[speaking russian] >> translator: therefore, my appeal is to the russian society and not to the russian government. [speaking russian] [speaking russian] >> translator: i appeal to the russian society as well as the international community because they are going to be silencing his activities and one day day we will wake up. [speaking russian] >> translator: being a patriot of russia i have no desire to see that you see this issue continue. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for that terrifying and illuminating presentation in your report. i also wanted to thank our guest and partner here. [inaudible] your report it is not just international law. and that vladimir putin himself is stuck in a catch-22. >> >>. >> given russian tradition either in eliminates the candidate or suggest the same governor. >> [speaking russian] translator: he is demanding a meeting for putin but so far he has failed. >> [speaking russian] translator: this creates a - - creates a great deal of diversity and a more hysterical manner. >> [speaking russian] translator: the attacks against journalists and hu

on november 24th, turkey shot down a russian fighter jet after incursions by russian planes. a pilot was killed. the first combat death of russia's operation, and the first time an n.a.t.o. country shot down a russian plane since the cold war. >> amida war of words with turkey russian air strikes conditioned. in raqqa, activists say bombing led to deaths. in the last six months human rights groups say more than 1700 groups have been killed, something moscow denies. and now, almost as quickly as it began, the kremlin says it's ready to withdraw the main part of the force in syria. vladimir putin reversed the fortunes saying he achieved the objective. many questioned whether russia's intervention created the basis for lasting peace. >>> of course, one of the impacts of the war in syria is a huge refugee crisis in the middle east and europe. refugees desperate to across the boarder from greece to macedonia have been evading authorities and wading through a river. they've been trying to escape continues from a border camp where illness is taking its toll on some of the younger me

and big russian media -- biggest russian media, it's a good media. their audience is something like 20 million people. big audience. if you want something to change, you actually don't need a majority. you don't need an extremely big mass of people who want to change something. and then -- i'm sorry. and, yeah, the blocking -- and i want to just to tell -- to talk about the blocking party. we can be blocked any time. and don't need a decision to block us, actually. but we have many plan b's for it. we have some precedent. it was actually month before. and the authority blocked the main tracker in russia. it was huge. tens of millions of people visited day by day. they get parent content from there actually. and the audience after national blocking drops for 10%. so, it's a good precedent for us. cause the people now knows how to unblock a blocked site. and this is why we don't have a chinese wall. chinese wall, it's serious. russian blocking, it's not -- it's much more easier mechanism. we think they're trying to build a chinese wall right now. and w

. >>> and the joint russian and eu effort to find life on the red planet. is hello, thanhello thank you f. >>> russian ha announcement that will withdraw its main military force from syria. >>> u.n. envoy staffan de mistura said all parties were facing a quote moment of truth. he said he would also like to see facia national elections wi8 months. the foreign minister says the post of syrian president is not up for discussion. main representative will be there but will only accept a transitional governing body and doesn't want bashar al-assad to be part of that. russia wants ethnic kurds to be included in the talks but not invited. i.s.i.l. and el nusra front have also been secluded. staffan de mistura said only one way forward. our deployment editor, has been following things in geneva, james bays is joining us. russia has announced they are starting to withdraw their military force from syria. do we have a clear idea exactly what they mean? >> reporter: well, i think it is this the statement. i think the question is: what it actually means in terms of thei

help to russians. they commented to me in a talk where he learned for the first time that americans had paid the salaries of nuclear science in the early 90s. he had never heard that before. and he is a journalist. the economic catastrophe of the early 90s we may or may not have made a contribution, and that he was going to have been anyways with the collapse of the soviet system the matter what we did. i would say to your russian journalist such as yourself talk more about that rather than accept the line that all the help i got in the 90s was useless and so on and so worth. the free-market system, if that's what you want to call it, russia today when even existed there with him for technical experts from the u.s., from europe. >> it decides many logic actually between the television set in the refrigerator. and the relative freedom of internet in russia because we know russia must number of internet users in the european country. the tv set with mainstream media when actually. how do you explain that

a russian human rights defender. since 2007 he served as a lawyer for the committee against a russian nonprofit and provides legal assistance and expert in international law. since 2010 mr. rshs y-- ryzhov has been a member of the public oversight commission. published more than 2,000 works on various legal topics. to the left of anton is natella boltyanskaya. she's the producer a documentary series. a civil activist, poet, song writer passionate about civil rights. for contributions to they(bñ hu rights field in 2014. she's a host of moscow radio and columnist for the newspaper. she's also currently working on a project at international support for movement in historical perspective and contemporary context. and to her left we have stanisl stanislav kucher. editor in chief of multimedia projects around the world. editor in chief. 2002 he produced the documentary "russian rank" which received a number of awards and was shown in kiev. it was not shown on russian tv. a host of "the 25th hour." which was suspended even

and the russians are leaving. >> makes pretty clear what the russian priorities were. but to the extent that, you know, that putin is calling the shots, i think he has quite a lot to boast about right now. >> mr. putin calling the shots. dmreftcally does this make him look stronger, tougher, a better world leader? >> well, i think that a lot of russians, certainly a lot of people i know, will breathe a sigh of relief because, well, you know, people are proud of their country. they are certainly happy that it's been winning wars, i mean since georgia and the annexation of crime crimea, that's pretty impressive to say what it was in the 1990s and russians being russians are proud of that. they were worried the past six months even though russia is making its mark on the world stage again. i think that echoes of the soviet intervention in afghanistan were always present. the worrypom might be right they are sliding into a quagmire. >> puts an end to that. russians can say mission accomplished. we won, and we are out. i think this will be very popular domestically. >> spec

he's a russian activist who joins us here today from moscow. he's the deputy chairman of the freedom party. he's continued his work exposing mr. putin's intentions in ukraine and now with his new report, putin's close relationship with the chechen leader ramzan kadyrov. this is not the first time we've ilya at the atlantic council. last year he was here to present his report which was started but unfinished by nemtsov on russia's war in ukraine, titled "putin war." this report we present alongside our own report, hiding in plain sight, putin's war in ukraine, exposes the hidden death of the russian soldiers killed in eastern ukraine. and the report that ilya is presenting here today was released in moscow just last month to mark the one-year anniversary of boris nemtsov's murder. in the years leading up to this event, ilya and other opponents of cad officer received threats from despite these threats and even a bomb threat, ilya continued on with the presentation. facing increasing pressure many opposition leaders, journalists, activists have b

that russianm is audience watching the russian tv, they have tv shows in russian and russian tv shows about love, something, and what happens in their life and the tv shows are made in russia and shows onnteresting russians and played by russians, so they are watching television shows about themselves. the second reason why they watch the tv is the news. you can just make the news but you have to make everything, and you can make it from the u.s., europe, except russia. actually, you can make it from ukraine because the tv shows are ukrainian but now we have some problems but still. the third problem is, ok, for example, you get this money from somewhere and you get these people which will make this television for the national news in russia, and you have russian heroes on these tv channels and you don't know what they get because they are in russia, too, so you make this great tv channel, expensive, fantastic, great picture like channel one or channel two, so here is the question, how do you reach the audience? in can reach the audience ia and i thinktv it is really good because thes

on the russian side or then eisraeli side, we have russian speakers. you know, we have officers who speak russian. nevertheless, we have at least one incident in which russian aircraft accidently crossed the , we toldas intercepted russian headquarters it was done nd immediately this aircraft crossed back the border from israel to syria. we are not happy from the fact weapon systems delivered to our hostile enemies like hezbollah, hamas. the problem is the weapon these are delivered to kind of end users. of course when it happens, we provide our evidence like in the made lebanon war russian weapons were used against us and asked about it. russian react -- reaction was, we didn't sell -- we sold it to siria. so it's your responsibility to inspect it. there are the case when russian made weapon assistance used by hamas, we prvide hard evidence for it. so we have a way to clarify with russian and hope that this would be settled. the fact that russian made weapons were sold to certain countries in region and then used by these organizations, we are not hap

there is been some public analysis that the russian airpower there, the russians pretty much drove those forces as far as they could stretch them. they actually need to be rehabilitated, that date may be in part the reason those aircraft are being withdrawn, is there any sense of that from your vantage point there? >> no, there is not there's a few things, the regime can still -- they still have enough power to take some more grounds if the russians choose to support it. but they are beginning to thin out a little bit. it's a balance our general assessment is that the regime could continue to push if they received russian air support. so the answer is, at this point here at this level in iraq and syria, it's difficult difficult to know what the russian is at this point there's a long list of possibilities, rather than get into each and everyone to have them, we will we will continue to focus on fighting isil and watching what the russians do so that we can decide how to proceed kernel, do you have any update on the detainee and kurdish control right now with the kurds have said may be an

zana hoda has more on the russian withdrawal. >> reporter: russian troops are arriving home, a day after a surprise announcement by president vladimir putin. the russian leader said the main part of its forces would be pulled out nchltd -- no details have been given on how many planes will be pulled out. >> translator: i believe that the goals set out from the ministry of defense and armed forces has overall been fulfilled, and that's why i ordered the pullout of the main part of our grouping. >> reporter: the move has been welcomed by the syrian opposition as well as by the white house. they belief it will put pressure on the damascus government to be more flexible. the timing of the announcement was significant, it coincided with resumed u.n.-lead talks in geneva. the message, it's your turn. >> our diplomacy has received marching efforts to achieve political settlement in syria. we believe we have helped undercut their infrastructure and destroy much of their infrastructure. the fight against terrorists is going to continue. >> reporter: russian air strike have allowed the syrian gove

their reaction to the russian announcement, but clearly what we are seeing is that russian america are now cooperating trying to find a solution in each side are trying to pressure their allies, their regional allies, as well as their allies in syria to reach a deal because for the international community their main kerp is stability, to end the migrant crisis and to defeat i.s.i.l. >>> thank you very much. refugees have died weighing across-- wading across a river. they had abandoned a camp where thousands were stranded after the border was closed. >> reporter: disoperate to continue with their journey onwards. hundreds of refugees make a dramatic crossing here. young men formed a human chain helping the women, children and elderly cross the fast-moving river. hundreds were successful with many of them holding children and their belongings over their head. >> translation: we have no option but to go on. we have children and we don't have the most basic of services, no toilets, nothing. >> reporter: police have confirmed they're holding about 400 refugees who breached their border with

the russian, both the russian people, on the one hand the so-called ordering people, and the russian elites will really soon have to think again about their place in life in the face of russia. but it's the elites who eventually will just have to gather and think of magna carta or something with it. because history no such examples that at least have gathered in the past to change the rules, by which even, even if it's thanks to those rules that they have become -- all their fortune and power into one. for the sake of their own survival they will just have to think of major change. this major change will have to happen. >> i would like to make a brief comment about the question of why you guys need to interfere in our affairs, and russia's affairs. well, maybe it's a very optimistic and idealistic your maybe i'm an idealist, but i presume that there should be a balance, i mean, it's after world war ii, the united nations, so yes, i don't suppose it's a fifth column. i mean come ngos who are funded by foreign countries because it should be a balance. who stops russia to open ngos, com

normally, russian diplomacy, russian military maneuvers are done under some sort of veil. this is a bold open statement that pretty much says we're done here. he says in the statements here, and these are early stages, they believe that it is done. obviously, isis still have a strong presence there. obviously al qaeda affiliate al nusra still have a presence in syria. but perhaps damascus and moscow's perception of who they see the international terrorists, those moderates fighting against the regime, well, they've taken a severe pounding in the past few months or so. some may look at this as the kremlin having established their military goals they sought, pushing back from key coastal strong holds and around aleppo, those anti-regime forces they sought to attack. that might be one reason. or the other reason could be some sort of domestic fatigue. perhaps putin's economic status and financial budget isn't doing as well as they'd like to think. another alternative, too, potentially, that given the fact the political process is beginning in the days ahead in geneva to take

they've not been the hardest hit by the russian bombardment. it's mainly been various islamist groups and a lot of civilian infrastructure that has born the lion's share of the russian bombardment. an important point, which is this is a question of semantics. what exactly does president putin mean when he says pulling back ground forces, some troops? does this mean an end to the

it is a title need for russian. if you look at, for example, vladimir putin, it doesn't mean anything without ukraine. when he went to syria, he was actually trying to achieve so many objectives. one of them is to establish himself as a strong war figure, but on the other hand he was planning to use the whole syrian issue. when he was bombing in syria, he was trying to drive syrian refugees as possible outside of syria into turkey and europe. he was putting pressure on europe, using the refugee crisis on one hand and his eye was never taken off ukraine. he was using the refugee crisis to get something from the european on ukraine. ukraine is the most important issue, i still think, for mr putin to get whatever he wants in ukraine >>> thanks. >> thank you >>> more than 100 people have been arrested in china over the past week next with a vaccine scam. so far four pharmaceutical producers have had their licences revoked. >> reporter: this woman has pent days worrying after hearing an illegal vaccine ring having been i

the russian society and to the international community to do something about kadyrov. because if we're going to be silencing his activities, the practice of political assassination it will continue in russia and one day we're going to wake up in a country where kadyrov is going to be the boss. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: and being a patriot of russia, as a patriot of russia i absolutely have no desire to see that and to see this future for russia. thank you. [ applause ] >> so, ilya, thank you so much for that both terrifying and illuminating presentation of your report. i also wanted to thank our partner here, the free russia foundation and the president of the free russia foundation for helping us to put together this event to help us bring ilya here. i'll answer my question in english. feel free to answer in whatever language you would like. in your report you characterize kadyrov as someone that functions outside the law, not just international law but also russian law. and that putin himself is stuck in a catch-22 where he's forged this relationsh

we just had an update with the russian river fire protection district about the water levels of the russian river. we will have the latest on that and also what they are doing to prepare for the weekend. >>> plus, live reports from miami, florida, where the presidential candidates are trying to win more delegates. our own political reporter ross polumbo will join us as "mornings on 2" continues. >>> this is ktvu "mornings on 2". >> at 8:00, take a look at your screen. weather conditions in the north bay very wet at this hour. this is right off 101 up in sonoma county. you see the grass is green. the rain is falling. i just saw allie rasmus. she has her hood up and she is getting drenched. preparations underway as people and business owners preparing for some significant rain over the next few days. we are going to bring allie back in a moment and talk to steve as well. but prepare for the rain pretty much wherever you are in the bay area. >> yeah. this is not playing around. you know, if you haven't gotten it, you will. steve paulson, who is getting serious rain? northern marin county, peta

rate how would you data has responded to the russian threat? the european readiness and nutrition, all of those efforts that were desig nato allies? >> this was probably always true, but today -- which data you are asking above, there are .everal there are people around the baltic area, the danes, and the norwegians, the swedes, who their hair is on fire. they are feeling threatened. why vladimir putin has done this, is beyond me, because as it is the most counterproductive thing. he has gone out of his way to make them feel threatened both verbally and with military deployments. they are ready to go. rits are ready to support this great and then he turned to the south and you equal dealing failing economies and the migrant crisis. and i spent most of my professional life defending germany, and it is amazing to see the extent to which both of their military and their --itical response to russia they have guided their military. their political reaction has been to rupees -- to appease them e russians. it requires somebody to come in with a visio

the russians have a lot at stake. do you think that the russians are genuinely interested in ending this war in syria? >> i think everybody would be. if it ends to their favor >>> ending it in their favor would be what? >> maintaining the bashar al-assad regime or the regime in general and maintaining it as a satellite of russian in the middle east and maintaining bases in russia and maintaining its prestige and basically the opposition and cornering them in order to make sure that there is a regime that supports moscow's agenda in the region. the same thing applies for the u.s., but as you were saying and as we said repeatedly, there is a dissymmetry between the two. america, in terms of the syrian situation, talks of diplomacy, russia talks of military action. there is american words meeting russian bombs. for the time being there's so much more for russian at stake than syria and i think for the time being these negotiations that staffan de mistura is managing have been fuelled by american compromises and russian g

the russians will insist he must stay. how those positions get squared is going to be a challenge for john kerry. me.y: thanks for joining more from the middle east, turkish authorities have made a number of arrests after the latest terror attack in the capital ankara. the government blames separatist kurdish rebels for the explosion in which 37 people died and scores were injured. from ankara, here is bbc's mark lowen. mark: after the horror, the grief. morgue, families learn the identities of those inside killed in yesterday's car bomb, loved ones whose worst fears were confirmed. the blasts struck near a transport hub on a busy sunday evening. so powerful, it's as though the sky was set alight. at the local hospital, the list of the dead, 37 names so far. lucky.n was he sustained head injuries but little more. the scene he describes is like a vision from hell. >> it was like armageddon. all i could see was red. people were screaming. it was just like an earthquake. i saw a body torn in two. mark: it is the third attack

commander in europe describes it as a necessary response to an aggressive russian. germany is likely to host the bulk of the contingent with the u.s. establishing a presence across six former soefant block countries. -- soviet block countries >> reporter: it constitutes the first permanent deployment of american ground forces along or near the russian front tear since the end of the cold war-- frontier since the end of the cold war. russia would not be a passive observer to this. russia has contended that this deployment is a violation of the 1997 treaty between russia and nato when it expande its membership, but it says that russia will respond asymmetrically, and it is said that any attempt by nato to add ukraine or georgia to its membership would be met with severe consequences from russia >>> here is a look at what this means. in 2013 the u.s. withdrew all its tanks from europe, but within months that decision was reversed at a training contingent of 22 tanks was returned to germany. that will now be increased more than tenfold to 250. the new hardware will be a

planes down russian planes. guest: i don't think secretary clinton proposed american planes engaging with russian planes, which would be a very dangerous step to take, obviously. the reasons that russia may have intervened when it did was to make the idea of creating safe zone more or less impossible. host: john kerry was asked his reaction to the news in a brief news conference earlier this week. here's what he had to say. [video clip] secretary kerry: with the cessation of hostilities largely holding russians announcement yesterday that it will remove half of its forces immediately, ,nd more, perhaps from syria and with the political negotiations reconvening this week in geneva, we have reached a very important phase in this process. i will be traveling next week to moscow to meet with president putin and the foreign minister in order to discuss how we can effectively move the political process forward, and try to take it vantage of this moment. we know that despite the progress we have made, despite the reduc

when russian planes and troops went into syria last summer, it collapse. he managed to transform the battlefield equation. the assad regime is now basically -- has been shored up. it doesn't look like it's going to fall any time soon. the rebels are on the defensive. russia has enhanced its military preprestige. putin has enhanced his political prestige and now he's getting out with very few if any casualties. and his reputation burnished all the way from tehran to washington. so he has proved president obama exactly wrong while show that military power can change the facts on the ground. >> you were in a meeting with me this week with those of us and gary cast pa remove, former chess champion and he took a different view of this in saying he thinks his withdrawal is a sign of putin's weakness, that he wanted to avoid taking casualties, that the intervention in syria was becoming less popular in russia and he wanted to avoid getting further drawn in. how do you respond to that? >> i think he's mistaken. obviously, he's someone always to be taken very serio

a few weeks ago the russian u.n. envoy staffan de mistura told the syrian president when he said he wanted to recapture the whole country, he said this is not in line with our policies. is russia saying we don't want a military solution, but a political settlement. it needs to be flexible. it is about political transition, something the government does not want to discuss, but the government has been saying from day one, this is a fight against terrorism. we have to remember this is not an end to the military presence and the fact that the s4 hundreds are still on the ground means russia is still the maybe external player in syria >>> there are so many potential microcosms of the syrian conflict within the country. aleppo, a city that came close to being totally destroyed. it is still ongoing >> definitely. many layers to the conflict. this is not just the opposition versus the government. there is a new layer of conflict which is brewing right now in idlib close to aleppo. the al-nusra front is going after the remai

bombers have started arriving back on russian soil. the pilot is being cheered by ground crew and supporters. some aircraft will stay at the air base in syria, and continue bombing missions. russian helicopters bombed isil positions on tuesday. thousands of russian troops are also expected to remain. the decision to pull out comes as a syrian government delegation and the opposition meet in geneva to try to end the war. tuesday marks exactly five years sense the conflict began, so far a quarter of a million people have been killed and half the country's 23 million population have been displaced. for the these pilots it is mission accomplished. a day after announcing the pull out he assembled the staff and chiefs six months of air strikes have turned the tide of war dramatically in favor of syrian president. vladimir putin says he has achieved his objective. the surprise move coincides with resumed peace talks in geneva, where russia's pull out has been welcomed be i the opposition, and the u.s. government. >> the announcement by presid

the russians love somebody they can rally and waved flags behind. it is good for the national psyche, as it is for many countries, to have a sports star on the national stage. as you mentioned, maria sharapova has spent much of her life in the u.s. and has been a resident for more than 20 years, but she keeps her russian citizenship and you find very few people here that suggest she is not a patriot. she has shown she very much support russia a number of times in her public performances. if you look at what tv has been showing as well, you see a large amount of time dedicated to sharapova's victories but also to this doping scandal. we have not seen much of the conspiratorial age that we often .ee with a doping scandal in general it has been more about her future and whether she will get back on the court. catherine: this does throw the spotlight back onto russia's record in doping in sports. athletes are still waiting to hear if they will get to compete at this summer's olympics in rio de janeiro. right,r: well, that's but let's just stay with the

the white house has been against the russian deployment in syria from the start. al jazeera's jamie mcintire has more from the pentagon. >> well, antonio, putin is beginning to pull out most of his troops after a five month intervention, an intervention that he insisted was all about fighting terrorists but more, the united states feels, was more about propping up bashar al-assad. the glim are of positive news, russia was limited to striking i.s.i.l. targets and it seemed to be doing so with gusto, targeting i.s.i.l. stron strongs in palmyra and ala boud. then came the totally unexpected statement from putin, the pullout of pain part of russian forces from syria saying their goal in large part has been fulfilled. a pentagon official admitted putin's pullout came as an utter advise and saying stay tuned. >> i'm going to have to reserve comment until we have a chance to take a look at it and make an assessment. >> the fact that the president will be speaking to vladimir putin? >> i certainly wouldn't rule it out, we'll keen you posted. >> made a point of saying it w

russian president vladimir putin has ordered his military commanders to start withdrawing russian troops from syria. the russian leader said the pullout should begin on tuesday. he has also said russia will intensify its role in the peace negotiations to end the conflict. for more on this, let's go to our moscow correspondent. winky for being with us. give us more about what president putin has been saying. guest: it is worth saying that this is a surprising move. at the meeting with the defense and foreign ministers, he said i think the task has been fulfilled. we got a bit more detail about what that might be. the defense minister said russian airstrikes stop networks supporting terrorists and also stopped the flow of money and weapons among oil and trading routes. given that that has taken place, these forces will start their withdrawal tomorrow. it is unclear at the moment who might be withdrawn, but what we do know is the russians will be keeping a significant part of their operation in syria. they have a seaport and airbase there and i think we will see them keeping a significant p

the russians as we have seen in ukraine, in crimea, the russians are savvy at exerting their military influence even when they're not really there, brooke. >> barbara starr, thank you. obviously as soon as we do start to get reaction from officials here in the united states, we'll get that to you. if you're just joining me, we're learning from russian president vladimir putin ordering russian forces to begin withdrawing from syria. someone who has just been there is clarissa ward, just now joining me, so nice to see you. talk about the timing of all this. she's sayinging what does this mean militarily on the ground in syria, but also what about the syrians? your response to this? >> i'm gob smacked, to be honest. especially that the russian president is marketing this as the task has been completed, because the stated goal has always been, of the russians, that they're trying to defeat the terrorists and essentially bolster president bashar al assad. >> the terrorists have not been defeated. >> isis still has large swaths of territory. they've not been the hardest hit by the russian b

the presence of the russians here is not just the russian air strikes. we have seen in the area, before we reached the battle field, we have see seen lots providing technical assistance and sometimes tactical assistance. we have seen russian surveillance equipment that allow the syrian army to interfere and to tap into i.s.i.l.'s communications. i think this explains why this is the first battle for the syrian army to kill so many. a source told me this morning that they have a body count of i.s.i.l. of over 380 dead bodies which is a high number for the radical group to lose in a battle >>> thank you for that update. i can tell you that syrian state television just told us they have retaken palmyra. a syrian academic joining us here. despite the hoopla of vladimir putin saying "we're pulling most of our kit and gear out", the russian involvement is still woven through the fabric >> i don't think it's just russian advisers. we know russian special forces have taken part in this battle for palmyra. it is not only the air force, russian air force. so i thi

and i think the plan certainly from the russians and the u.s., and from the u.n. at this stage, is to put that issue to one side, try to get something going in terms of talks of a political transition and bring the pyd in at later stage. >> james thanks very much. >>> let's get more on that point. they declared a federal region. they have confirmed it in the last couple of hours. they are talking specifically about areas they control in northern syria, they includes several cities. an official with the democratic union party, or pyd said the declaration was made after a meeting. that meeting involved 200 delegates representing kurds, turkmen, arabs and other groups. the announcement was immediately rejected by the syrian government and the main opposition. an official in the foreign affairs director rate of kobani, one of three autonomous areas set up two years ago. he said they will set up what shape they want this autonomous region to take. >> according to [ inaudible ] from the meeting that are going to the second day, the people there agreed on the [ inaudible

the russian ambassador to nato responded immediately. he said that russia would not be a passive observer to this. russia has long contended that this kind of deployment was a violation of the 1997 treaty between russia and nato when it expanded its membership, but he said that russia would choose to respond asim mettically. it is not sure what they immediate. it is aborigine attempt to add ukraine and georgia to its membership would be met with severe consequences from russia >>> here is a look at what this announcement means. in 2013 u.s. withdrew all tanks from europe but within months that decision was reversed and a training contingent of 22 tanks was returned to germany. that will now be increased to more than tenfold to 2050. -- 250. more troops rising from 25,000 to nearly 30,000. a former u.s. ambassador to nato says the u.s. move will offer reassurance to u.s. allies in heern europe who may be nervous about russia's intentions. >> they're very concerned. they've been watching over the past several years. in 2008 russia invaded

russian forces were stackin wern the main road. on the humanitarian front the truce hasn't made any huge difference. the u.n. wants unrestricted access to half a million people in besieged areas. so far aid convoice have reached the users of moabamie. the world health organization says it dlifortd th delivered af medicines. too early to assess the impact the ceasefire has had. allies are continualing with their military campaigns while rebel groups are accusing government forces of mobilizing troops, the truce is fragile and success is not guaranteed but so far it has lead to a drom of voyagedrop inviolence. >>> rally led by the prominent shia cleric muqtada al-sadr. javier reports from baghdad. >> it was a challenge and a warning. iraqi forces had banned this a few meters from the green zone where iraqi diplomats live and work. these are follow of muqtadaers a al-sadr. sadr said by video, he was giving government one last chance. >> translator: in a final attempt i call on all political parties especially in parliament, to begin d

on the russian side and israel side, we have russian speakers. you know, we have officers who speak russian. nevertheless, well, at least one incident in which russian aircraft incidentally crossed the border. we intercepted. ted with ha toll the russian headquarter that it was done and immediately this aircraft goes back from israel to sere ja. we're not happy of the fact that russian made assistance and deliver to our enemies h. the problem is this weapon i sis stance syria or iran and then deliver to this kind of end users of course when it happens we provide our evidence. russian made it. we used like against us and when saw this assistance, it was not we didn't fail. we sold it to syria. . it's our responsibility to inspect it. that was the case when russia made weapon assistance used by hamas. we provide evidence. so we had a way to clarify it -- we saw certain countries in the region. but end user is organization. we're not happy with it. and it should be settled. . but we don't have open channels to clarify. >> i have to conclude? >> yes.

unfortunately because of the russian intervention and assad's aggression, i think now the russians and the assad regime have advantage on the ground. two, is there a will to reach a solution. clearly, and i hate to say it, but i agree with secretary kerry that the syrian foreign minister's statement today was really to torpedo the negotiations, because the rearian regime that diplomacy is not in its favor. three and i think the americans talk but the russians bomb, the americans speak of diplomacy, the russians speak of military action on the ground. there is a real dissymmetry on the ground. third and most importantly, look at the position at the negotiations. what are the real summary of those positions, of that mindset? the regime says assad is a red line. the opposition says syrian unity is a red line. >> i'm glad you mentioned diplomacy there. do you think that the major powers now have come to the point where they want to force the warring parties to a resolution and if so, can they do it, both the americans and russians with their respective allies. >> the document released in j

joint russian and eu effort to find life on the red planet. and in sport the big names make their entry into cricket's t 20 with india taking on new zealand. details coming up next. >> welcome back. a quick update now on our top stories. you've been watching us on al jazeera, you know the russian president vladimir putin has ordered his troops to start pulling out of syria. that comes as those talks are going on in geneva to find a diplomatic, political solution to the five year conflict. a spokes imran says if the russian pullout is serious it might give a hope to the talks. >>> now scientists have spent five decades now sending space crafts to mars in search ever life. so tar what they have discovered is the presence of methane. , russ and the european union have sent expeditions to particulars. tarek bazley has administer. >> there are seven orthopedickerorthopedicorbiters. research has discovered the presence of liquid water, some below the surface of the planet and how mars' atmosphere was depleted by solar winds. the big question whether

where are you on russian? i am nowhere on russia. i do not have an allocation into russian assets. russian assets at this point don't really offer that level of risk premium. it is extreme the volatile. given the allocation at this point, i have chosen not to take the position. it is an interesting story in terms of looking at the impact on oil and also the geopolitical story. and tow are you pricing your portfolio -- pricing it in to your portfolio? u.s. election, we've got five today in terms of the running for november. if that brexit. you got french -- you've got brexit. you got french politics, german politics. so much on the plate. how is it affecting your particular view of the world? fredrik: i would classified as political uncertainty. viewsure some people would -- i think ultimately political risks or uncertainty is a fiction of economic activity. it is not the other way around it if we are -- around. if we are heading into something that is a slowing of growth. the likelihood that would push the insurgent nonestablishment -- so it becomes -- it becomes a leverage. it amp

so i'm actually in through russian russian. roberta just said at this time a few months ago, none of this existed. i'm actually in the russian river right now. i'm probably in a foot of water. so you can imagine how deep it is. a triathlon was cancelled last summer because there was nothing here to swim in. so while people are on guard for this next round of flooding, they are better prepared than they were in years past. we have video from the last time the russian river flooded back in 1997, 1998. so waters grew to 45 feet. but it's still not as high as when it was the 1986 winter when water levels reached 49.5 feet. so today through the night the nws expects the river will start flowing at its lowest level at 32 feet. steady rains pounded the north bay all day yesterday causing this mud slide in forestville. it was one of several in the area. mud, rocks and other debris block summer home park road for hours. even though many homes here are now elevated on stilts, people who live in guerneville are bracing themselves and thei

. ♪ the russian defense ministry says they have a partial we draw from syria and pictures shown on russian state television as u.n. brokered talks of ending the five-year conflict enter the second day in geneva and carolyn malone has more. >> reporter: russian air strikes in syria have allowed the syrian government to regain lost ground while also killing hundreds of people. now it appears they are coming to an end. russian president vladimir putin says they achieved what they came to achieve, back in december that was helping bashar al-assad what they call terrorists. >> translator: i believe that the goals with the ministry of defense and armed forces have over all been fulfilled and i order the minister of defense as of tomorrow to start a pull out of the military grouping from the syria republic. >> reporter: they were told about the decision a statement from assad said it was a joint one, the syrian opposition is cautious, the timing of the announcement was significant and made while u.n. led talks were going on in geneva, the message from putin to diplomates it's their turn. >> our d

thanks to the russians, there is a truce in syria. and now they are helping us achieve reconciliation. deal done, the residents are given humanitarian aide and the chance for a checkup with the russian army doctor. >> how do you end a civil war which has left a quarter of a million people dead and destroy the country? >> in small steps. village by village. >> on a russian military plane, we are taken to the syrian capital to experience reconciliation there. as we approach central damascus, we see destruction, but no fighting. today the u.n. said the cessation of hostilities in syria was holding, but only just. success, it said, was not guaranteed. syria says europe should be praying for peace here. >> if it fails, maybe there will be more terrorists and they may bomb here. reporter: we're brought to another district. they charge as soon as we get out of the car. this town, too, has signed a declaration of peace with the russians. but it is a fragile peace. but are there still revels in the town? >> in the town? yes, there are rebels i

kpix 5's jackie ward live near the russian river. where you're standing could be under water by the end of the weekend, right? >> reporter: oh, without a doubt. i mean, that's why there's a flash flood warning. not a flash flood watch as i said earlier. i apologize for that. there is a flood warning here even now where i'm standing, it didn't exist a few months ago. at one point at the beginning of the month, floodwaters were the -- river waters were only 6 feet high. yesterday, they were anywhere between 15 to 22 feet high. so flooding this weekend is inevitable. but people here though, they are on guard. they are a little more prepared though than in years past. back in 1997-'98 near, that's when the russian river flooded to levels of 45 feet. people now have their homes on stilts. back in 1986, that is when water levels reached 49.5 feet. so today through the night the nws expects the river will start flowing at its lowest level at 32 feet. steady rains pounded the north bay all day yesterday causing this mud slide in forestville.

they're going to welcome the removal of every russian soldier and every russian plane. >> we know that russia will maintain their position. whey don't know what their intentions are right now. >> that's precisely my point. don't read too much into the inevitable stance by the opposition that they have to take. it doesn't mean that the fighters on the ground as a group that are representative either by that spokesman or not, are keen on or that the regime is ready for political settlement with the opposition. i don't think they are. simply if you saw the tide of battle turn to the regime against them again, there is no reason to think that russia wouldn't repeat their gesture. they really might. it's just that they have succeeded at what they wanted to do. but it doesn't change the fundamental equation. >> if you don't mind, we take stock of where we are five years of civil war, some would say that you're not expecting to see ape change if we look at the division in significance, does the divide of the country seem cellar, entrenched. you don't expect that to change. >> it it can only c

russian media had previously reported that his family thought he had a heart attack for stop the russian embassy has not been able to get "substantive information from u.s. authorities," according to their facebook page. leon: on the campaign trail, we await the next round of primaries, the candidates making their passionate pages. last night, hillary clinton and bernie sanders faced off in miami. tonight, the gop debate. who came out on top tonight? chief political correspondent scott thuman is live in miami to tell us. scott? scott: leon come it just wrapped up. -- leon, it just wrapped up. a bit of a departure from the norm, th retirement, worker visa programs, common core. there were also observations andwed from the candidates it was rather friendly, much more civil than in the past. they talked about an issue that is concerning some of the violence we have seen that political rallies. february 23, i would like to punch him in the face, referring to a protester. february 27, in the good old days, they would have ripped him out of the seat so fast. >> we have some protesters that are

russian president vladimir putin made the sudden announcement monday that russian forces would begin withdrawing from syria. clarissa ward went undercover into rebel-held syria where virtually no western journalists have gone for more than a year. they gave clarissa and her team a firsthand look at the devastating effect the russian air strikes have had on aleppo. >> reporter: you can tell you're getting closer to aleppo. the streets are pock marked with the aftermath of fresh air strikes. burns of earth protect the way from enemy fire. it's a dangerous way to a city few dare to visit. on one side, you have the regime and on the other side, you have the fighting rebel forces, snipers all around here, but this is the only road now to get in to aleppo. as you arrive, the scale of the destruction is breathtaking. stretching on and on. entire residential neighborhoods reduced to rubble. aleppo was once syria's largest city. a bustling economic hub. now an apocalyptic landscape. russian warplanes have bombed these areas relentlessly. allowing government ground forces to encircle the rebel

that's what's important to the russians. whether it's assad or someone else friendly to the russians, they really don't care, as long as it's someone friendly to the russians. >> so then what's the point of a multinational peace treaty? >> because the more you drag the, quote, international community, which really doesn't exist, but people like to pretend there's such a thing as an international community, but once you get more people involved in it, then supposedly you have more people who will want to see this move forward and will want to guarantee the success. really it's going to come down to the russians and the united states and the warring factions inside syria. and oh, by the way, some of these warring factions haven't agreed to any of this. so we'll have to see how this plays out. there's a lot pob done yet. >> retired navy captain chuck nash, thanks for your insight. >> my pleasure, julie. >>> senator bernie sanders is campaigning in two states this weekend. today he's in arizona, where he's opening to cut into hi

thousands of russian troops are also expected to remain. the decision to pull out comes as a government delegation and the opposition meet to try to end the war, tuesday marks exactly five years since the conflict began. so car a parter of a million people have been killed. in the past few hours the u.n. special envoy has finished a meeting with the syrian opposition delegation in geneva, the withdrawal would have a significant impact on the u.n. backs talks we have considered this a significant i repeat a significant development, and now we hope, and we shall be expecting and hoping that will be happening that we will be seeing this decision bringing some positive influences on the actual progress of the talks. that are in fact taking place. it is not a coincidence, or at least we should not consider it a coincidence, that that decision to place at the very beginning of the syrian talks and that the political impact that we hope they will be producing. >> spokesman for the syrian opposition high negotiations committee says the regime must

the syrian government and russians for not doing enough. russia under president putin under pressure with the threat of escalation of conflict and missiles ending up in the hands of the rebels. of course, you know, perhaps more diplomatic and definitely the implication of economic sanctions because russia was part of the political process. the united nations security council resolution that got the talks that russia signed up for that. there would be repercussions if they did not move syria into the negotiations. there is hope that the talks may get further than the past, john. >> interesting to see if the russians do apply pressure. nic robertson, thank you. >>> let's get an early start on your money. a big drop in oil prices yesterday did not sink the stock market. something we have not seen in months. dow gained a fraction. crude oil dropped 3.4%. just above $37 a barrel after iran said it would not agree to a production freeze to oil levels. oil and stocks in a lock step for months. it is a good sign for the broader stock market. future