i believe is harmful to us ukraine relations ukraine is being dragged through the political mud there are all sorts of efforts to try to connect ukraine which is unacceptable to interference in the 2016 election so there is some worry that that there is a breakdown of some of that bipartisan support but what i've seen over the last several weeks is both sides the aisle and washington step up to support that relationship i can't speak to the future with with regards to president trump he has a penchant for for doing things one day and then doing the other the other day. frankly many of us here don't understand what his relationship truly is with president vladimir putin but the most important thing that we have seen over the last several weeks is strong support again for ukraine this includes assistance and just before the negotiations took place 2 senior u.s. officials from the state department went out to kiev to ensure kiev that the u.s. stands firmly behind them. before we run out of time to me ask you about. this could be one of her final opportunities to mediate to be a peace mak

i believe is harmful to us ukraine relations ukraine is being dragged through the political maad there are all sorts of efforts to try to connect ukraine which is unacceptable to interference in the 2016 election so there is some worried that that there is a breakdown of some of that bipartisan support but what i have seen over the last several weeks is both sides the aisle and washington stepped up to support that relationship i can't speak to the future with with regards to president trump he has a penchant for for doing things one day and then doing the other the other day. frankly many of us here don't understand what his relationship truly is with president vladimir putin but the most important thing that we have seen over the last several weeks is strong support again for ukraine this includes assistance and just before the negotiations took place 2 senior u.s. officials from the state department went out to kiev to ensure kiev that the u.s. stands firmly behind them. just before we run out of time we ask you about. this could be one of her final opportunities to mediate to be a

i believe is harmful to us ukraine relations ukraine is being dragged through the political mud there are all sorts of efforts to try to connect ukraine which is unacceptable to interference in the 2016 election so there is some worried that that there is a breakdown of some of that bipartisan support but what i have seen over the last several weeks is both sides the aisle and washington stepped up to support that relationship i can't speak to the future with with regards to president trump he has a penchant for for doing things one day and then doing the other the other day. frankly many of us here don't understand what his relationship truly is with president vladimir putin but the most important thing that we have seen over the last several weeks is strong support again for ukraine this includes assistance and just before the negotiations took place 2 senior u.s. officials from the state department went out to kiev to ensure kiev that the u.s. stands firmly behind the. time we ask you about. this could be one of her final opportunities to mediate to be a peace maker do you get that

i believe is harmful to us ukraine relations ukraine is being dragged through the political maad there are all sorts of efforts to try to connect ukraine which is unacceptable to interference in the 2016 election so there is some worried that that there is a breakdown of some of that bipartisan support but what i have seen over the last several weeks is both sides the aisle and washington stepped up to support that relationship i can't speak to the future with with regards to president trump he has a penchant for for doing things one day and then doing the other the other day. frankly many of us here don't understand what his relationship truly is with president vladimir putin but the most important thing that we have seen over the last several weeks is strong support again for ukraine this includes assistance and just before the negotiations took place 2 senior u.s. officials from the state department went out to kiev to ensure kiev that the u.s. stands firmly behind them. just before we run out of time to ask you about. this could be one of her final opportunities to mediate to be a

had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off the spigot repeatedly in the $990.00 s. russian president vladimir putin says similar action is no longer a plan if. we are not going to sign any kind of contract with ukraine in order to stop gas translator no we are interested in this gas transit we are ukraine we want it it's a convenient route incidentally the ukrainian route is longer than the route along the baltic sea it is longer and more expensive for us but nevertheless this route is worked out to central and to southern europe it's good and we're ready to keep it going to we will see. the next hurdle awaits north stream 2 before the weekend u.s. president trump is expected to impose sanctions on companies involved in the construction of the pipeline the u.s. tries to limit russian gas supplies to europe and instead sell its own natural gas to their allies. david stern in kiev and i

the americans obviously are occupied with their own ukraine a fair trump ukraine affair so they're not really in a position to put much diplomatic weight behind the ukrainians here and the real question will now be how medical corps and medical the 2 leaders here who are with president putin and zelinsky what they bring to the table and how much support they give us ukraine or the hand put pressure on ukraine to make concessions made and as you alluded to the americans the big absentia party let's talk about mr selenski for a 2nd because he is walking a tightrope for one of the reasons that you mentioned in your reporting how much backing is there in ukraine for mr selenski sitting one on one with mr putin. well exactly i mean this is the $1000000.00 question can the political knew we who this time last year wasn't even in politics can he really match putin who's been in charge of russia for almost 20 years when it comes to diplomatic godall in terms of the fact that they're meeting well i think that is not the big problem but there is a big worry in ukraine that some kind of over. big

would like to see a stable ukraine a peaceful ukraine if you have it as a partner and also regarding relations to russia which you have practically been frozen ever since the annexation of crimea which by the way is something leaders will not talk about here on the other hand you have personal reasons i'm glad michael and michael are keen to make this a personal success and to show that this meeting has a meaning and that this meeting will produce fruits that can be harvested all right garrick might just reporting from the french capital at the end is a palace thank you. next up the world anti-doping agency wada has banned russia from taking part in international sporting competitions for 4 years well that includes the upcoming tokyo olympics in 2020 the beijing winter games in 2022 and get this the football world cup in qatar in 2022 a lot of that russia should be punished for manipulating laboratory data planting fake evidence and deleting files linked to a positive doping test that could have helped identify drug cheats. a higher settled is an expert on doping in sport and the jou

also coming up russia ukraine on the european union agreeing on a new gas deal. in hong kong retailers bear the brunt of the months long pro-democracy protests as consumers feel less inclined to go out on a shopping spree. mexico's global snake is are in high demand is business for the christmas ornaments. i want to get jones and this is your business asia live from berlin. tokyo has approved an 8 straight to annual increase in defense spending to counter the military build ups in north korea and in china u.s. defense contractors can look forwards to get a sizable piece of the action u.s. presence donald trump already found to japan since the obvious fall buying the u.s. equipment. japan's constitution prohibits it from buying offensive weapons still the island nation is one of the world's top customers for on's and weapons systems as more and more funds are devoted towards the fence to pan's defense budget has jumped nearly 15 percent in less than a decade and now prime minister shinzo obvious government wants to boost it by over one percent to $48600000000.00 t

this is deja vu news live from berlin a possible step toward resolving the conflict in eastern ukraine. there was a hero's welcome in the capital kiev for 76 men and women released by separatists in the country's east in return ukrainian government released all the prisoners it had been holding will go to kids for the latest also coming up. a man with a knife turns a hanikra celebration near new york city into a bloody crime scene new york's governor says it was an act of domestic terror. i'm nick spicer welcome to the program. ukrainian government and russian backed separatists have completed a prisoner exchange a plane landed at the airport sunday evening a few hours after the swap at a checkpoint in the separatist stronghold of the nets in eastern ukraine exchange included prisoners held by both sides since hostilities broke out in 2014 as follows an agreement russia and ukraine reached earlier this month in talks brokered by germany and france. i carefully coordinated ron davis in ukraine's rebel controlled region $200.00 people in total were released in the exchange some returning

it's part of an agreement that russia and ukraine this month more. carefully coordinated rendezvous in ukraine's rebel controlled region. the freed prisoners include ukrainian riot police accused of firing on protesters in 2014 the controversial swap has angered some activists there but others see it as a crucial step to improving ties with moscow. it's the 2nd major prisoner exchange this year september saw another swap that brought inmates home and fostered hope that the war in eastern ukraine could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president volodymyr zelinsky. agreed the 1st step to one block. is returning our soldiers prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting russian back separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when zelinsky was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian count

to flow through ukraine. well i guess you could say they don't really trust them very much but if the deal is signed it obviously will be a positive step forward in the relations between these 2 countries we are now in the 6 year more than 5 years russia and ukraine have been at odds. russia annexed crimea back in 2014 and then russian supported forces have been fighting ukrainian forces in the east of the country and more than 13000 people have died there the relations between the 2 countries obviously because of that and has further worsened we also have the case that gazprom some $3000000000.00 to ukraine over odets according to the stockholm arbitration court so you could say that trust in the russians isn't great at the moment but obviously if this deal is in is confirmed we're waiting you know they say they've reached it in principle then this will be something that can be possibly built on to improve them in the future david you mentioned the financial aspect there ukraine is collecting transit fees fo

the americans obviously are occupied with their own ukraine a fair trump ukraine affair so they're not really in a position to put much diplomatic weight behind the ukrainians here and the real question will now be how many corps and merkel the 2 leaders here who are with president putin and zelinsky what they bring to the table and how much support they give to ukraine or on the other hand put pressure on ukraine to make concessions made and as you alluded to the americans the big absentia party let's talk about mr selenski for a 2nd because he is walking a tightrope for one of the reasons that you mentioned in your reporting how much backing is there in ukraine for mr selenski sitting one on one with mr putin well exactly i mean this is the $1000000.00 question can the political news we who this time last year wasn't even in politics can he really match putin who's been in charge of russia for almost 20 years when it comes to diplomatic godall in terms of the fact that they're meeting well i think that is not the big problem but there is a big worry in ukraine that some kind of over.

to use live from berlin and a waiting game for prisoners captured on both sides of the conflict in ukraine seems to be over families remain on edge as a prisoner swap between ukrainian soldiers and pro russian separatists gets underway russia says it's an all for all exchange but just who is gay talese people only be clear once the swap is complete. also coming up australia's bushfires have placed a strain on firefighters today many volunteers who've taken leave from paid jobs to help the australian government has announced plans to compensate them and honor their efforts. omarion evanston welcome to the program ukrainian government forces and russian backed separatists have begun a prisoner exchange. these are live pictures of that prisoner exchange underway right now the swap is part of an agreement that was reached earlier this month at a summit between the leaders of ukraine and russia brokered by germany and france the swap is taking place at a checkpoint in the separatist wrong hold of done netsky. forces as separatists have been fighting in eastern ukraine since 2014 the conflict ha

news coming to you live from trying to end the conflict in eastern ukraine after a landmark meeting the leaders of russia and ukraine agreed to implement a cease fire and exchange prisoners but their 1st face to face encounter also exposes deep divisions also coming up taking to the streets to fight for human rights as many countries around the world mark human rights day we ask how important is it to make your voice heard and the extremes are increasing months of drought suddenly followed by terentia will rain they've destroyed our pastures he never used to be like this. climate change is changing life for farmers in a remote region of bolivia. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us the leaders of russia and ukraine have agreed to implement a cease fire in eastern ukraine as part of efforts to end the conflict there it was one of the number and number of steps agreed by ukrainian president a lot of new selenski and his russian counterpart vladimir putin at their 1st face to face meeting brokered by the french and german leaders the meeting in paris left many issues on result t

in 2014 what's at stake for ukraine up to $3000000000.00 in transit fees for gas coming from the gas field in western siberia it flows through the brotherhood pipeline crossing ukraine into slovakia for further distribution within the e.u. with the introduction of the north stream pipeline and 2011 much of the russian gas delivered to the e.u. had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off the spigot repeatedly in the 1990 s. russian president vladimir putin says similar action is no longer planned if. we are not going to sign any kind of contract with ukraine in order to stop gas translator no we are interested in this gas transit we are ukraine we want it it's a convenient route incidentally the ukrainian route is longer than the route along the baltic sea it is longer and more expensive for us but nevertheless this route is worked out to central and to southern europe it's good and we

had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off the spigot repeatedly in the 990 s. russian president vladimir putin says similar action is no longer plan if. we are not going to sign any kind of contract with ukraine in order to stop gas translator no we are interested in this gas transit we are ukraine we want it it's a convenient route incidentally the ukrainian route is longer than the route along the baltic sea it is longer and more expensive for us but nevertheless this route is worked out to central and to southern europe it's good and we're ready to keep it. the next hurdle awaits north stream 2 before the weekend u.s. president trump is expected to impose sanctions on companies involved in the construction of the pipeline the u.s. tries to limit russian gas supplies to europe and instead sell its own natural gas to their allies. correspondent. david stern in kiev and i asked him w

could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president. we have agreed the 1st step to one block. or not it is returning our soldiers political prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting russian back separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when selinski was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian counterparts in which sunday's exchange was agrees. an exchange between both sides in this conflict based on swapping everyone on. the deal is again raising hopes 1st swift resolution to the conflict but major hurdles between russia and ukraine still need to be overcome before peace is possible. correspondent david stern is at the airport in kiev where the freedom training prisoners are due to arrive soon david what do we know any details yet on the prisoners who is being exchanged who are

i believe is harmful to us ukraine relations ukraine is being dragged through the political maad there are all sorts of efforts to try to connect ukraine which is unacceptable to interference in the 2016 election so there is so worried that that there is a breakdown of some of that bipartisan support but what i have seen over the last several weeks is both sides the aisle and washington step up to support that relationship. i can't speak to the future with with regards to president trump he has a penchant for for doing things one day and then doing the other the other day. frankly many of us here don't understand what his relationship truly is with president vladimir putin but the most important thing that we have seen over the last several weeks is strong support again for ukraine this includes assistance and just before the negotiations took place 2 senior u.s. officials from the state department went out to kiev to ensure kiev that the u.s. stands firmly behind them. just before we run out of time. about. this could be one of her final opportunities to mediate to be a peace maker do

also coming up russia ukraine i think european union agreed on a new gas deal. in hong kong retailers bear the brunt of the months long pro-democracy protests as consumers feel less inclined to go out thing straight. mexico's levels makers are in high demand as business for the christmas ornaments is to make. them want to get jones and business asia lie from berlin. tokyo has approved an 8 straight a annual increase in defense spending to counter the military build ups in north korea and in china u.s. defense contractors can look forwards to get a sizable piece of the action u.s. presence donald trump already sunk to japan for buying the u.s. equipment. japan's constitution prohibits it from buying offensive weapons still the island nation is one of the world's top customers for arms and weapons systems as more and more funds are devoted towards the fence japan's defense budget has jumped nearly 15 percent in less than a decade and now prime minister shinzo obvious government wants to boost it by over one percent to $48600000000.00 that's a record expenditure bu

also coming up after a landmark talks in paris the leaders of russia and ukraine agree to implement a cease fire and exchange prisoners but their 1st face to face encounter also exposes divisions and the weather extremes are increasing months of drought suddenly followed by terentia rain they've destroyed our pastures and never used to be like this. how climate change is impacting the lives of farmers in the remote region of bolivia. plus baby pandas make their debut here in berlin everyone can agree their child but not everyone could agree on their names will have more on china's so-called panda the funnest. i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us police in new zealand are investigating the deaths of tourists in monday's volcanic eruption the death toll has now risen to 6 volcanic activity caused the threat level to be raised last. weeks so questions are being asked about whether tour groups should have been allowed to visit the destination off new zealand's north island 8 people are still missing presumed dead and dozens have suffered severe burns. after disaster struck f

could soon be over and victory for ukraine's new president of law to me is the lenski. for more than 5 years the craniotomy has been fighting russian backed separatists in the country's east the war has cost more than 13000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone. efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when selenski was elected in april he promised of restarting the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian counterparts in which sunday's exchange was agreed. the deal is again raising hopes for us with preselection to the conflict but major hurdles between russia and ukraine still need to be overcome before peace is possible. and turning back to our correspondent david stern who's outside the airport and for those prisoners just landed david now i can imagine this prisoner exchange is one big part of finding some kind of final settlement to the conflict between the russians back separatists and ukraine what else is on the table what else needs to be cleared for there to finally end to t

the ukraine will lose billions in transit fees of north stream to which bypasses ukraine. russia ukraine and the european commission i finally reached a tentative gas agreement on friday moscow says carry on delivering gas created. the deal goes into effect on january the 1st. of. welcome to still so as to be one of russia's promise to kind of continue using ukraine to transport the gas into europe but ukraine has had its share of problems dealing with russia and getting its gas supplies mean that there's been a number of disputes between russia and ukraine when it comes over gas the harshest one certainly being the one and generally of 2009 when moscow actually caught. gas supplies to ukraine and they were out over the payment of transit fees and those were some bitter $3.00 weeks not only for people in ukraine but also in other european countries gas supplies have to be rationed actually we have to understand that gas deliveries play a key role in the ukrainian economy the country earns about 3000000000 dollars each year in transit fees from gas which runs from russia to

that was nick conley there reporting from eastern ukraine. well the conflict in eastern ukraine is has been going on now for 5 years here to talk about it is liana fix she's program director of international affairs at the curb a foundation and an expert on russia and eastern europe thanks for being with us this morning now as we just heard in our report ukraine wants to bring the dawn bus region back under government control how realistic is that. it is they and realistic in the shot that ukraine will be able to bring the region back and the government could well what we have at least is an agreement on a path for what that is what is called the so-called stand my if that we will that there will be local elections which will be followed by a special status for that i'm. after a german president in my own right exactly that's where this from it comes from however this still barely a lot of questions how this film will be implemented so 1st of all will the formula be implemented under control of the web of side under government control and the

russia and ukraine will sign a 5 year deal on the transit of russian gas to europe via ukraine that's according to announcements by both parties it's the 1st such deal since the russian annexation of crimea and it followed intense negotiations with the e.u. . these pipes are front and center of a geopolitical crisis north stream 2 percents a new undersea route for russia to deliver gas to the e.u. bypassing its neighbor ukraine in the midst of a conflict that started with russia's annexation of crimea in 2014 what's at stake for ukraine up to $3000000000.00 in transit fees for gas coming from the gas field in western siberia it flows through the brotherhood pipeline crossing ukraine into slovakia for further distribution within the e.u. with the introduction of the north stream pipeline in 2011 much of the russian gas delivered to the e.u. had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off th

could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president volodymyr zelinsky. we have agreed the 1st step to one block but. we have not it is returning our soldiers prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting russian backed separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when zelinsky was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian counterparts in which sunday's exchange was agrees. an exchange between both sides in this conflict to whom based on swapping everyone. the deal is again raising hopes 1st swift resolution to the conflict but major hurdles between russia and ukraine still need to be overcome before peace is possible. joining us now from moscow is correspondent even. following as today's events of forest gets to see you even do we know yet how many prison is have been exchanged and who they might be. well b

it's part of an agreement that russia and ukraine earlier this month. have carefully coordinated rendezvous in ukraine's rebel controlled region the free prisoners include ukrainian riot police accused of firing on protesters in 2014 the controversial swap has angered some activists there but others see it as a crucial step to improving ties with moscow. it's the 2nd major prisoner exchange this year september saw another swap that brought inmates home and fostered hope that the war in eastern ukraine could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president volodymyr is the linsky. we're all agreed the 1st step to one block dialogue. we will not hear is returning our soldiers political prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting russian back separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when zelinsky was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeti

news live from berlin breaking the deadlock over in eastern ukraine the russian and ukrainian presidents have met for the 1st time in peace talks brokered by the leaders of france and germany will this help and 5 years of war that is killed thousands of people also coming up 5 people are dead after new zealand's most active volcano erupts sending plumes of ash and steam into the sky just as tourists were exploring the volcano surface at least 8 people are reportedly missing and russia is banned from all global sporting events of the next 4 years of that includes the upcoming 2020 olympics the world anti-doping agency says moscow trying to stop drug cheats from being exposed. i bring goff it's good to have you with us the leaders of ukraine and russia have been holding one on one talks in paris tonight to discuss the conflict in eastern ukraine this is the 1st time in 3 years that talks focusing on ending the war there have been held and this is the 1st meeting between russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president golda meir's and then ski appears set down earlier this evening

russia ukraine and the european commission have finally reached a tentative. the deal goes into effect on january the 1st. and. welcome to still so as to be on russia's promise to kind of continue using ukraine to transport the gas into europe but you korean has had its own share of problems dealing with russia and getting its gas supplies. there's been a number of disputes between russia and ukraine when it comes over gas the harshest one certainly being the one and generally of 2009 when moscow actually cut. gas applies to ukraine and a row over the payment of transit fees and those bitter $3.00 weeks not only for people in ukraine but also in other european countries gas supplies have to be rationed actually we have to understand that gas deliveries play a key role in the ukrainian economy the country earns about 3000000000 dollars each year in transit fees from gas which runs from russia. towards europe and is very much intended to hang on to this business now the north stream to pipeline is a serious threat to this business as it runs through ukraine but

and the leaders of russia and ukraine have agreed to a cease fire in eastern ukraine as part of efforts to end the 5 year conflict there it was one of a number of steps agreed by ukrainian president little new selenski and his russian counterpart vladimir putin and a meeting brokered by the french and german leaders. coming up next our football show kick off with all of the latest action in the bundesliga and don't forget to follow us on twitter our i handle there is activity w news for all the latest headlines thank you so much. for. kick off. another blockbuster weekend one is like. come on come on or promote the 1st place. like to be called and i'm on the 2nd. block barre chord in injury time to take all 3 points against byron munich and a top of the table. because. i'd. save the planet not my job. with porter david don't shout and says it straight we have to do something. the climate crisis is threatening our very existence. many germans would agree but are they prepared to change their habits. and humanity be saved. most of them 60 minutes. i'm not laughing at the them well i guess

would like to see a stable ukraine a peaceful ukraine to have it as a partner and also regarding relations to russia which you have practically been frozen ever since the annexation of crimea which by the way is something leaders will not talk about here on the other hand you have personal reasons i'm glad machall and my co are keen to make this a personal success and to show that this meeting has a meaning and that this meeting will produce fruits that can be harvested all right garrick might just reporting from the french capital at the end is a palace thank you. the world anti-doping agency wada has banned russia from taking part in international sporting competitions for 4 years and that includes the upcoming tokyo olympics in 2020 the beijing winter games in 2022 and the football world cup in qatar in 2022 while wada ruled that russia should be punished for manipulating a laboratory data planting fake evidence and deleting files linked to positive doping tests that could have helped identify drug cheats and iowa settled is an expert on doping in sport and he was also incidentally the

the leaders of russia and ukraine have agreed to implement a cease fire in eastern ukraine russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president of a lot of ms lewinsky but for the 1st time to discuss the conflict centered on the donbass region is currently held by russian backed separate since. there is so are under way in a number of french cities as labor unions press ahead with another day of strikes to protest the government's planned overhaul of the retirement system now in their 6th day the strikes have caused mass disruption to transport and other public services the action is in response to presidents and many were not const proposed pension reforms which unions unions rather say would force workers to work longer and for smaller pensions and to be corresponding just so was after the strikes in paris or earlier today and he filed this update. the strike here in paris is a big test for the french president manuel my call whether he can implement of the reform of the pension system of the retirement system in funds as he has a promise to things the system is unfair and it's sinking

russia and ukraine will sign a 5 year deal the transit of russian gas to europe via ukraine both parties recently announced it's the 1st such deal since the russian annexation of crimea and it followed intense negotiations with the e.u. . these pipes are front and center of a geopolitical crisis north stream 2 percents a new undersea route for russia to deliver gas to the e.u. bypassing its neighbor ukraine in the midst of a conflict that started with russia's annexation of crimea in 2014 what's at stake for ukraine up to $3000000000.00 in transit fees for gas coming from the orange gas field in western siberia it flows through the brotherhood pipeline crossing ukraine into slovakia for further distribution within the e.u. with the introduction of the north stream pipeline in 2011 much of the russian gas delivered to the e.u. had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning off the spigot repeated

russia and ukraine will sign a 5 year deal on the transit of russian gas to europe via ukraine that's according to announcements by both parties is the 1st such deal since the russian annexation of crimea and it followed intense negotiations with the e.u. . these pipes are front and center of a geopolitical crisis north stream 2 percents a new undersea route for russia to deliver gas to the e.u. bypassing its neighbor ukraine in the midst of a conflict that started with russia's annexation of crimea in 2014 what's at stake for ukraine up to $3000000000.00 in transit fees for gas coming from the orange gas field in western siberia it flows through the brotherhood pipeline crossing ukraine into slovakia for further distribution within the e.u. with the introduction of the north stream pipeline in 2011 much of the russian gas delivered to the e.u. had a new route and north stream 2 will double the capacity leaving ukraine to worry not only about a major source of income but also its own demand ukraine depends on gas from russia but moscow has weaponized its supplies in the past turning o

a carefully coordinated rendezvous in ukraine's rebel controlled region. the free prisoners include ukrainian riot police accused of firing on protesters in 2014 the controversial swap has angered some activists there but others see it as a crucial step to improving ties with moscow. it's the 2nd major prisoner exchange this year september saw another swap that brought inmates home and fostered hope that the war in eastern ukraine could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president volodymyr zelinsky. we have agreed the 1st step to one block but i am. not sure it is returning our soldiers prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting russian backed separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when zelinsky was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian counterparts in which sunday's exchange was ag

the leaders of russia and ukraine have agreed to implement a cease fire in eastern ukraine russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president followed a missile then ski were meeting for the 1st time to discuss the conflict which is centered on the donbass region in ukraine this is a region that is a currently held by russian backed separatists at the talks in paris the 2 sides agreed to steps aimed at easing tensions there 1st they've agreed to release in exchange all detainees by the end of the year they've also agreed to disengage military forces in the 3 of the regions in eastern ukraine and also to hold more talks and for months a check in on progress on that cease fire the leaders made separate announcements at the end of the talks. a little this was a meeting was long and difficult but the mood was rather positive that's the truth and i really want to emphasize that point. we will continue the discussions in 4 months and see the results of what we've achieved at the. some of them this is certainly an important step towards deescalating the situation in eastern ukraine as well as

dead and a 1000000 displaced our correspondent correspondent goes to the frontlines of the conflict in ukraine as a russian and ukrainian leaders meet for the 1st time to talk about ending the fighting. plus on patrol with the nigerian navy as they work to combat piracy. reality not to call malta off the coastal plain get them this is to put a period pretty tough currency. piracy is on the increase southwest africa our correspondent finds out what's being done to protect lives and shipping there. i'm sumi so much gonda thank you for joining us at least 5 people have been killed in a volcano eruption in new zealand another 20 have been injured the volcano off the north island erupted suddenly shortly after 2 pm local. time stealing plumes of ash into the air around 50 people are thought to have been on the island at the time and unknown number are still unaccounted for. panicked tourists watch as a wall of volcanic ash threatens to envelop them. minutes . age know they bore witness to its might. survivor scrambled on to boat 50 people were on the island emergency services ferried the injured in

the leaders of ukraine and russia are meeting in paris today to talk about the conflict in eastern ukraine it is the 1st time fighting for putin and volodymyr selenski have met and it's the 1st time in 3 years that talks focusing on ending the war have been held french president in mine my call and german chancellor angela merkel are brokering this meeting now the conflict started in 2014 and has killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass region our correspondent nick connelly traveled there and sent us this report. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists placing them on the whole night without a single shot and i don't remember a day like about maybe on the 1st night of the see saw you know it's a strange when there's no financial you get all nervous we're used to the shooting hoops and. the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the deck continues less than a 10 minute

and by ukraine as well as a violation of ukraine's sovereignty of course ukraine sees the bridge as illegal in the sense that people passengers will be entering entering what they see as ukrainian territory via the russian mainland so that's kind of against against international law and there have been sanctions as well against russia starting in 2014 for the annexation and for russia's involvement in supporting separatists in eastern ukraine as well and the e.u. has just prolonged those sanctions for another half a year but it seems today from that footage that we've seen and from this opening from this this train journeys that we're seeing this defiance that russia is certainly going to stand its ground when it comes to crimea. been covering this story for us from moscow thank you well trains are definitely not running regularly in france a nationwide rail strike is well into his 3rd week there and it is wreaking havoc on transport across the country the strikers are protesting president plans to reform the pension system. the hustle and bustle of the holidays is nowhere in sight at this

berlin maybe prison is swapped between ukrainian forces and pro russian separatists underway in eastern ukraine it's supposed to be a comprehensive exchange which will see all remaining prisoners of the 5 conflicts return home but just who is being released we're going to be clear once the swap is complete. and will straight is bushfires have placed a strain on firefighters including many volunteers who've taken leave from their jobs now the government has to pay them and on of their efforts. christine window welcome to the program ukrainian government forces and russian backed separatists have begun a prisoner exchange the swap has been taking place at a checkpoint in the separatist stronghold off done yet it's part of an agreement reached only of this month between leaders a few crain and russia which was brokered by germany and france ukrainian forces and separatists have been fighting in eastern ukraine since 2014 while the conflict as claimed more than 13000 lives. russia and ukraine small prison is last september raising hopes off a widest settlement of fighting continues. despise a cease

accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction they see trump used his office to pressure ukraine to investigate a political rival that even trying to obstruct the congressional investigation we'll go live to washington for the latest also coming up tonight fresh tensions between moscow and berlin comments by vladimir putin over the killing of a former chechen rebel here in berlin have angered german lawmakers and questions mounting after new zealand's volcanic eruption with the death toll rising to 68 people missing in dozens severely injured people are asking why tours were well there in the 1st place. i'm burnt off it's good to have you with us we begin tonight in the united states where democrats on capitol hill have concluded that president donald trump should be impeached for abusing his powers and for obstructing congress the speaker of the house nancy pelosi and the heads of investigative committees announced 2 articles of impeachment today the democrats accused of soliciting foreign interference in next year's presidential election and of attempting to conceal from congre

the leaders of ukraine and russia are meeting in paris today to talk about the conflict in eastern ukraine it is the 1st time that vladimir putin and loaded missile lenski have met and it's the 1st time in 3 years the talks focusing on ending the war there have been held french president in monaco and german chancellor angela merkel are brokering this meeting of the conflict started in 2014 and it's killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass region our correspondent nick conley traveled there and sent us this report. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists placing them on the whole night without a single shot i don't remember a day like about maybe on the 1st night of the seesaw you know it's a strange when there's no financial you get all nervous we're used to the shooting hoops and. the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death continues less than a 10 minute dr

and by ukraine as well as a violation of ukraine's sovereignty of course ukraine sees the bridge as illegal in the sense that people passengers will be entering entering what they see as ukrainian territory via the russian mainland so that's kind of against against international law and there have been sanctions as well against russia starting in 2014 for the annexation and for russia's involvement in supporting separatists in eastern ukraine as well and to the e.u. has just prolonged those sanctions for another half a year but it seems today from that footage that we've seen and from this opening from this this these train journeys that we're seeing this defiance that russia is certainly going to stand its ground when it comes to crimea. really sure when covering this story for us from moscow thank you the british supermarket chain tesco has suspended a chinese supplier of christmas cards after a customer found a message inside one of the cards claiming it had been packed by prisoners who were forced laborers of the card was found by a 6 year old girl in london tesco has withdrawn the card

and by ukraine as well as a violation of ukraine's sovereignty of course ukraine sees the bridge as illegal in the sense that people passengers will be entering entering what they see as ukrainian territory via the russian mainland so that's kind of against against international law and there have been sanctions as well against russia starting in 2014 for the annexation and for russia's involvement in supporting separatists in eastern ukraine as well and to the e.u. has just prolonged those sanctions for another half a year but it seems today from that footage that we've seen and from this opening from this this train journeys that we're seeing this defiance that russia is certainly going to stand its ground when it comes to crimea. really sure when covering the story for us from moscow thank you australian firefighters are now making progress against hundreds of bushfires a cool weather has ended days of record breaking temperatures at least 9 people have died and millions of acres of land have burned since the fires broke out in september many australians accuse the government of not doin

could soon be over an early victory for ukraine's new president. we have agreed the 1st step to one block. or not it is returning our soldiers political prisoners. for more than 5 years the ukrainian army has been fighting a russian backed separatists in the country's east the war has cost around 14000 lives and turned a key industrial region into a conflict zone efforts to stop the fighting have so far come to little when selinski was elected in april he promised to restart the peace process that culminated in a meeting this month with his french german and russian counterparts in which sunday's exchange was agrees. a state of mind an exchange between both sides in this conflict based on swapping everyone with them on. the deal is again raising hopes 1st swift resolution to the conflict but major hurdles between russia and ukraine still need to be overcome before peace is possible. correspondent david stern is at kiev airport for us where the french ukrainian prisoners are due to arrive soon david what more do you know at this time. on the tarmac

the leaders of ukraine and russia are meeting in paris today to talk about the conflict in eastern ukraine it's the 1st time the blood of a putin and the lobby of selenski have met and it's the 1st time in 3 years the talks focusing on ending the war there have been held the meeting will be brokered by french president met a while back called german chancellor angela merkel the conflict began in 2014 and has killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than a 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the dawn bus region from where our correspondent nick connelly sent us this report. close enough to see you know the side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists facing them so how does that whole night without a single i don't remember day like about maybe on the food a snow weight off the see saw you know it's a strange when this new financial you get old we used to the shooting hoops of some . the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death continues less than a 10

and ukraine's sovereignty. if you look at how the the flow is of really of gas transmissions these days in eastern europe most of the movement has been is now has been changed from east to west west to east so most of ukraine's gas supplies come from western europe and so we put more into the system or with this pipeline we are engaged in negotiations with russia and ukraine to make sure that these pipelines can be referred to in a way that the long term viable and can be used i think this is not a contradiction the other fact i think that we are really worried with regard to the motivation in the united states that it has the best taste that this is primarily u.s. interests to push through their own energy sales to you up and i think just that which is well i wouldn't. have had a judgment on that but it's a it seems to be part of a look which senators a particular pushing this bill like ted cruz and others it has the bad smell of being driven by economic self-interest which makes it less credible i think as a

president solicited a foreign nation ukraine to publicly announce investigations into his opponent and a baseless conspiracy theory promoted by russia to help his reelection campaign president trump abused the power of his office by conditioning to official acts to get ukraine to help israel action the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid that nation desperately needed and a white house meeting with an ally trying to fend off russian aggression. in so doing he undermined our national security and jeopardized the integrity of our next election and he does so still might have to shift speaking there are moments before let's take you now to washington to w.'s a correspondent all over south who has been closely following events there for you all over a very solemn day where you are let's start with the basics just 2 articles announced there by adam schiff why. well he says try to articles and let me 1st line i'll lay out a little bit well these articles are appalled you just heard adam schiff the chairman of the intelligence committee speak number one and that is the

runs through ukraine but underneath the baltic sea and even if the russian. president promises that you know gas will continue to run through ukraine we have to keep in mind russia annexed crimea a part of ukraine it has been stoking a breakaway conflict in the east of the country and that is a huge lie. you there on the board of the russian president and the so as i mentioned there's been a lot of controversy about this nord stream to gas pipeline but why is jimmy so keen that it be completed well 1st of all because germany and other european countries would be excluded from any dispute between russia and ukraine in the future that's not to say that it's easier to negotiate with russia or as it is but on top of that the pipeline doubles the amount of gas that is being delivered to your of through an already existing pipeline so for the german government this has long been a sollie economic issue but it is not we have to understand that eastern european countries have been opposing the north stream to pipeline for a long time along with ukraine fearing that t

the leaders of ukraine and russia are meeting in paris today to talk about the conflict in eastern ukraine it is the 1st time that vladimir putin and followed him are selenski have met and it's the 1st time in 3 years the talks focusing on ending the war there have been howled french president a man on a call and german chancellor angela merkel are brokering this meeting that the conflict started in 2014 and it's killed more than 13000 people it has displaced more than 1000000 the worst fighting has been in the donbass region our correspondent nick conley traveled there and sent us this report. close enough to see what the other side having for lunch that's how these ukrainian troops have spent the last few years just 300 meters from the russian backed separatists placing them on the whole night without a single shot i don't remember a day like about maybe on the 1st night of the see saw you know it's a strange when there's no financial you get all nervous we're used to the shooting let's assume. the conflict may have fallen out of the headlines but the shooting and the death continues les

the discussions have been long and intense but now russia ukraine and the european union have reached a tentative gas deal meaning russian gas can continue to flow through ukrainian territory into europe also coming up the world bank issues a warning on debt levels in developing countries saying it could it could trigger another crisis and tis the season for shopping looking at trends in e-commerce and you're. welcome to the program it's a deal in principle and one that will have many people feel relieved after hours of discussions russia ukraine and the european union have reached a tentative gas deal which will go into effect on january 1st the deal was brokered right here in berlin and here's what we know about it. these pipes up front and center of a geopolitical crisis natural gas is supposed to be sent from russia to germany to supply the e.u. with one of its major energy sources the north stream and nordstrom to pipelines. bypass ukraine and save on billions in transit fees that are currently a major source of income for the neighboring country. not to rely entirely on the nort