First time about demonstrations against his government saying protests are allowed but the violence is not plus. This intensify in the democratic republic of congo demonstrators want the president to resign immediately also. Goodbye to twenty seventeen other hello to twenty eighteen celebrations as the world brings in the new. North koreas leader kim jong il threaten the u. S. And also reached out to his neighbor in the south he made the comments in his annual new years address kim says pyongyang has weapons capable of reaching the u. S. Mainland and that the launch button is on his desk he also warned washington that in twenty seventeen north korea completed its push to become a Nuclear Force and that its time to start mass producing Nuclear Warheads but the defiantly to made some unusually friendly remarks about south korea saying the path to dialogue with seoul is open and that he hopes ties will improve between both countries. I dont we should actively create an atmosphere to move forward with the National Reconciliation and reunification improving ties between the north and the south is an urgent issue that not only the north and south want what everyone else wants its a grave matter to which the entire korean nation needs to put its efforts towards resolving these contacts and dialogue between the north and the south will expand exchanges on cooperation and we should dispel mutual misunderstanding and distrust and take responsibility and our role as the main agent for reunification florence really joins us live now from the south korean capital seoul florence so despite seemingly conciliatory jones towards the south the north Korean Leader still maintained his threatening rhetoric towards the u. S. Absolutely and as all of branch that he is off that is really directed only at south korea and South Koreans president moon j. N. Who took office in may is more of a liberal compared to his predecessors so the conciliatory tone is perhaps in recognition of that north korea has said its even willing to send its athletes to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics and paralympics that those games are being hosted in pyongyang in south korea just eighty kilometers south from the border with north korea now but analysts are really asking what is kim jong un hoping to achieve from this piece of the church to the south well some analysts say he is perhaps hoping to drive a wedge between the u. S. And south korea traditional allies and perhaps this is being made much easier by the fact that in south korean president isnt as much of a hard line politician on north korea compared to previous south Korean Leaders now he is perhaps also trying to buy more time for north korea to pursue its Nuclear Ambitions because as you pointed out this was an overture thats just been made to north to south korea and not to the u. S. Listen to what else he had to say. Bulent youre going to assume that the u. S. Mainland is within the range of our Nuclear Strike and the Nuclear Button is put on the desk in my office at all times they should clearly understand that this is never a trend sort of reality. So clearly this is an indication that the war of words with the u. S. Is not going to stop its also an indication that north korea has absolutely no plans at all to give up its pursuit of Nuclear Weapons in fact quite the opposite kim jong un called for the mass production and deployment of Nuclear Warheads as well as missiles he also reiterated what was said in november that north korea has completed its push to become a Nuclear Force now of course the outside world has no real way of knowing this what we do know is what weapons experts agree is that north korea has the capability to strike anywhere in the United States this is after it conducted a launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in november but experts weapons experts say we dont yet know whether it has the capability to attach a Nuclear Warhead to a weapon that can really enter the earths atmosphere intact and the only way of doing knowing that is if north korea were to conduct an Atmospheric Nuclear test now there was no specific mention in kim jong un speech about that but the key message here is clear that it says its now a Nuclear State although we have no way of knowing this for sure but that should deter the u. S. Of considering any attempt to start a war with north korea or just Lawrence Larry the insults lawrence thank you well lets talk to robert kelly hes an associate professor in Political Science at Tucson National university he joins us now from robert good to have you back with us as significant was this speech by kim jong especially given a surprisingly conciliatory jones towards the cells. Yeah he does this every year north Korean Leaders have done this for a while its rare for north Korean Leaders to directly speak to their populations so outside analysts watch this every year theres a lot of commentary about it that and so the speech in itself is not new the tone is a little bit more belligerent then tones in the past have been but i think that sort of fits with what weve seen in two thousand and seventeen in the response donald trump i think the big news of the speech quite honestly is that done nothing is going to change right they talk about continuing to build more and more of these things the button being on the desk with sort of a direct threat right so all the tension that was there in two thousand and seventeen it looks like its going to keep on rolling along and robert do you sense that china perhaps had something to do with a change of tone towards the south given President Trumps pressure on beijing to do more. Probably but i also think the north has a genuine interest in at least reasonably decent relationships with south korea a reason we didnt relationship with south korea that is to say that this is the north korea misses the days when south korea used to give it assistance and aid and subsidies and stuff like that this was known as the sunshine policy which was continue which was begun under previous liberal president s and this up hope in north korea the current liberal president of south korea bring that back so i think the North Koreans are entirely content to have the relationship they have with the United States right now the nukes in the tension and all that obviously with donald trump thats not going to change and theyd like to find a way than to go along with some of the other players the north has done this for a long time sort of playing one off the other off the other right and so if you if the americans are giving you a hard time and you go to the south you and i say robert the rhetoric between kim jong un and donald trump pretty much remains the same the north Korean Leader as you say talked about having missiles that can reach the u. S. And hes got the Nuclear Button on his desk. Yeah absolutely i mean its its kind of what you would expect right i mean so its frightening right i mean the North Koreans are good at this kind of stuff theyre good at bluster are good at this sort of game theyve made these kinds of or you know agree just threats in the past i dont really see any change what we see in two thousand and seventeen i am im genuinely concerned right i mean the more the North Koreans build the more missiles the more Nuclear Weapons they have the more tests they do and stuff like that the more sites they have the more the pressure raises in the United States to do something more dramatic than sanctions and stuff like that right so North Koreans just arent signal pullover slowdown in any way which raises the possibility of course the americans will eventually strike just a final thought from you robert away from the Nuclear Issue he also talked about the north korean economy how significant is that right do you think this is important because the last kim not the disc kim took over two thousand and seven the kim before him the father really really mismanaged the economy to the point that people really concerned that the economy might actually undercut the north Korean National security that might be like a coup or Something Like that there was a huge famine under its predecessor under its father and so one thing the new kim has emphasized a lot is the idea of not only National Security in the army and the traditional issues but Economic Growth and so north korea has actually grown by the estimates we we guesstimate really about north korea by the as the guesstimates we have north korea has actually sort of turn this economy around a little bit in the last five years and so this kim is banging away at that as a theme of legitimacy as a way of legitimizing his rule right kelly thanks for talking to us thank you for having me happy new year. Now to iran where the government is using new measures to deal with protesters social media apps including the messaging Service Telegram which has fourteen million users have been blocked as the government tries to stop communication between about upcoming protests and rallies around the country for three days against the clerical elite who protest as blame for Economic Hardships and alleged corruption well the governments warning of a crackdown if the protests continue president Hassan Rouhani has spoken for the First Time Since the demonstrations began saying iranians have the right to criticize the government but their actions shouldnt lead to violence this pizza shop. After four days event government demonstrations its the president s first public reaction trold k. Three iranians have the right to protest but that cant lead to violence he said. It should be clear to everyone that we are people of freedom according to the constitution and Citizens Rights people are free to express their criticism and to protest however we need to Pay Attention to the man by criticism and protest should be in such a way that it will lead to be improvement of the people and the state. He was also quick to criticize President Trump for his tweet about iran. This man who today in america wants to simplify people has forgotten that a few months ago he called the nation of iran terrorists and this video of protests posted on social media has been blocked by the iranian government the ban follows a nationwide demonstration since thursday government ministers said the video encourage more people to join the rallies. We all saw how they misuse cyberspace and promoted violence trained systematic riots toward weapons and explosives crafting simulated protesters to fight the police and encourage the burning of houses and stores these people are surely not part of our people Iran State Television has reported that some social media sites and messaging apps have been blocked to maintain more termed peace and from the government warnings that irans revolutionary guards corps was prepared to deploy what was described as an iron fist if the demonstrations continued their commander said the protests have degenerated into people chanting political slogans and burning public property. Protests took place again on sunday but the extent of those is still unclear video posted from the city of durham on saturday night show demonstrators dragging away one of those injured state television in tehran said two people were shot dead but denied that police or the army were involved. In the clash that took two lives no bullets were shot from police and Security Forces the people gathering was meant to end peacefully but the presence of the agitators unfortunately this happened and resulted in the deaths of two protesters. The protests will have rattled the government they werent just limited to terror on but took place across the country the only question now is whether they can gather momentum and how long the government is prepared to put up with this challenge to its authority peter sharp al jazeera. Time for a short break here and ill just say right when we come back israels governing the could party passes a draft resolution urging an extension of much of the occupied west bank plus. Im not going to front as you know where tons of rubbish may be from what ive not only causing a direct impact on eco system but tensions between both countries. We got some basically cold weather to start the new year for north america fair amounts of cloud just coming into the westernmost area of a cloud you can see further north that is a little to set to that just shows how cold the land is here temperatures in chicago a top temperature minus sixteen celsius for new years day in chicago there minus seven the high in new york and well see a top temperature modest twenty one for us a little bit of cloud down towards southern parts possibility of a few spots of rain possibly some snow you notice all the way down into texas five hours of cloud still mild across the western side of the country al a at around twenty three degrees not same out across east impasse you can see were still subzero for many this area cloud that we have running down across florida will also affect northern sections of the campaign has seen some very heavy rain recently just making its way towards mexico and that cloud and that rain that will still be in the picture is a go on through the next day or two mexico city seeing some very different seventeen celsius the top temperature here as we go one three monday and tuesday come across into the caribbean here its not too bad for the Greater Antilles a fair amount of cloud a little race was with a possibility of showers but the smaller runs. When diplomacy fields and fear sweep then our borders are wide open wide open to drugs terrorists weve proven that barriers are built to impose division and its ill to sixtys instead of being an obstacle or tornado wastes into became another obstacle to peace in a four part series aljazeera revisits the reasons for divisions in different parts of the world and the impact they have on both sides walls of shame at this time on al jazeera. Welcome back a quick reminder at the top stories here on aljazeera north koreas leader kim jong un says hes open to dialogue with south korea and the times should improve between both countries can make the comments in his new years address he also said north korea as weapons capable of reaching the top u. S. Mainland on the launch button is on his desk. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has made his first speech following days of protests against Economic Hardship and alleged corruption run he said the government must provide space for criticism but also want to just as that violence was unacceptable. Not protests demanding the resignation of the president of the democratic republic of congo have turned violent eight people were killed and dozens arrested by Security Forces after catholics call for a Peaceful Demonstrations across the country reports. In the democratic republic of Congo Catholic worship is praying this sunday they pray with a political purpose they want president Joseph Kabila goal turning everyone. Else to their. I think very good it was very nice not think it was funny. Was their prayers were heard by Security Forces in kinshasa twenty seventeen ended as it began kabila second term as president ended in december twenty sixth saying he refused to step down and the un says kong Security Forces killed forty people who protested the decision four hundred sixty were arrested the one year on they marched off to mass twelve also boys and priests were among the dozens arrested tear gas was fired into churches was the hospital is filled with protesters once more so goes the human that i was saying if you term is over give opportunities to others to run your son of the country you belong in the senate gives others the opportunity to lead maybe theyll do it better than you did. Catholic bishops brokered peace talks between the opposition and government with the agreement that could be low would leave office at the end of twenty seven tame but hes still in power and now the catholics and the opposition are united ill just make a coming and shooting one because it is not just simply because we are coming we have come here in order to have ways to pray for all we mission was opposition voices can be heard by ending the fractured country from all corners even in the troubled east a thriving battleground between rebels Security Forces say they use of force is justified one Police Officer was killed and this Police Station was torched by protesters were going to talk to this we are in need of peace i assure all of our government authorities that our City Government is in peace people should sleep calmly because we as professional police we are doing our job. President kabila says he will stay in power until december twenty eighth because of delays in voter registration. Meanwhile voting appeared to becoming increasingly impatient charlotte dallas aljazeera. At least thirty six people have been killed in a Road Accident in kenya a bus collided with a truck in the town of mccarver about one hundred fifty kilometers north of nairobi and local Officials Say the bus brakes may have failed more than one hundred people have died in the same stretch of road this month. Now a man in the u. S. Has been arrested after a deadly end to a prank telephone call the suspect made a false nine one one call to Police Reporting a murder and hostage situation when officers arrived at the scene they shot and killed a twenty eight year old man its believed a dispute over an online video game spot the standoff on a host as. This was where a practice proved deadly and this is the suspect tyler barris police in kansas responding to a cool where a man claiming he had killed his father was holding the rest of his family hostage or time one whats going on here arguing and i heard shots and i heard and hes not breathing anymore ok do you have any weapons are you. What kind of weapons do you have. A handgun from just pointing the gun and making sure they stay and its like a. Brother or you go and you can come on over here is a lot of government not. Thinking about clary poured gasoline all over the house and by the fire ok well we dont need to do that ok police sent a special weapons and tactics all swat team to the house where the cooler said he lived but the man who answered the door was twenty eight year old andrew finch a father of two police unaware that its been a prank called were taking no chances they confronted mr finch before shooting him you hear the. Officer primarily has the action on body camera but you have the officers from the other side also giving commands in iraq insistent about put your hands up walk towards us. But he continued to drop down by his waistband which is a concern says were people typically would put a handgun or some type of weapon andrew finches mother says her son was not with the car could this go around shooting people without any consequences family was very important here youve got two kids that survive him in their midst who have a wonderful man. Its been suggested the suspect and the victim had a dispute join an Online Computer game theres no Research Evidence to suggest that video games whether theyre violent or nonviolent lead people to become more aggressive in the real world so this just happens to be a spurious. Link in this situation between call of duty and the swatting. I did this week the World Health Organization brand of video game addiction a Mental Health disorder police are treating this death as a case of swatting where instigators call nine one one from a position close to where their intended victim is located. Israels governing the could party has passed a draft resolution urging the partys leaders to establish israeli sovereignty of a large parts of the occupied west bank and formally annex the palestinian territory the votes not binding but carries political weight inside Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu as party the codes right wing has been boid by the us recognition of jerusalem as israels capital on a jump to much more from western muslim. Now that the liquid Central Committee has voted in favor of imposing israeli sovereignty over illegal settlements in the occupied west bank the question is what comes next many members of the likud Central Committee in the run up to this vote had thought that this was a binding resolution they had said so which in effect would mean that it would force that would compel Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the likud party to try to take this to the knesset to try to get it passed into law weve spoken to many analysts the however who say that this in fact is not a binding resolution and that there is no way that such an inflammatory resolution would actually get to the knesset in its current form weve also spoken to arab members of parliament and theyve said that if this resolution were to go to the knesset in its current form that that would really signal an end to the Peace Process that it would really mean that there was no more attempt to try to find a two state solution to the crisis here now what is important also is what exactly is Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu going to do next is he going to endorse this what is he going to say many more questions at this hour than answers about a lot of other analysts that weve spoken with throughout the day in the run up to the vote have said that they really believe that this is more of a cynical political calculus a way for the likud Central Committee to really rally the faithful especially at a time when just weeks ago u. S. President donald trump recognized roussillon israels capital whatever does happen next though this is a tense time and this vote may add another element of uncertainty at a time when there is already so much uncertainty well ali abunimah is the cofounder of electronic intifada thats an Online News Service he says the International Community needs to back up its criticism of israel with concrete action i think the details of what. The trescott so what the liquid party does is not whats important i think what is important here is the signal this sense to the rest of the world that this Israeli Government is in fact this israeli political regime and what i mean by that is is the whole spectrum of Political Parties in israel is not interested in is not willing is not capable of ending the occupation of liberating palestinians this is a political regime across the board all the parties the netanyahu government that are determined to deepen the colonization an occupation of the protestants so the real signal from this vote is to the rest of the world but if you want peace if you want to end the occupation you have to put real pressure on israel by thought the Jerusalem Vote was a very important signal but that if things start words and resolutions then nothing would change and this is what the likud voted for kris eisley underscores my point is that resolutions have to be followed up by actions by sanctions by making israel pay a price for fifty years of military occupation the west bank and gaza strip twenty eighteen were just starting now is this going to be another year of handwringing and empty statements about a two state solution from the socalled International Community or are they going to impose a cost on israel for its continued International Outlaw status of violations no new threat to the environment is emerging across honduras eco sides are walls of rubbish that float in the caribbean along the coast from neighboring guatemala biologists say the level of contamination is unprecedented money in a sanchez reports. The a sea of rubbish as far as the eye can see its a wall seven meters deep and several kilometers long when slowly along the caribbean coast of a video posted in the internet by a photographer raised the alarm. The rain biologist the stomach of a this is the tide of trash is killing nearly everything in its path if. This is an eco side caused by garbage carried by the metod well river in guatemala. There are ninety six municipalities especially for thirteen they dont have trashed arms and a tributary river from the capital contributes to all this garbage. Data says the rubbish mountain is blocking sunlight from the sea and affecting fishing grounds coral reefs and mangroves. Much of the garbage ends up here on a more beach hospital and Agro Industrial residues are putting the lives of funded ends in danger government leaders blame neighboring what they are for the disaster that what the government says both countries share the responsibility for cleaning up the mess but the money has promised to send the army to clean up the mess but the rubbish behind. Is already having an impact on communities along the shore i cannot leave it i says fishermen like him are unable to catch clean healthy fish i. Look at my little boat i cant go far out in the sea to fish the trash is too close. For your son does says the Restaurant Hotel he manages has fewer and fewer guests because of the filth. Bust and we have less and less gas because people want to see clean beaches and we are losing money also because were spending a lot to clean up every day. Of the hotel ball says the shore is a magnet for the trash marine biologist say much of it is plastic which can take more than two hundred years to disintegrate and much of it is liquid and invisible. With experts unable to say how much damage is being done to the innocent just to see the film or into the us. The world is ringing in twenty eighteen with spectacular fireworks displays across the globe u. N. Secretary general antonio good tennis used the occasion to words World Leaders to heal divisions among people catherine stansell takes a look at some of the most colorful of the celebrations. I one of the first places on the planet to welcome the new here new zealand followed by australia and a spectacular fireworks display over sydney harbor bridge the rainbow colors celebrating the legalization of gay marriage in the country. Next japan where revelers in tokyo gathered to released hundreds of white helium balloons each one containing a wish or a prayer for the new year in south korea people fills the streets near souls city hall to celebrate twenty eighteen and half an hour later neighboring north korea which has inflamed the International Community with a number of missile tests this year but its own fireworks display. And victoria harbor in hong kong was a place of lights when the clock struck midnight. I. Do by which normally hosts one of the largest fireworks displays in the world opted for an elaborate light and laser show instead. Across europe hundreds of thousands of people gathered in berlin paris and london to celebrate the arrival of twenty eighteen but amid the joyful celebrations a serious but hopeful message of peace and unity delivered by the United Nations i mean its a red alert for all rules. Conflicts of the plant the new dangers of emerged global insanities about Nuclear Weapons are the highest since the cold war and Climate Change is moving faster than we are inequalities are growing and we see volitions of human rights i urge readers everywhere to make these new years resolution never again bridge the divides revealed trust by bringing people together around a common goal unity is the best. Its an ambitious request but if there is one thing the new year always brings its the hope for Something Better happenstance or aljazeera. A quick reminder of the top stories here on aljazeera north koreas leader kim jong un says hes open to dialogue with south korea and hopes that ties will improve kim made the comments in his new years address he also said north korea has weapons capable of reaching the entire u. S. Mainland and the launch button is on his desk for once louie has more from seoul. Is of course new north koreas Nuclear Ambitions that the whole world is most concerned about and on that front north Korean Leader kim jong un used his new years day address to call for the mass production of Nuclear Warheads and missiles as well as their deployment in the field now he also reiterated the claim that north korea has now completed its push to become a Nuclear Force it is a claim that north Korean Leadership has made with before specifically in november when it conducted when it launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile which weapons experts say has the capability of reaching the entire u. S. Mean. The iranian president Hassan Rouhani has made his first speech following days of protests against Economic Hardship and corruption rouhani said the government must provide space for criticism but also warned protesters that violence was unacceptable. Israels governing likud party has passed a draft resolution urging the partys leaders to stop this israeli sovereignty and formally the nix parts of the occupied west bank the vote was nonbinding but could streamline procedures for the construction and expansion of settlements. Seventeen people have been killed in an attack at a funeral in the eastern afghan city of jalalabad and happened as people gathered for the funeral of a former district governor no one has yet come a sponsor ability for the attack of the seven people are reported to have been killed by Security Forces at protests in the democratic republic of congo demonstrators in the capital kinshasa have been calling on president Joseph Kabila to step down theyre angry over his refusal to leave when his term in the a year ago he didnt promised elections by the end of this year but theyve been delayed until next december and the world is running in twenty eighteen of the spectacular fireworks displays across the globe this was the scene in Rio De Janeiro a short while ago an estimated three Million People were treated to a display lasting seventeen minutes. Well those were the headlines the news continues here on aljazeera after walls of shame stage with that selection by fire. You stand the differences. And the similarities of cultures across the world. Aljazeera this is the u. S. Mexican border a harsh landscape thats become the focus a bitter debate between the two countries. Yes ok ok well build a wall but always get up a little. I. Am going to live there and i got it right for. The film were about to show you the first ad in two thousand and seven it questions a policy