. he is the main thrust of that negotiation is about whether the united states should be equipping the ukranian army with more serious weaponry that it currently is it is supplying it with nonlethal weapons, there was a thought that the u.s. should expand that to include lethal material. in a press commence an hour or so ago the french president francis hollande announced he and merkel will fly to kiev and on to moscow. that has been confirmed by the kremlin. so this is definitely happening. what is it going to be about? >> francis hollande was saying there'll be a new peace initiative and it will be based on the territory of ukraine. beyond that we know little at the moment and no details have been released. it will be whether it will involve hard ball tactics from the european union, will it be a capitulation or concessions to the russians we know most in

that would not go down well on moscow, moscow has always accused the west of fomenting this situation. that the ukrainian crisis as a whole wouldn't have happened if the west hadn't encouraged what they call a coup, an armed coup in kiev that kicked out the former president and inspired the separatists in the east of the country to stay up arms. -- to take up arms. so russia would clearly not view this well at all. on a wider wider nato front, this is not something nato would do on a whole. what nato is saying is if any countries within the alliance wanted to give military assistance to ukraine they would have to do it individually, not as part of a greater alliance-wide move. >> okay that is useful analysis and context for us, for the rest of our conversation. rory challenge will be there for us, rory thank you very much. >>> here to shed light on russian president vladimir putin's intentions at the minsk summit, institute of democracy and cooperation, a pro-moscow think tank. he denounces petro poroshenko as a butcher and calls ukraine a failed state that can never become member of

attend a rally tomorrow here in moscow where the main feature of that rally was going to be russia's policies in ukraine, and another thing he apparently said that he had some new information on what exactly was going on in ukraine. we gather this from opposition sources, however, it's unclear what that information was supposed to be. now, after what happened of course what's going on now, and it was at the rally to take place tomorrow is going to be a morning rally instead. what happens is there's a march of mourners that's going to go through central moscow mourning the death of boris, and so things have changed, but one of the things that i want to hit on as well fredricka, the model, playing a pivotal role. i spoked to one of his friends yesterday, and what happened was after this incident here is that she called this friend and he was over here in about ten minutes and saw flying here on the ground dead and said before she was then taken in for questioning by the police that she was able to talk to him to give him a quick run down of what happened. she said the two of them were

the aim of the talks expected in moscow later today and that is clear. that is to deescalate this ongoing crisis in eastern ukraine. yesterday, french president francois hollande making the announcement and working on a negotiations document alongside the ukrainians. we have heard from a putin spokesperson calling the visit a positive step. yesterday, hollande and merkel met with the ukrainian president in kiev. the ukraine foreign minister tweeting the meeting went well. they were satisfied with the meeting. as for the russians, we heard from the creme kremlin this morning saying they are hoping for a constructive yes gosh negotiation today. secretary of state john kerry will not be part of the talks in moscow. u.s. vice president biden is expected to meet with leaders in brussels. this as they are expected to rubber staple the a new round of sanctions. some eu states expressing the sanctions do not go far enough. that latest round on the heels of the violence we have been seeing in eastern ukraine. john. >> sanctions have an economic impact in russia b

banking and pointing a finger at moscow. terrorizing. refusing to participate. >> spread the peace deal. >> significantly. >> the site whether or not to supply ukraine with he that will weapons. >> thursday and with the russians on friday. the talking comes as the fighting escalates in eastern ukraine, which even have here blames on russia, and it's separatist allies. in brussells nato defense ministers put the finishing touches on their new response force, and it's spearhead of 5,000 troops deplorable in days. it will have since command centers in the eastern europe. russia is meant to notice that. the response to our changed environment. >> they are defensive and in line with our international commitments. >> they also talked about russia as decision to upgrade the nuclear missiles and apparently lower it's threshold to use nuclear weapons. there is a day when leaders are trying to get peace talks started. while they do so, nato is working on how to respond to the crisis with the talking fails. al jazeera. >> u.s. president said to be

merkel holland and putin meet in moscow for talks. the hack into anthem is as much about your social security as espionage. tiger woods drops out of the farmers insurance open, the golf industry weeps. it is the 57th annual grammy awards on sunday. in wildcar

or does moscow believe that he has to go? >> you know, poroshenko is acceptable for moscow. russian -- since his lex since september has been to kind and try to isolate him from other forces that we don't like, particularly the prime minister and his party. and connect poroshenko to pro-russian forces and to mr. med very sred who is also in russia who russia very much want to see in an important position in kiev and he's a pro-russian ukrainian. >> i want to tell you pavel butting in here that we are getting a report out of minsk that poroshenko now says russian demands are unacceptable. does that mean likely there is likely no deal or still jockeying for position? >> i think it's more jockeying for position. i believe some deal is imminent. right now to kind of continue the filing would mean to introduce mower russian troops, regular troops and if he introduce them without air support, there is going to be heavy losses. though -- and i believe both sides right now are going to be kind of saying that we want to break the deal

sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: a new push for peace, western leaders head to kiev and moscow in search of a diplomatic solution to the fighting while the u.s. weighs whether to give ukraine weapons. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this thursday... ♪ ♪ ♪ how the viral hit "gangnam style" can drive stock prices and boost a company's bottom line. we analyze the strange quirks of investor psychology. >> the key ingredient is piping more commonly used to irrigate farms, and this is the key to a $50 artificial leg. >> ifill: and, we head to the colorado ski slopes for the story behind the u.s. ski team's recent success. they've taken technology, talent and training to a new edge. >> there's individual personalities in this crazy sport and having wild, crazy successful people doing it drive it to another level. >> woodruff: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> this is about more than work. it is about growing a community. everyday across t

you're in moscow. >> yes. we are in moscow but the bad situation when you can ask her this question you can ask her this in the first -- in the first of march we will be big demonstration and things like this it's not really safe but if you are -- if you are -- >> they will at least hear us. it's a secret. ♪ ♪ >>> courageous young ladies right? wow. still to come in the "newsroom," is benjamin netanyahu at odds with his spy agency on iran's nuclear threat? we'll talk about that next. eeeeeeeee financial noise financial noise financial noise financial noise if you can clear a table without lifting a finger... you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. muddle no more™. i never really gave much thought to the acidity in any foods. never thought about the coffee i was drinking having acids. it never dawned on me that it could hurt your teeth. he told me to us

on the line from moscow, what more can you tell us? >> there aren't a huge amount of details just yet. we know this happened shortly before midnight local time. the news just came out an hour later. we understand boris was sought -- force was shot four times -- boris was shot four times by a gun man in a white car. police are hunting for the car and for the shooter. that was confirmed soon afterwards when his political opposition colleague was quoted on twitter. she was next to the body and could confirm he had been shot. since then, shock on the radio i have been listening to. nobody expected this at all. he was extremely well-known as an opposition politician in the 1990's. in terms of political opposition, there is very little in russian today or in parliament. his prominence is far lower now than it was in the 1990's. the fact he was shot dead in the middle of the night just a few short steps from the kremlin is really shocking people here. >> he was an outspoken critic of vladimir putin. what impact is this going to have on russia

we are live in moscow. any word yet from the meeting? >> what we are hearing from the kremlin is that these three leaders, merkel, and hollande and putin are meeting with each other pretty much head-to-head. there are no advisors, no one else really in the room, maybe an interpreter but they, it is just these three people talking face-to-face. now, they have a plan, or at least hollande and merkel has a plan by the way putin has a plan, as well. we heard that from john kerry. he that said putin had sent this plan to the two european leaders a few days ago. they have been looking at it. they came up with a counter proposal and it's that they have brought here to moscow to discuss with vladimir putin. we know little bit because the details haven't been fully articulated publicly, but we know there are going to be certain areas of discussion, certain very contentious areas of discussion. one of these is about the level of independence that the separatists in eastern ukraine might have. then there is also the issue of the border between ukra

of course, moscow nose what is going on in debaltseve. because what is happening is one of the key negotiating topics of the minsk talks just last week. what we underfrom the talks is hour upon hour of discussion was devoted, vladimir putin saying -- your troops are surrounded. they can't get out. they'll be given a free corridor if they surrender. petro porashenko said that the troops were withdrawing. what happened after that was a 2-day delay was built into the ceasefire. now that has effectively given separatists backed by russia a chance to consolidate their cauldron, as they have been calling it the encirclement and what we are seeing is the fog of war starting to lift and what it looks like defeats at the debaltseve for the ukranian army. of course the rebels are saying at the moment that only 300 ukranian troops have surrendered. there are 5,000-8,000 of them there. what we are hearing is that the surrender is starting to pick up pace. that has come from one of the volunteer - the italians in the ukranian army. >> thank you, rory

fred is out front from moscow. there are many who will look at that word impartial and roll their eyes. what you hearing about the shooting? >> reporter: it was a brazen attack. it didn't only happen right close to the cremlin. it happened in an area that's frequented by people at that point in time. it leads away from the cremlin to the main river. a man hunt under way. here in moscow searching for the possible assailants. they describe this as a woman who had recently come here to visit him from ukraine. she's being questioned. >> what are people saying about. you're talking about a man hunt. they are moving forward with an investigation. does anyone believe such an investigation would be above board, impartial? >> reporter: not really. you have to take in light of the fact that he was a man who feared for his life in this country. he gave an interview a couple of days ago whether he was afraid of vladmir putin and might try to kill him. he said certainly. that's no way to suggest that might have been what happen

a move moscow see as a direct threat. and jordan goes on the offensive. launching air strikes against isil in retaliation for the murder of it's captive pilot. traumatic video out of syria. the president intensified attacks on rebels to keep from falling. plus anger on capitol hill. >> as far as i'm concerned every last one of them can rot in held. >> over president obama's plan to close gathering talk know bay prison. good evening and welcome to al jazeera america. >> tonight we begin with the growing crisis in ukraine. secretary of state john kerry called for an immediate cease fire in the country's eastern ren joe after talks with ukrainian officials. a new round of high level diplomacy is pushing for a solution to fighting that has left more than 5,000 dead. one that will protect the territorial integrity francoise along will present the plan to russian officials in moscow tomorrow. moon while the president is considering sending weapons to ukraine, but the foreign ministry warned that would cause damage to the relations. >> nato defensive ministers i

. >> let's go live to to rory challe end or celled he want in moscow. we have john kerry and joe described end the u.s. president heading to kiev. clearly the u.s. is contemplating a much more active involvement in this conflict. >> reporter: yeah, i think martin this conflict is now reaching a very significant turning point. it's in a position now where the u.s. as you say is considering arming the ukrainian army. this moment was really generated by the separatist offensive that began at the beginning of the month which effectively -- sorry, the beginning of january which effectively ended any hopes that the minsk ceasefire sign in september of last year had any future to it. so now we have a position where the u.s. is considering giving specific lethal assistance to the ukrainian army. something that poroshenko has been arguing for quite sometime. he's been requested it. he went in the aftermath of that minsk meeting in september to the u.s. and effectively begged the u.s. government, you know, thank you for the blankets that you have been providing f

>>> meeting in moscow. german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande sit down with vladimir putin. the goal getting russia to stand down in the crisis with ukraine. >>> and vintage vehicles. a collection of rare classic cars ruing away in a barn for d cashes rusting away in a barn getting a new life at the auction block. >> good evening and welcome to al jazeera america i'm stephanie sy. >> and i'm antonio mora. tonight we begin in the home of the dangerous al qaeda in the arabian peninsula yemen where another rebel group the shia houthis are in full control of the government. the houthis staged a coup today dissolving parliament and putting their own council in charge. that council will now create a traditional leadership that will govern for two years. >> the houthis had threatened to take unilateral action this week to dissolve yemen's political stale made. that resolution passed setting in motion today's takeover. >> the united states and the united nations condemned the coup. c

they rushed ukraine today and go on to moscow tomorrow. but a break through in this complex conflict seems a long way off. >> among the american senators urging more military assistance to ukraine is republican rob portman who joined me a short time ago from capitol hill. thanks very much for joining me. why now? why the push for more arms to the ukrainian government now? >> we've been pushing for it for a long time. i saw the fact that ukraine is looking to the west. they view the united dates as an ally and frankly, we are letting them down. they need the ability to defend themselves. what has happened over the last few months is that the situation has escalated, become more violent. there have been more soldiers and civilians killed. russian troops are in ukraine and they are continuing their strong support for separatists and we at a minimum -- i do not just me the united states of america but nato countries and other allies around the world are to be providing ukrainian he ability to defend themselves. >> but the idea of giving more w

a key opponent of russian president vladimir putin has been shot dead in moscow. the president condemned the murder of opposition leader boris, who was killed near the kremlin, he was due to attend an opposition rally on sunday. >> reporter: opposition pol stirn boris was shot several times by an unidentified gunmen he had gone out for a walk near the kremlin hen he was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. >> translation: a vehicle pulled up a couple of shots were fired. four shots penetrated the back. eyewitnesss are questioned. the woman with him is questioned in one of the city's police departments. >> reporter: his supporters mourn the loss of a leader who they hoped could bring about political change in russia. >> for me the death is a change. it was thrown down to all of us. it was a bright opposition activist. he shook up pt system. >> he was an outspoken critic of vladimir putin, an experienced politician. he served as deputy prime minister under boris yeltsin and had been governor of a big city. after leaving parliament in 2003 he helped establish and

mourners held a vigil in moscow where the former opposition leader was shot dead. he was due to lead a major rally on sound. >> reporter: opposition politician boris nemtsov was shot several times by an unidentified gunman he'd gone out for a walk near the kremlin when he was attacked and killed in a dive by shooting. >> translation: a vehicle pulled up. a couple of shots were fired from it. four penetrated his back. investigative teams are working at the scene eyewitnesss are being question. the woman with him is being questioned in a police department. >> reporter: boris nemtsov supporters are mourning the loss of a leader they hoped could bring about political change. >> for me the death of boris nemtsov is about a challenge, a challenge thrown to all of us. he was a bright opposition activist and shook up the system. >> boris nemtsov was an outspoken critic of vladimir putin, and an experienced politician. he served as deputy prime minister under former president yement sin, and -- yeltsin and had been governor of one of the biggest cities. after leaving parlia

appreciate that from moscow. we'll talk more about this with cnn global affairs analyst and delta force commander, retired lieutenant colonel james reese. you heard from fred who said lots of surveillance cameras everywhere and eyewitnesses, you have to wonder if they feel intimidated and really say everything they think and feel there. do you trust that the general public says when putin says an investigation will happen that it will indeed happen? >> good morning. it's difficult, especially in russia. with all the issues happening throughout the years and the destabilization ongoing. president putin runs a pretty tight ship over there. bottom line this was a contract hit. you know like everyone has talked about, a lot of cameras there, a lot of police a lot of people so someone was tracking this. someone knew how to do this. especially driving up behind a car, getting out six shots, four in the body it's a contract hit. >> do you feel like in any way this further complicates, even the u.s. commitment to try to

the stakes here in moscow today are high. russian president vladimir putin, german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande set to meet in the coming hours. the talks aimed at ending the bloodshed in eastern ukraine. part of the new diplomatic push on the part of france and germany to not only aim for a cease-fire but also maintain the territorial integrity of ukraine. but the big question remains will this latest effort work? especially when you consider that russia shows no signs of backing down. the defense ministry has announced new military drills to take place along the russian/ukrainian border right through february 14th. alongside all of this diplomatic effort. we have heard from a spokesperson from the russian president, vladimir putin, who has said that these talks are welcome. they're looking at these talks as a positive step. kremlin state media has reportedly cording to the quoting the kremlin saying they are still considering the details of this proposal and they're remaining open to it. b

moscow's most recent denials to cnn sparked a bitter response. >> the kremlin spokesman took particular issue with your saying there are russian forces inside ukraine escalating the situation. he said there are no russian tanks or army in ukraine. these accusations are not true. i wonder if you could react to that. >> mr. prime minister is it true that as the kremlin just said today, there are no russians on the ground? >> it seems to me that the only country who strongly denies clear military russian boots on the ground is russian federation and personally president putin. if they need i can give them my [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: following secretary kerry in a remarkable show of diplomatic muscle president hollande of france and chancellor merkel of germany, who met with ukrainian leaders before they would continue on to moscow to see president putin. the immediate focus, a senior state department official tells cnn, a new even short-term cease-fire to stem the growing bloodshed. so far, no new round of economic sanctions and no military aid for ukrainian forces. now overpowered by r

so i mean this is a chilling event in moscow. there have been murders of journalists, there have been murders of prosecutors, there have been murders of some political opposition figures but this guy i can't think of a larger opposition figure in russia than boris nemtsov. he was supposed to be attending and helping to organize a rally which is supposed to take place on sunday condemning putin and his involvement in ukraine. what's going to happen on the street. it's going to be very very interesting, it is potentially a seismic political event that has just taken place in russia. i don't think tomorrow it is going to be the same then. >> a lot of questions about timing. dana lewis, thank you. >>> earlier i spoke to fred wier. wier believes someone is trying to make waves in russia's political system. >> putin's spokesman said it had all the earmarks of a contract killings. people got out of a car shot him in the back between four and seven times got in their car and drove away. it was a gang land-style hit against him. and putin

although he supported eu sanctions against moscow, orban has been vocal about their negative and economic impact. the meeting may prove more symbolically important for putin as he attempts to show he still has a friend in europe. it will mark his first bilateral visit to an eu country since june. >> in other news, another 40,000 people took to the streets of the danish capital to patriot to the victims of last week's shootings.

. >> let's go straight to moscow. all the leaders are speaking. we expect the talks could go on for a few more hours. what detail do we have on the new peace initiative? >> well, there's precious little. this is quite unusual for this kind of scenario, we know very, very little about what these leaders are actually talking about. we have seen photos of them sat round a small round table just the three of they will. this is also very unusual. there are no aids, no advisors, three world leaders sitting talking to each other face-to-face. what they are discussing are thorny issues. essentially, vladimir putin has a plan. he sent that plan to merkel and hollande a few days ago. john kerry said as much thursday. they have had a look at the plan and come up with a counter proposal. that's what they've brought here and are talking about at this moment. it is a plan based on the minsk agreement and will range numerous thorny issues. the three main ones are where to draw the line in terms of territory, where the front line is

the guns in eastern ukraine were largely silent on wednesday, but the rhetoric 20 moscow and kiev is becoming more and more belligerent. >> while russia says that ukraine cutting off gas supplies to separatist held regions would be tantamount to genocide. the ukrainian gas authority says pipelines to those regions were damaged in the fighting but have since been repaired. >> both sides are now threatening to restrict access to gas supplies in the middle of winter. we'll get the latest from our correspondent in kiev and just a moment, but first, this report. >> no sooner was there a lull in fighting in eastern ukraine than the war of words between moscow and kiev intensified. russian president vladimir putin threatened to stop supplying ukraine with gas, saying the country had failed to make payments. but he also lashed out at ukraine for cutting off the gas supply to rebel held areas of the east. >> there's famine there already and the osce has already said there's a humanitarian catastrophe there, and now they are cutting off gas supplies. it is starting to look like genocide. >> th

the german french and russian leaders have held negotiations in moscow. angela merkel and francois hollande presented vladimir putin with a new peace plan. talks are expected to begin once again on sunday. separatists in ukraine a claim that moscow denies. the talks so far has covered border disputes. rory challenge say there's more to discuss. >> face to face negotiations between angela merkel, vladimir putin and francois hollande. all that we really know about what went on is contained in the most tight-lipped of negotiations. he said talks were constructive. what happens next is a document is going to be prepared which takes in all the suggestions and that will be forwarded on to the different parties in this conflict. the negotiations themselves will be picked up again on sunday. in a phone call that is going to be conducted in the normandy format. that means it will involve all the people that are here in moscow this afternoon and it will also include petro poroshenko the ukrainian president. so obviously these talks have not been particularly fruit-

he was killed while walking with a female companion on a bridge over the moscow river. russian opposition figures have condemned what they are describing as the political murder of nemtsov. he was planning to lead a protest against russia's policy in ukraine on sunday. victoria gatenby reports. >> reporter: on the bridge where boris nemtsov was shot dead, thousands came to pay their respects. among the crowd, there were several opposition politicians. >> i would say this is not only a blow to the opposition. it is a blow to the whole russian society. it is a blow to russia. if political views are punished this way, then this country simply has no future. >> he was a good open bright man who dedicated all of his life to the task of creating a normal country in russia. he wanted this very much. >> nemtsov was killed just two days before he was supposed to lead an opposition march in moscow. now, there is anger within the opposition movement and some are calling his death an assassination. president vladimir putin offered condolences and called the murder a provocation. he

we're going to talk to a russian defense analyst joining us from moscow today. thank you for your time sir. i asked our correspondent earlier, we used the term minsk ceasefire, is it even there anymore? when events like this are happening, can we even say there is a ceasefire? >> well there is a kind of pause in the fighting in most parts of the front line in the donetsk region of eastern ukraine, only more in debaltseve and there is fighting and shelling around the port city of mariupol. but the ceasefire of sorts is going to hold i believe, because right now the time for a winter campaign is more or less over, as spring is coming in those parts, and that means moving tanks through the fields will be problematic, and i believe at least for a couple of months, we should have some kind of lull in the fighting though most likely not a ceasefire or a peace -- >> that's what i was going to ask you, will any lull in fighting, if it does happen give the politicians a chance to sort something out? there is going to be a conference phone call this evening between four o

we continue with a live report next from moscow. the latest on the shooting death of russia's opposition figure boris nemtsov. my colleague, george howell, continues coming up next. feet...tiptoeing. better things than the pain stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any infection unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and

. >> essentially moscow is waiting. the press conference between president poroshenko and john kerry, and it will be watch that go closely. it also made its own assumptions about what wasn't said in that conference now is preparing for the arrival of angela merkel and president hollande on friday, meeting with vladimir putin and bringing what they call a new peace initiative. now, there are very few details about what exactly that peace initiative is, but there are people i've been speaking to here expecting the european leaders come to play good cop to washington's bad cop, basically sit down with vladimir putin and say mr. president let's free this conflict here. what we don't want, what you don't want is for the united states to start funding and arming the ukrainian army with serious weaponry, so let's have the lines of conflict frozen right here, right now and set up some sort of federalized system. the challenge for russia is to work out what its next move is going to be. >> there may be renewed efforts to try to

he was shot four times today in central moscow. he was russia's deputy prime minister under president yeltsin in the late 1990s. he has been one of vladimir putin's most vocal critics. an unknown assailant has reportedly shot and killed the opposition leader in russia. we will take a quick break. much more on this critically important story and all the day's news after this. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. [announcer] if your dog can dream it purina pro plan can help him achieve it. ♪ driving rock/metal♪ music stops ♪music resumes♪ music stops ♪music resumes♪ [announcer] purina pro plan's bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle] purina pro plan. nutrition that performs. sfx: com

we'll talk to our correspondents in donesque and moscow to get the latest. they are trying to make gains ahead of wednesday's peace talks. that's coming up shortly on gmt. thanks for watching. it's the candy bar that's too hot for tv in all its naked glory; stripped of chocolate, with nothing but salty roasted peanuts on soft sweet caramel. a payday bar will get you through your day. expose yourself to payday. you want an advanced degree, but sometimes work can get in the way. now capella university offers flexpath, a revolutionary new program that allows you to earn a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping. >>> hello, welcome to gmt on "bbc world news." i'm david eades. in this half hour another day of fighting in ukraine. they try to make gains ahead of peace talks due on wednesday. we'll get the latest from don donesque and moscow. a useful parenting tool or invasion of privacy. the app that allows par

. >> meanwhile n moscow thousands have marched in opposition to last year's up rising in kiev. organizers at the rally said that more than 20,000 people took part on the one year anniversary of the deaths of 100 protesters who took part in the up rising in kiev. that's the one that led to the outing of pro-russian president viktor yanukovych. >> they said that further sanctions would be counterproductive with the exacerbation of tensions and the kremlin will be forced to come out with an appropriate response. the west is in a dilemma because at the moment it does not seem to be minded to use any significant military force other than possibly considering the supplying of the ukrainian army with defensive weaponry. but the sanctions applied don't really seem to have changed the kremlin's behavior in any way. we're in a position now where the west is talking about giving the sanctions another turn of the screws to see if it has any effect. now that's not to say that the sanctions have had no effect. they've had a very significant effect on russian public opinion, and they have ann

let's turn to erin mclaughlin with more from moscow. good morning erin. >> reporter: moscow is rejecting the ukrainian president's calls for a u.n. peacekeeping mission to be deployed. russian's ambassador to the u.n. is saying that would serve to frustrate the current agreement. the current agreement seeming frustrated with western officials accusing russia as well as the separatists of violating the cease-fire agreement in debaltseve. that key strategic transport hub. russian officials saying debaltseve was not subject to the cease-fire agreement. prior to the agreement. the separatists had the cities surrounded. russian officials accusing the west of using debaltseve as a pre-text for further sanctions. right now, given the fact debaltseve is currently in the hands of the separatists, the hope is the fighting will finally stop. the cease-fire might just take effect and agreement may be able to move forward. >> erin thank you. a lot of developments over the past few days in that situation. >>> ten minutes after the hour. officials at

you've had thousands and thousands of people out on the streets of moscow of what is being called an anti-maidan rally. that is to say that the people what are on the streets in moscow were saying what happens in ukraine a year ago was a bloody disaster, and nothing of the sort should be allowed to happen here in russia. >> greece has struck a deal with other eurozone members with the financial bailout. it won't last forever but all sides are pretty happy. it means that greece stays even zood on for another four months, which is what germany wanted and what the greek government said it would not do. in return they say it is free, it will be allowed to pick ute how it reforms its economy on things such as tax collections and pensions. greece's finance minister said that it will work tirelessly for the monday deadline. they have avoided greece leaving the eurozone, but if they don't like the plan then the crisis continues. we have this report from athens. >> reporter: this was the greek and european nightmare. it would if a preliminary agreement reached in brussels holes, those bank no

let's go to rory now in moscow. we know that angela merkel is there now. the meeting i'm assuming is underway. any details yet? >> still not. it's been amazing really, how few pieces of information about this peace deal have actually come out yet. they have -- well angela merkel has been meeting with petro poroshenko in ukraine and kiev. she said that this plan will involve the territorial integrity of ukraine and essentially that it would not really have any dramatic territorial difference from the minsk peace agreements. by that, i mean that the front lines at the moment, which have shifted considerably since the minsk peace agreement was signed in september if there is a new agreement, it will be along the minsk front line guidance. that is going to be difficult for the rebels, the separatists to accept, because they have taken a lot of territory since then. they will want to hold that territory. russia, of course, has its own agenda, it's own ideas, vladimir putin has submitted his plan to the two european leaders so they will be talking about all thes

in fact moscow you're looking at snow once again with a high of negative 6 for friday. wrapping things up we're going to move on to north america and the west coast, we have that big low pressure system moving in. we've been talking about this system, the pineapple express that was going to be moving inland. it has started to move onshore so northern california all the way in to seattle, and vancouver, and further up north, seeing the very wet weather. even more rainfall expected as we go through friday with gusts up to 120 kilometers per hour. waves up to eight meters. look out for the flash flooding. the rain will extend through friday all the way into sunday with wet conditions, and sometimes very windy conditions as well. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended forecast. >>> that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. portion coke, the leaders of germany and france are heading to --. ukraine and western allies accuse the kremlin of supporting a separatist rebellion. fighting has flared with civilians caught in the middle

this moscow mansion is on the market for $19 million. its owner doesn't want to be shown but his agent says even for the richest customers, the economic slowdown is being felt. >> difficult at the high end part of the market. oil businessmen, they are not in the mood for shopping. >> reporter: the customers you see, are they nervous? >> no. they get used to it. it's just not the right time to buy. >> reporter: the skies over moscow are clear, for now. there's no talk of the waters of business freezing up entirely. a time for caution, yes. the economy needs careful steering. but it's also an opportunity for those who know how to navigate the world of russian money. bbc news, moscow. >>> making the world more awesome -- that's the aim of the kid president and millions are watching him on youtube. 11-year-old robby novak makes videos along with his brother-in-law brad. they use wit and inspirational thinking. making his story even more remarkable he suffers from a genetic disease. it doesn't slow him down though. he even has a new book out.

moscow, in central moscow. at the same time, just to let you know that there's news coming out of mood investor service. that's a credit rating agency and saying that moody's has cut the displaced. . >> >>> survive figures from the rally being held now. we understand that the pro-kremlin movement demonstrating against the political movement in ukraine. it's the anti-maidan movement is expected to draw a crowd of 10,000 people. essentially they are marking the first anniversary of the maidan revolution, where the president at the time and over in ukraine, the current president petro porashenko has been leading a sombre service in maidan square marking a year since protesters were killed. here is jonah hull with his report. >> reporter: on kiev's maidan or independent square where the protests took place, the faces of the dead stare. and there are candle lit memorials. emotions are still raw. many remember the worse day of gunfire. they call those who fell in the hundreds. a year on. some wandered whether it was

angela merkel and president hollande are meeting the russian president putin in moscow. the german chancellor and french president are presenting a new peace plan. the meeting comes a day after merkel and hollande meet the ukraine president petro poroshenko in kiev. >> the players are all here, angela merkel and president hollande arrived in moscow, they were whisked straight into the russian capitol straight into a meeting with vladimir putin. vladimir putin has a plan. we know as much, because john kerry said so when he was in kiev on thursday. he said that that plan had been submitted to merkel and hollande by written form and that they had consulted it, looked at it and they have come up with their own counter proposal. it is that which they've brought here to the russian capitol that they are sitting down with putin now to talk about. what these two plans are we don't really know, because there's been little information released about them. two european leaders have said that whatever they are going to discuss with putin involves the territorial integrity of ukraine

the first time in quite a while she has gone to moscow. as rightly they should. >> and that seriousness, is that because we have seen the escalation of fighting in eastern ukraine when that cease fire basically disintegrate. >> i think it has to be. i think right now it is for a gradual worsening if not a rapid worsening of the situation. often less someone tries to do something. >> does the formation force this source that can be basically september somewhere within two days they say. suggest they need a plan b and they are not convinced that it is going to solve this situation? i think that's one of the facets that we are looking at. i think it is more galvanized into coming into fruition. >> how would it work. >> putting forwards the bodies feed to make the force work, so you hope that among the 28, they can come up with 5,000 breathing soldiers. they call it defensive weapons we know that weapons can be offensive as well as defensive. some argue that by giving the army these extra weapons that they might see them have a change of heart

. >> moscow is waiting at the moment. it's seen that press conference between petro poroshenko and john kerry in kiev and would have been watch that go closely and made its own assumptions about what wasn't said in that press conference. now it's preparing for the arrival of angela merkel and president hollande friday, meeting with vladimir putin. there are few details about what exactly the peace niche initiative is, but some expect the european to play good cop after washington's bad cop, so sit down with putin and may mr. president let's free this conflict here. what you don't want is for the united states to start funding and arming the ukraineen army with serious weaponry. >> there may be renewed efforts to try to bring a diplomatic solution to this cries. the reality here in donetsk remains very different. the violence continues. it continues to escalate. at least eight civilians killed, another 33 wounded here in the last 24 hours a sense of growing confidence amongst the separatist fighters who have ignored calls

and their alee general to moscow is openly declared. taunting the ukrainian president one fighter shouts hello from russia. street by street, combat continued here for four days. after the supposed cease fire deal. small numbers of ukrainian soldiers are still thought to be holed up stranded inside the town, the dead, lie where they fell. on the approach road, at a place we found the aftermath of a ferocious battle. the crossing was littered littered with the debris of an increasingly desperate struggle, numerous casualties on both sides here. >> here is a burnt out tank, absolutely blackened by the intensity of the fire and the fighting. there are more vehicles here a further tank down on the far side, two bodies are still lying in the the open over behind the camera there as well. the fighter from the russian city described the final assault. >> the battle finished the day before yesterday they are running out of ammunition. a truck came to resupply them, yesterday the artillery was quiet. after that they retreated. >> the retreat was

. >> there is also concern about moscow's commitment. >> it would not be the first time the promises have not been kept. >> the french president said constant diplomatic consultations are still needed. >> everything is still in flux. the next few hours will be decisive. we have to remain alert and continue applying pressure. >> eu leaders have put on a brave face, but they know there is a long road ahead to reach a lasting peace in ukraine's east. >> this is one of the most significant franco german diplomatic efforts in years. now we have max hoffman joined up -- joining us from the eu summit under way. we have this roadmap, but there is a long road ahead. is brussels going to pitch in to make sure that this deal works? >> first of all it is about putting everybody on the same page. francois hollande and angela merkel are going to do that, and i'm sure they have a lot of stories to tell after their negotiation marathon back in minsk. then it is about assessing the situation. as one senior eu diplomat put it towards me, that is not as easy as some people may think. even leaders here

i want to turn to moscow where our bridgette kendall is there for us. bridgette, obviously, president putin very much taking center stage. the first one to come out and say, yes, a deal is being done. what do you think, for him now, are going to be the biggest challenges there in terms of mapping out this deal? >> well russia has played a very particular role in this conflict, because in the west it seems the prime player. president putin, the key man at these negotiations president hollande saw that after it ended it was his pressure on rebel representatives there, that brought them to sign this document about a cease-fire. but president putin displays himself more as someone on the sidelines, a country which would like to see peace in ukraine and a dispute which has to be solved between the ukrainian government and the rebels. and so he isn't portraying himself as someone who would be key for this deal to hold although from the point of view of the ukrainians of course he is. and one very important point, where we're not quite clear whether there is a

the german government announced the summit plans on the heels of whirlwind visits last week to moscow and kiev by german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande, who have lots of high-stakes to blended push to an escalation of the fighting and resolve are growing stand up between the west and russia. european and u.s. governments have accused moscow of subterfuge for denying its involvement in ukraine even as the west side the conclusive intelligence indicating that russian weapons and disguised troops are fighting in eastern ukraine to diplomats caution that stumbling blocks remain including the highly charged issue of whether recent land gains made by separatists would be recognized as part of a cease-fire agreement." james in chattanooga, tennessee, republican could return to all of you for this debate. what is your take, james? caller: well, i was very moved by a "new york times" article in which a 23-year-old girl who had a wonderful career in the space industry and her relationship with her parents that just went there and sat on the wing of a plane after

joining from moscow is frederik pleitgen. what are authorities saying about this incident? >> reporter: we have just gotten new information a couple of minutes ago. authorities say this happened in the late evening hours. and the interesting thing was boris nemtsov was walking directly in the vicinity of the kremlin and there was a second person who was with him. and she later spoke to an opposition figure who just spoke to us and he said that she told him that they had been walking along a bridge near the kremlin that a car stopped next to the two. a man jumped out, opened fire at nemtsov. very targeted very direct. jumped back in his car and sped away. russian authorities say they've started a manhunt for this person. they're searching for someone who apparently fled in a white car. i can tell you from moscow tonight that there are checkpoints here by the police where the white cars are actually being stopped quite a bit here in the city. so the russians are saying that they've got this manhunt under way and vladimir putin came out and said he said that this bears all the

let's go live to moscow. not sure at this stage what's on the table. what are they going to talk about that makes up this peace plan? >> well, the latest news is that merkel has just arrived in russia her plane touched down very recently. we're expecting hollande's to follow swiftly after. they will be straight into moscow for a meeting with vladimir putin. vladimir putin has his own plan, we know because john kerry said as much in the last couple of days saying it was vladimir putin's suggestions of a potential deal to merkel and hollande that have brought them to moscow in the first place. they've looked at his proposals and come up with a counter solution and that is what they are bringing here. what that is, we don't know yet the details have been kept very, very quiet. all that we know really is that it is supposed to respect ukraine's territorial integrity but there are various issues that it is going to have to tackle. little going to have to tackle the line of demarcation, where is that line, because the separatists have taken a lot of ground s