we heard john kerry touching on a number of things. he was clearly touched and moved by getting down on the square where the deaths happened and the shootings during the height of the protest. he did visit, and apparently boosting the morale of the government, he also brought a message aside from the money and democratic talk, he brought a message that the united states remains very much in support of ukrain. >> and phil it is roughly now 7:00 in kiev. i know it is late. but has there been any reaction from the people out there concerning this support, the fact that secretary of state has now visited kiev and thrown the u.s. support behind their new and fledgling government? >> reporter: well, del, there hasn't really been support to the press conference yet. of course that just -- just happened, but when he did come out on to the square today, there was a clear atmosphere of appreciation. the people here in the center of kiev are clearly touched by his arrival. but i want to touch on one other thing, del that we touched on briefly on

john kerry arrived here from kiev last night. now these would be importantly the first head to head high-level meetings between the united states and russia sips the late -- since the latest phase of the ukrainian crisis erupted. we can't underestimate the importance of that. there's the chance for europe and the united states, the west broadly, if you like, to coordinate their positions, how much stick, how much carrot they are offering the russians in meetings with lawrence fab use, chuck hagel and so -- and william hague. and there's only so much diplomacy. the headlines of the day that come out of the french capital inevitably will be about ukraine. >> you mentioned at the top there that the foreign ministers from - several foreign ministers meeting, sergei lavrov, and the u.s. secretary of state john kerry. there are other meetings as well on the sidelines of this. you talked about the lebanese officials as well. there'll be time for events in syria to be addressed also, presumably. >> yes, they'll certainly be addressed, an

secretary of state john kerry. he is expected to announce $1 billion in u.s. aid for the new government of ukraine. including technical assistance and economic advice. for the latest events coming out of ukraine and the rest of today's headlines you are follow us on twitter. >>> benjamin netenyahu giving the keynote address at a gathering this morning of aipac. benjamin netenyahu saying he will do whatever it takes to defend israel. >> did you ever hear about iran sending a humanitarian delegation overseas? no? you missed that memo? [ laughter ] >> you know why? you know why you haven't heard anything about that? because the only thing that iran sends abroad are rockets, terrorists and missiles to murder, maim and menace the innocent. [ applause ] >> on monday netenyahu met with president obama pushing back against white house pressure to cut a deal with the palestinians. president obama warning the time for peace is running out. and later today the president submits his $4 trillion budget to congress. the president saying he wants to cut taxes to workers who

secretary kerry saying this is not a zero sum game. not russia versus the united states trying to emphasize it is the ukrainian people and their future that is at stake here. nevertheless, clearly now, the pressure s is on the administration to respond. what are the options? sanctions, trying to isolate russia economically. point out to secretary kerry that the rul rubles is taking a beating in the actions from the last few hours, aid, visa bands, asset freezes, isolation trade and investment and perhaps the most high profile if not the most impact. in a practical sense, actually kicking russia out of the g8. for years it was known as the g7 after the cold war they brought russia in and talking about reversing it now and the going to this summer's g8 annual conference which, as it turn out is hosted by russia, in of all places sochi. >> but is isolating russia enough? if obama decides to collect the costs he threatened to friday, will the american people stand behind him 123-4679 the american people we stand behind him there is no ques

, any secretary that succeeds john kerry is going to be actively involved like kerry. >> what about his involvement has been different? >> he surprised everyone, he surprised the pun did pundits ae leaders in the middle east. the chances of making progress was so dim and slim, that shifting u.s. foreign policy to the far east and everyone has been muttering and mumbling that out of sleep, that he's not going to invest efforts, energy, time and u.s.-american capital, i'm sorry u.s. political capital in the middle east yet he did. and he did it in a very forceful very voa vocal way. his involvement is very interesting, in that it is -- he is trying to bridge gaps that have been, by both sides, admissions, almost unbridgeable. which is why i'm saying if he fails, i mean it's our failure in the end, it's not his. but if his mission fails i doubt that a future secretary is going to invest that much time and energy. >> and is ukraine a distraction? and does it really impact these talks? >> it impacts in terms of attention, of world attention, it impacts in terms of john kerry having to fly to

that's what john kerry emphasised. speaking from paris, john kerry called for a withdrawal of troops from the border. they have no intention of invading ukraine. ukrainians should be the ones to decide their own future. >> president obama and the united states believe firmly that diplomacy has a critical role to play in helping the people of ukraine achieve their goal in living in dignity and a stable, peaceful unified democracy. the united states and international community stands in support of ukraine's sovereignty and ukraine's territorial integrity. we'll continue to support the people of ukraine's right to choose their own future. it's not up to us to make any decision or any agreement regarding federalisation. we talked about it. it's up to ukrainians. >> any real progress in ukraine must include a pull-back of the very large russian force that is currently massing along the borders. tonight i raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about the forces. we blef the forces are -- believe the forces are cr

secretary of state, john kerry, here, and cameron and hague, and he went into the meetings with love rov to understand two things, are the russians prepared in any way at this point to step back from the brink in ukraine, and also to lay out what happens if they don't in terms of economic sanctions, travel bans, and freezing foreign accounts, and there are interesting reports now on the specificity, 120 to 130 individuals that are around president putin, close to the kremlin, maybe involved in some of the decision making on the crimea. and we understand two names have already served now. he's a very close adviser to president putin, and another name, alexei miller, chairman of gazprom, one of the biggest in the world. and that's the company that carries gas to europe across the pipelines in ukraine, so those two names on the possible list that we'll be hearing more about, if the russians don't back away from supporting this referendum in crimea on sunday. these meetings will be taking place and be probably breaking soon and then both leaders, serg day lavrov and secretary john kerry

secretary kerry will be meeting with sergey lavrov later this week. and secretary kerry will be talking about that with house members, and they have a lot of questions for him regarding sanctions and any sort of aid to ukraine. now the senate passed a bill last week -- rather the house, excuse me -- passed a bill that would give $1 billion in loan guarantees to ukraine, the senate things are really held up. for one because of an issue with the imf. conservative members of the senate are pushing for one angle, whereas other members have other interests. so there are two competing issues here. two different competing interests are trying to get riders on to this bill. house members, conservative ones, don't want to see the imf dealt with here. so they are saying, look, secretary kerry, go back to your buddies in the senate, get them to pass a clean bill before they recess. afghanistan is also an interesting issue, as secretary kerry talks about what will be happening over the next weeks and month. syria, and what the u.s. has planned in terms of aid and

john kerry meeting with sergei lavrov in london. lavrov saying putin won't make any decisions before sunday's vote in crimea. violence breaking out in eastern ukraine, one person is dead and 20 others injured. all of this ahead of the referendum in crimea. >>> and u.s. ships are heading to the indian ocean to search for the malaysian flight. a battle over animal rights could end at a new york city hall and a mainstay. the major vowing to make those horse-dra horse-drawn carriages history. >> officer! we just got married. >> reporter: it's a an iconic new york scene played out again and again. >> very corny. >> nope. >> reporter: manhattan's horse-drawn carriages attract tourists by the thousand each year. this man has driven his fair share of them. >> he is responsible for putting food on the table for my kids, and responsible for feeding the other horse i have as well. so we all earn our keep. >> reporter: there are 68 licensed carriages in new york city and more than 160 active drivers, but because they are individually owned driv

between kerry and lavrov. kerry was flying back to the u.s. after a meeting in the middle east but turned around after the phone call with lavr lavrov. it comes after the build up of tens of thousands of troops on ukraine's eastern border. it's worrying that russian troops could move into ukraine proper. sergei lavrov says putin has no intention of what would be considered invading. kerry said that there should be a new constitution for the country, one which creates a federal nation which gives more autonomy for the regions notably. those regions are dominated by russian speakers. washington for its part has according to officials in the u.s. come up with its own plan. he's saying there needs to be international monitors. they also want to see movements on direct talks between kiev, the inter erupt government there and between moscow. that's something that does not look like its happening for a long time now, particularly not since russian forces effectively annexed crimea peninsula. after a referendum, a ver

in addition to sergei lavrov and john kerry, we heard to the e.u.'s katherine ashton, will join sergei lavrov and john kerry in paris. >> there are still protests on the ground, i see, behind you there in kiev. are the people on the square listening or are they concerned about the diplomatic efforts in. >> they are concerned for a variety of reasons. there's a sense here that they may have been taken over by bigger issues, bigger geopolitical issues, and their lives may be in the hands of moscow and washington d.c. we heard when secretary of state john kerry was here yesterday, he went on to the street, he met with people, and they gave him the impression "don't forget, it's about us, we have to live with the consequences, and when you go to paris, take that message with you." >> they gave me a deep personal sense of how closely linked the people of ukraine are to not just americans, but people all across the world who today are asking for their right, for the privilege to live defining their own nation, defining their future. >> now, stephanie, they

mary agnes kerry is a reporter with kaiser health news. appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> efforts to find the missing malaysia airliner, that disappeared three weeks ago, a u.s. navy ship with a black box detector, the fastest way to find out what happened, despite repeated failures. australia's prime minister says the intensity of the search is increasing. >>> turkey, decisive victory, the country stands deeply divided. aal jazeera's omar alsala reports. >> people are getting on with their lives but are thinking about the polarized elections and their result. >> translator: the government thinks they've been acquitted from all the tape that came out but i don't believe that. >> the people have shown they don't beef in the smear campaign and have shown they stand by their government. >> prime minister recep tayip erdogan says the results prove his critics wrong. some analysts say erdogan has organize accused them of orchestrating smear campaigns against his government. >> now the government will go after gulanists within the framework

secretary of state john kerry will go to kiev on tuesday. the announcement comes as russian troops surrounded a ukrainian base. the ukrainian prime minister called it a declaration of war and is calling up army reservists. the head of ukraine's army has been fired for treesons. he swore allegiance to the russian backed leader of crimea. >> demonstrators clashed in st. petersburg over vladimir putin's request to use force. 40 were arrested. >> thailand's scaled-down protests continue. hundreds marched and camped in bangkok, vowing to topple yingluck shinawatra's government. >> egypt's president swore in a new government. with 20 ministers from the old government, including field marshal abdul fatah al-sisi who is expected to run for president. >> in a couple of hours fans and stars will arrive at the dowl by theatre for the biggest night. ellen degeneres is hosting, and the favourites are "american hustler," "gravity," and "12 years a slave." >> i'm jonathan betz, back in an hour with more news, "america tonight" weekend starts now. for updat

kerry's trip coming as russia shows no signs of backing off from crimea. they received a deadline to lay down arms or face a full-scale assault. russia de nice making that call. they say they were invited by president viktor yanukovych. nick schifrin is in the crimean peninsula with the latest. >> this is a ukrainian base on ukrainian land. those are not ukrainian soldiers or that's not a ukrainian flag. the welcoming committee doesn't pledge allegiance to ukraine. >>. translation: we are here to support the russian peacekeepers. they are the only means to stop the violence in ukraine. >> in this area the russian occupation is growing and the resistance seems non-existent. the russian soldiers occupied the base without firing a shot. visitors brought sandwiches and a teapot. soldiers relax and ate in crudely fortified positions. they brought 50 calibre machine-gun, and sniper weapons that could be used against helicopters. through the fence, as we watched them, they watched us. these troops don't seem to be going anywhere, any time soon. >> can i ask you a

john kerry said u.s. deems their actions illegal and forces along the border unacceptable. >> any new progress in ukraine must include a pull-back of the large russian force that is massing along ukraine's borders. tonight i raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about the forces. we kiev the forces are creating a climate of fear and intimidation in ukraine. >> john kerry says ukrainians have to decide on the road ahead but said the u.s. will create a climate for negotiations. >> in washington state more than 600 people joined a recovery effort. sunday church services honoured victims of the deadly mud slide. volunteers are focussed on finding items from the debris. drier weather will help crews. >> four objects have been found in a search for malaysia airlines flight mh370. the objects retrieved yesterday from the southern indian ocean surgeoned o-- turned out not to be connected from the plane. those are the headlines. "real money" starts now on al jazeera america. >> russia's problem is yo

for more news of that meeting in paris between kerry and lavrov. what more do we know about these talks? >> well, it came about after the conversation excellencely between vladimir putin and barack obama on friday. they agreed that their foreign ministers should meet and there should be more discussions. secretary kerry followed that up with a call. he landed in ireland to refuel. at that point he decided it was probably better that he headed to paris. one, because the middle east peace talks are in trouble, and he thought he could get there much more quickly. two, sergei lavrov was willing to clear his schedule and did to paris, and it's agreed that that meet willing take place on sunday. clearly the discussions between the presidents putin and obama created this window for the two of them to start diplomatic measures and try to de-escalate the tension in the area. >> as you mention the word deescalation, is there any mention of what sort of deal might look like? >> vladimir putin saying he wants to stop extremists running riots in ukraine. presid

secretary kerry said that the u.s. will have no choice but to impose economic sanctions on russia if it doesn't change its course in ukraine. russia is pushing back, and the prime minister said that the country had no choice but to retaliate if sanctions are put in place. >>> president putin is defending the actions in ukraine, calling it a humanitarian mission to protect compatriots who he says are living in terror. a kentucky governor will seek outside help on help to repeal same-sex marriage. he said that he will repeal using outside council. and doctors in hospitals are overprescribing antibiotics, that's according to the centers for disease control. 20,000 people die every year from prescription drug complications and misuse of antibiotics, and it breeds super bugs that are resistent to the medicine. those are the headlines, and "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. i'll see you here tomorrow, and you can get the latest news on aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight," face-off. ratcheting up the pressure as

he'ljohn kerry will meet with te new government today. phil ittner has been covering the crisis from kiev. vladimir putin had an awful lot to say today. >> he certainly did, del, this is the first public appearance since this entire crisis began, in an hour long press conference, he outlined his position. he took a swipe at western powers, saying that for them, this is some sort of laboratory experiment in democracy, but for russia a fraternal partner where they have centuries of experience. he also said that he had met to viktor yanukovych but accepted that yanukovych has no political future here, but saying that the people who are in power currently, this government, seized power by illegitimate means and if they really wanted to be in power should have done it through more constitutional methods. >> this is a constitutional revolt and military seizure of power. the only legal president is yanukovych. the only way president can be changed, his death, impeachment or legislation. >> now, he also said that while the russians do not want to

a lip dough mattic showdown in paris, secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart try to put the crisis in ukraine to rest. >> hundreds of volunteers and crew members leading the search in the washington mudslides. >> potential for stronger seismic activity on the west coast after earthquakes shake southern california. >> secretary of state john kerry is in paris where he'll soon meet with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov. this is the latest attempt to ease tensions over the annexation as of crimea. we have that story from paris. >> this meeting between john kerry and sergey lavrov due to happen at the residence of russia's ambassador to front after a direct phone call between kerry and lavrov saturday. john kerry was flying back from the middle east to the u.s., but turned around after speaking to sergey lavrov. it's well known that the u.s. has concerns about what it believes it the bit up of tens of thousands of russian troops on ukraine said eatern border. it's very worried that in fact russian troops could look to move into ukraine proper. sergey lavrov has been

we may have answers on tuesday when john kerry visits. timothy fry is with columbia university, and lincoln mitchell is the author of the book "the colour revolutions." let me ask you: are we facing another cold war here? >> i don't think we are facing a cold war. there's a number of complex issues. there's a rush to try to think of short-term solutions that will solve the problem. these are difficult issues that will take a long time to resolve. i don't think we are reaching the level of a cold war. >> what do we do moving forward here? >> a lot of options presented - these are probably necessary and almost certainly not sufficient. one of the truths here is we have fewer options than we would like. it became clear in 2008. it isn't lost on russia and vladimir putin. in 2008 the incursion - the precedent was then, and the west was powerless to stop it. >> let's talk about the russian georgian war. back then the george w. bush administration considered a military response. the u.s. sent humanitarian supplies. he upped his naval presence i

kerry is in paris this hour, trying to diffuse the situation in ukraine. his counterpart claiming there are no russian troops on the ground in the peninsula. >> translator: regarding the self-defense forces, we do not have any power over them. but the russian military forces in the black sea fleet are placed at the right spots, and some special alert measures have been adopted to control the black sea fleet because as our president said we are not going to allow any blood to be spilled. >>> phil ittner is live right now. phil how do you hold a dialogue when both sides didn't decide on whether what we're seeing in crimea constitutes troops? >> sergei lavrov may say that, but as far as the west is concerned, those are russian troops they are trying to form late a response, and it seems as though it is going to be in economic term. here is what the president had to say today. >> today the european commission has identified a package to support ukraine. this is our contribution to tomorrow's meetings of [ inaudible ] government. the package combined could brin

secretary of state john kerry traveling in europe. yesterday he met in paris with his russian counterpart. no progress there on the ukrainian situation. today they are in rome, lavrov and kerry 40 minutes meeting, no progress to announce. the state department releasing a statement saying kerry made clear of russians talking directly to ukrainians. secretary kerry also pressed the importance to lavrov of allowing international monitors i crimea. this is something president obama and secretary kerry have been talking about over and over again. if polonium is so -- vladimir putin is so concerned, then let in these monitors. and visas adding on to earlier sanction, also the president signing an executive order that will allow u.s. government to sanction russian and ukrainian officials responsible for the crisis. jack lew is the secretary of the treasury, he testified before congress today. >> as the president announced this morning, he signed an executive order to authorize sanctions on individuals and entities that threaten the peace, se

secretary kerry working the phones as well. but in terms of the response still very fluid here from washington. >> and mike what are the options that the u.s. has on the table as you're well aware, senator john mccain already criticizing anything at that time u.s. has or has not done. what options does the u.s. have when it comes to ukraine. >> this is a carryover what was said from yesterday as well. nobody is talking seriously about a military option. there are a number of problems with that, i think some of personnel relatively obvious. -- the relatively obviously. all across the political spectrum ear in washington -- here in washington, behind president obama whatever he chooses to do. they're talking about freezing assets, economic sanctions, banning visas. a lot of it is hoped fay will have an impact not only as a practical matter on the russian economy but on the soft power we have been talking about. its reputation worldwide that it has worked hard to cultivate over the past several years. >> mike viqueria, thank you v

there is a possible meeting with secretary kerry this week. the call between kerry and lavrov came after president putin called president obama on fifriday night. the two men laid out their position. president putin talking about rampant extremism both here in kiev and the region and how that should not be allowed to go forward. that is concerning to the interim government here. those are going to be seen as threatening words to the interim government here. the pressure on the presidential elections may 25th especially with massive russian troops along the border. they are hopeful for a diplomatic resolution, but with crimea going on, secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov met several times and that made no difference there. president putin expressed concern of a de facto blockade on ukraine's southwestern border. there are already russian troops there, a breakaway enclave of moldova. so that is another point of possible tension there. really, really unclear what these diplomatic efforts mean and what solutions they may have going forward

secretary of state john kerry and russian counterpart sergei lavrov have been meeting. dana lewis is in london, and dana the meeting just breaking up, but it appears if you could sum it up in two words it would be dug in. >> it couldn't be a success that's for sure. the john kerry spent five hours talking to sergei lavrov and said there was a red line. the russians must not agree with the vote that is going to take place this weekend for that territory to join russia. otherwise russia will face economic sanctions, travel freezes, and it appears that that is where we are headed after all of these meetings. serg sergei lavrov held a press conference and he said we had constructive talks, but we do not have a common vision of the problem. let's listen. >> translator: as to the practical matter that should be taken -- or could be taken by foreign partners of ukraine, we do not have common vision of the situation. the differences are there, but the dialogue was definitely constructive. >> and here -- here is where they do not have a common vision point by point. he said that

earlier today as it happens kerry was on capitol hill. he was testifying, and he talked about his meeting up coming in two days with lavrov. >> president obama has asked me to leave tomorrow evening and fly to london to meet with russia's foreign minister lavrov on friday, and i will do that. we've had previous conversation, as you know, we spoke earlier this week. the president has talked several times with president putin. i will make clear again as i have throughout this crisis that while we respect obviously that russia has deep historical, cultural, and other kinds of interests with respect to ukraine and particularly crimea, nothing justifies a military inteintervention that the worlds witnessed. >> secretary kerry, president obama, not so subtle warnings and reminders that it may not stop in crimea, a great deal of concern that this russian action could spread to eastern ukraine dominated by russian speakers. >> mike viqueira for us at the white house. thank you very much. >>> malaysia flight 370 still missing and authorities say t

says it believes and john kerry the u.s. secretary of state beliefs had damascus wanted it could have accelerated the process and met the deadline but thinks it's deliberate and say it's due to circumstances. they acknowledge the risk and acknowledge it's a very hard mission and the challenges on the ground are, enormous and getting opposition and there has been acceleration in the efforts to try to deliver as much as toxic weapons outside and to the u.n. group and to destroy whatever is left in the country, much more than what we have seen before. >> stephanie: reporting from beirut and thank you. presidential elections in egypt are set for the end of may and it will happen on may 26 and 27 and that is 10 months after president mohamed morsi was removed from power and days ago abdel-fattah el-sissi resigned from the army and said he will run for president. a university student was killed on sunday after violence broke out between protesters and police in cairo and supporting students arrested or suspended for backing former

john kerry said he know it is going to go ahead. we regret that, we consider its results illegal, but it depends on what president putin does with the vote. if he takes the yes vote and rubber stamps it into moscow, john kerry said they would consider that a back door annexation. >> simon thank you. speaking to us from london. >>> and as simon was saying, russia faces sanctions if the referendum does go ahead. already the united states has issued travel bans and frozen the assets of people and companies deemed to have acted to undermine ukrainian democracy. the european union is expected to do the same on monday, especially now that angela merkel has taken a tougher stance. >> translator: if russia continues on its actions of the past week, we would see it as a threat and it would not only change the eu's relationship with russia and cause massive damage to russia economically and politically. >>> traditionally russia has an ally in china. it's china as policy to oppose foreign interference in a country's affairs. china appears unea

that was the plan, the implication that john kerry said they don't simply have their sites on krimia. and commended them for not accepting the provocations as we just saw. and not enganging with russian forces and military action. here is more of what john kerry had to say. >> we condemn the act of aggression, and we have throughout this moment evidence of a great transformation taking place, and in that transformation, we will stand with the people of ukraine. >> now, for his part, vladimir putin said that russian troops he denied. the troops were even in the krimea. that's hard to believe. he spoke for the first time since the outset of this crisis. >> who is arguing with that. >> now negotiations continue with european allies and the united states over a series of sanctions no word on that. but president obama and john kerry both talking about a $1 billion aid package, administers that they say is forth coming to try to get ukraine back on it's feet economically. >> and then, mike, as though he didn't have enough to consider here, russia conduct admissionle test earlier today. >> y

deafening and write me rush out simultaneously during the fifteen minute news conference mr kerry use words like of grass or provocation and intimidation to describe but lost out when talking about ukraine's internal leaders he had nothing but praise by using words like high aspirations hope and democracy week and then the russian federation's act of aggression. the russian god. out of excuses. friday instead of udon. false oaths intimidation. and provocations. us officials i also did i announced that the us will involve one billion dollars in duty to ukraine. i am helping hide the country gets back to get back on its feet in the meantime that the interim government. i said recently that it will need thirty five billion dollars over the next two years to avoid the fact that some of that secretary carries harsh words against russia has an absurdly raised eyebrows and be so buy a cd by causing many to call them and i a hypocrite because specifically on sunday as secretary terry ryan said that i was lecturing russia saying you can just unbeaten other country on completely trumped up reas

told syria most of the chicken reports what we have hard at it you laugh as secretary of state john kerry basically saying that like you mentioned a series of very serious that would follow if the referendum and cranial were to go ahead. this sunday there will be a response of some gun into the referendum itself. and in addition if there is no sign of any capacity to feel them move forward and resolve this issue. there will be a very serious serious areas of steps on monday in europe and here. with respect to the options that are available to us. he has also said that contingencies have been put in place. i'm just in case russia decides to proceed further into ukraine i very odd controversial statement there because obviously russia's position i had has never been to do something like that and he also curiously i john kerry didn't see that sam tension between moscow and washington that are ongoing over ukraine could meet idea of cooperation on. the crises like syria more complicated a cometely different race if that's not the west and russia seem to have been kind of walking hand in hand

kerry promised the u.s. would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees, help ukraine get its finances in order, and bring sanctions against russia in the coming days. kerry also had a message for president putin-- back off. >> it is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun, dictate what you are trying to achieve. >> pelley: margaret, it wouldn't seem the administration has a lot of options. what is it going to try next? >> reporter: well, the hope is that russia and ukraine will negotiate directly. the ukrainian foreign minister, who was a protester himself three months ago, flew to paris tonight, on secretary kerry's plane, and he told us that he expects to meet russian foreign minister sergey lavrov tomorrow. now, lavrov is scheduled to meet with kerry, but he has not yet signed on to meet with his ukrainian counter-part. >> pelley: margaret brennan in paris for us tonight. margaret, thank you very much. you heard margaret mention the u.s. is working on unspecified economic sanc

this is why kerry has made this phone call. they see this whole dispute being set around the table as a further sanctions but they know it will impact the wider global economy. so they're reluctant to do that. it's really trying about to push forward and get some diplomatic solution that everyone can live with. no one will get exactly what they want. barack obama believes that diplomacy is the way ahead. he has ruled out military action in ukraine and would not want to escalate tension there any further. >> we thank you both. staying with this story, political intrigue outside of the country and inside it, too, where opposition leader has decided not to contest the presidential election in may. >> some pool are saying he's running second string to another candidate, but he also had a lot of momentum and popularity during the up rising. >> he did and he was a frontrunner for the presidency. shedding more light on the decision in the last hour or so saying what is needed is unity, and what they're trying to avoid is a run-off on

secretary of state john kerry gets ready to meet his russian counterpart. >>> it's election day. turkey holds it's first volt since anti- government protests last year. >>> the number of victims in that devastating washington mudslide has now grown to 18. the number of missing has dropped substantially from 90 down to 30. al jazeera tanya moseley joins us outside of derington, washington. tonya, why has the number dropped so significantly? >> well, you can imagine this time last week, after the mud slide, it was extremely chaotic in this area. authorities were asking for folks to call in the names of people they believed were missing. fr from that mudslide. a week later, they have been able to con sol date and cross-reference. there were duplicate names and people who weren't missing in the mudslide. searchers are heading out again in the search for victims. a week after the mudslide, heavy rain soaks the crushed trees, mud and debris. >> that's all that's left of the lives lived here. earlier at 10:37 a.m., a moment of silence. the moment one week ago when oso, washingto

. >> >> seeking a diplomatic solution - secretary of state john kerry is set to meet with his russian counterpart as crimeans prepare to vote on a highly debated referendum. expanding the search. crews looking at the indian ocean as they work to find out the mystery surrounding the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight 370. >> tougher gun laws in the wake of the sandy hook shooting. one wants to hit assault rifle makers in their wallets. >> why some residents say a cult is moving into their town, and family members say their loved ones were prey. >> hi there. good to have with you us on al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. >> the u.s. tonight is hoping for a diplomatic solution with russia over crimea. on thursday secretary of state john kerry warned of consequences if a resolution is not brokered before sunday's ses session vote. >> if there's no sign of a capacity to move forward and solve the issue, there'll be a series of steps op fond and year with respect to the options available to us. >> kerry is expected to meet with russia's foreign minister in london on friday. >> we

of state john kerry, walking down a street, honouring those killed by snipers. john kerry said russia's concerns about protecting ethnic russians carries a hidden agenda. >> i think russia is working hard to create a pretext to invade further. >> the implication that vladimir putin has designs on crimea and the east and south, areas with strong cultural ties to russia. john kerry spoke out about russia's move against crimea. >> we condemn the russian's federation act of aggression. we have, throughout the moment, evidence of a great transformation taking place, and in that transformation we will stand with the people of ukraine. >> there was one dramatic moment between ukrainian troops and russian soldiers. a tense standoff. it was on camera. randall pinkston is here with more on that. >> ukraine's military evicted by russian forces this past weekend said they wanted to do their duty, to return to belbek, to protect the air force. their risky, maybe foolhardy gambit triggered gunfire, the first time in the showdown with russia. [ singing ] >> led by their comman

and you heard secretary kerry talk about the economic action is being contemplated. i have to tell you that the question was put before kerry many times this morning, about what i military option that does not seem to be in the cards right now. but among some of the other actions that are being contemplated by the united states and its allies, visa bans, asset freezes isolate on trades and i canning russia out of the g8 and of course there are already talk of a boycott the summer meetings of the g8 were set to take place in sochi russia, that will not be happening apparently. >> mike viqueira joining us live thanks for being with us this afternoon. >>> let's take a quick look at the balance of forces between russia and ukraine, the russian army has 285,000 soldiers, that's more than four times as many as ukraine has which only has 64,000 soldiers. russia also has twice as many tanks, 2,550 to be exact and that's compared to 1,110 for ukraine. russia's air force has 1,389 combat capable aircraft and compared to ukraine's 221. that gives russia five times as many. and

secretary of state john kerry altering definitely plans to speak with russian foreign minister. jennifer, for weeks russia has been building, putting boots on the ground near the ukrainian border, but foreign minister lavrov said that russia does not have plans to invade. has he offered explanation for why the troops are there in the first place? >> reporter: initially they said they were on exercises. but the united states intelligence said there it doesn't look like there are any exercises going on. it doesn't look like a normal spring exercises. there ropes digging in, and there are tens of thousands of them, and that's a big concern for the interim government here in kiev who doesn't know what intentions of russia are. crimea, a big blow to ukraine, and certainly lavrov claiming that russia said that it would not cross ukraine's border but saying in the same interview that russia will protect the interests of the ethnic russians who live in ukraine's east. no real idea of what he means by that. there has been a lot of pressure put on the government here. we've seen a number

kerry met with brittish prime minister before talks with sergei fedorov. >> reporter: kerry is in the meetings on downing street this morning and also soon to arrive here at the u.s. ambassador's residence in london to meet his russian counterpart, sergei fedorov and really to do dwo things, one is to get a measure are the russians willing to step back from ukraine, is there any indication that president putin is about to blink and also to deliver the message very clearly to sergei fedorov and to the kremlin that if russia does not respect the territory of ukraine they will face very serious sanctions and we will probably hear some proposals over the table between kerry and sergei fedorov where americans are trying to get the russians to understand they are willing to take into account some concerns expressed by president putin. one of those proposals is reported in some european press this morning is that perhaps there could be some protection force or ethnic russians in crimea who are worried about what is happening eternally in ukraine but again he will warn sergei fedorov today th

secretary of state john kerry has arrived in the ukraine capitol. he laid a flower loo-- floral wreath. we will be live from washington, d.c. in just a moment. but first tim, kerry has arrived in kiev and paid tribute to those who died in kiev. no doubt this is to show washington's support of a new government in kiev? all right. we seem to be having some technical problems right there now. we will try to get back to tim in moscow, and try to get the latest from john kerry's visit to kiev. let's go to washington, d.c. kerry comes bearing a gift of a $1 billion loan. any strings attached ? >> there are also strings attached. but this is a billion dollars loan guarantee contingent on congressional approval. there is a certain amount of support for such a measure in congress. but the president needs to pass that through congress. it is meant to cushion the fuel subsidies in ukraine. as far as their strings are attached to any money given to ukraine. they will ask for the end of the social safety net for those who are the poorest. and u.s. officials also

and john kerry is here as well. there'll be meetings with sergei lavrov, flying in from madrid, an attempt to bridge the vast perception with the russians, and also the west needs to be speaking from the same sheet, if you like, and that will be the focus of the diplomacy in paris. >> this meeting was ostensibly called to deal with the issue of syria, an issue where russia was at loggerheads with the u.s. and the west. that's pretty much been overshadowed by ukraine, hasn't it? >> it has been, yes. i'm outside the alizi palace and in the next hour or so the meeting will go ahead. specifically it's to do with helping the lebanese government cope with the spill-over effects of the crisis. president suleman is here and there's talk about the financial assistance for the 1 million refugees and lebanon and the saudis are talking about a $3 billion offer to assist and equip the lebanese government. mainly it should be said with french weaponry. all that will go ahead. there's only so much diplomacy that can happen on one

secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart scheduled to talk tomorrow. it's been five days since russian-backed forces seized crimea. russia and ukraine is not talking but secretary of state john kerry is optimistic. european u.n. officials consider sanctions in moscow. the situation is more chaotic by the day. a united nations envoy visiting crimea was held against his will and forced to leave the country. we begin our coverage. on the ground in crimea, nick schifrin is in the regional capital and he joins us live. >> good evening. in this city law and order is not being handled by the police, but by pro-russian activists and militia members, and they are acting with impunity. >> reporter: for nearly an hour inside the cafe they barricaded u.n. envoy robert serry. [ chants ] >> demonstrators who support the invasion came to support robert serry's detention and stop us filming. whether at the cafe or the airport, they cal all access. robert serry was driven against his will and walked to a flight. the same activist blocked the door and ran robert serry o

there's no word from john kerry how or when that might happen. >> thank you. the kremlin says it would like to see more power and independence for russian speaking areas. it is sparking concern that russia is weakening the government. the former ambassador to n.a.t.o. is not optimistic the west will be able to reach a deal with russia. >> i got the impression that no progress was made. in fact, we are speaking different languages, russia is speaking a language of force and making demands of its rights over its neighbour. united states seems to be speaking diplomacy and deescall ration, which if russia was interested would be helpful. at the moment russia is demanding and is willing to use force. >> one of the the objectives is to stretch out a time line, so it can consolidate gains made in crimea, and it can de-escalate the move towards higher levels of sanctions and push backs. vladimir putin has taken an extraordinary step of annexing cart of the territory of the country. it's hard to escalate to those levels, and once deescalated, it's hard to go back to th

on tuesday secretary of state john kerry visited independence square and pledged a billion loan to the interim government. john kerry condemned russia intervention saying: >> in a fundraiser tuesday night president obama said: >> mike viqueira has the latest from washington. >> for a second straight bay mmr mr -- day mr obama interrupted a scheduled event. amid on outcry mr obama held out that putin was having second thoughts. >> there have been some thoughts that vladimir putin is pausing for a moment and reflecting on what's happened. >> hours after he spoke a not so subtle reminder of russian force. a test launch by icm. speaking in public for the first time since the crisis began, putin called the outruling of viktor yanukovych a coup. he denied russian troops were in crimea. >> look at the post-soviet territory, there's a lot of uniforms similar to the yup forms. go to a shop, and you can by any uniform there. >> visiting the ukraine, a show of solidarity. walking down a kiev street, honouring those killed by government snipers. john kerry said russia's concerns carry a hidden age

john kerry is in paris trying to diffuse the crisis in ukraine. earlier today, his counterpart climbing there are no russian forces on the ground. >> the people do not listen to our orders, but the russian military forces in the black sea fleet are placed at the right spots a and some special alert measures have been adopted to control the black sea feet, because as our president said we are not going to allow any blood to be spilled. >> phil ittner joins us live now from paris. >> del, sergey lavrov may say there are no troops, but as far as the west is concerned those are russian troops. it appears as though the tactic is going to be economic. here is what the european commission president had to say today. >> today the european commission has identified a package to support ukraine. this is our contribution to tomorrow meetings of the sitting government. the package combined could bring an overall support of at least 11 billion euros over the next couple of years, from european budget and european union international financial institutions. it

senator kerry addressed apac and president obama is not speaking at the summit. he was here a couple of years ago. we are hearing from secretary kerry, expect him to address the question of iran and he'll use a phrase he's used before, that the u.s. is not trusting iran but testing iran. >> thank you, libby. >> russia is one of the biggest energy supplies in the world and the conflict in ukraine is throwing a monkey where you k w know -- wrench in the markets. >> ukraine in crisis from violent clashes, to an uneasy calm... >> ...really reminisent of cold war brinksmanship >> as international tensions rise, stay with al jazeera america for complete global coverage. don't miss a special america tonight, what's next for ukraine, and what it all means for u.s. - russia relations - >> we are now deeply concerned >> stay with al jazeera america for continuing coverage america tonight's exclusive on depth look at the ukraine crisis >> welcome back to al jazeera america. russia is calling for a national unity deal as it is tightening the grip on crimea. the new governmen

secretary of state john kerry will soon be on his way to the region. we're covering developments from washington to crimea, which is where nbc's bill neely starts us off tonight. bill? >> reporter: yes, russia's takeover of crimea, lester, is almost complete. they've done it without tanks, without firing a single shot. ukraine's navy is either under russian guard or gone. its army now surrounded by moscow's men. russian soldiers on the march in ukraine. this unit is taking up positions outside a ukrainian army base. the objective? to take it from troops who were once their comrades in the soviet army. but times and loyalties have changed. the russians have come prepared for a fight. behind the gate, the ukrainian troops are dressed for combat but look bewildered. and no wonder. their country has been invaded, their homeland, crimea, taken over. two armys in a tense standoff. it's been decades since we've seen as clear a russian takeover in eastern europe as this one. and so far there is no sign whatsoever that the ukrainian soldiers behind that gate ar

we'll watch secretary of state john kerry speak later today. president obama will not be here, but secretary kerry has been the administration point person on middle east peace negotiations, so expect to hear him hit some refrains on that note and we'll watch to see what comes out of the meeting between prime minister netanyahu and president obama. president obama talked to bloomberg yesterday and gave a sense of the importance he's placing on the middle east peace process. it's a big focus. >> thank you very much. >> in new york city, jury selection began today in the trial of osama bin laden's son-in-law, charged with conspiring to kill americans in the september 11 attacks. he is the highest profile member of al-qaeda to be prosecuted in civilian court. >> the trial is underway here at the federal courthouse in lower manhattan, the 48-year-old kuwaity is charged with conspiracy to kill americans and supporting terrorist organizations, known for being osama bin laden's son-in-law. he's also remembered for taking part in videos in the immediat

. >> secretary of state john kerry has a speech on foreign affairs an then gets on a plane and heads for ukraine. he may meet with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov. >> michael, forgive me for the bluntness of this question. when we spend so much time on the international story. why does the u.s. impair the ongoing crisis in ukraine and particularly in crimea? >> that is threshold question, no question about it. that is the first question when the president ultimately faces the press on this that he will get from the press corps. a destabilized ukraine means a destabilized europe and all kinds of problems for the united states. the president also says today, when congress does return, they're out today on a snow day, he wants them to take up sanctions in coordination with the european union, against russia in retaliation for this. harry reid, the democratic leader says we can't wait, we have to go it alone. only 2% of the trade is done with russia. this affects europeans much more than it does the united states, in a much more direct fangs. any unilateral sanctions from united st

kerry is offering to suspend those sanctions if russia stops troop advances in crimea, returns russian troops to bases, and allows in international observers. ukraine's new government says it is willing to give crimea more aton my -- autonomy. that could help the united states and russias remain friendly rivals and not return to being cold war era enemies. >>> the death toll from that epic building collapse in east harlem is now up to eight. a ghast leak is blamed for the blast that leveled two buildings. con edison says the gas main that leads to the destroyed buildings is made of cast iron more than 125 years old but it passed a routine inspection just two weeks ago and it also was not on the list of pipes that needed to be replaced. >>> it's time to find out, topper, about our glorious weather today. >> i think it's a nice finish to the week. we earned this after yesterday's temps in the 30s. we're getting pollen readings. lard to believe because the trees haven't budded much. moderate range for pollen and the mold stores are in the low range. we'll come back and talk about how cold