Hello im rob matheson and this is the news hour live from doha coming up in the next sixty minutes. Celebrations in ethiopia after the release of an Opposition Leader and hundreds of other prisoners as part of a government amnesty. Uniting for the olympics longtime rivals north and south korea plan to form a team for next months games and have their athletes march together. Pope francis wades into a centuries old conflict in chile calling for unity in the struggle for indigenous rights. Will take a dive to a one of a kind cave in mexico that could help shed some light on the mayan civilization. If he has freed an Opposition Leader as part of a mass release of prisoners who were jailed over antigovernment protests in twenty fifteen minute ago to now was released with more than four hundred others good and always denied violating the law is release is part of a government drive for National Reconciliation paul brennan has more. America dina is a hero to his supporters and thousands of excited well wishers called a god of honor to restore his convoy to nine miles from the Detention Center on the outskirts of paris up above to his home in the nearby town of pray. The leader of the aroma Federalist Party had been arrested after returning from a visit to brussels a year ago was accused of collusion with outlawed groups a charge always denied by save of their violated by less than zero zero seven former member of parliament and Jose Construction in the low. House. I have been always you know respect things that. Anyway its good that them out. His freedom came as part of government efforts to stem a spreading wave of violence and unrest which flared up in twenty fifteen has claimed hundreds of lives and threatens the stability of one of africas Fastest Growing economies and generally the third in a move into defusing the tension ethiopias Prime Minister announced he would release many prominent dissident politicians always out without a party in their members who will decide is it makes their weeks what to do the right road to do or. Say jelly out to do is a government the board for National Debt or if it is real in the honest we are for it but Amnesty International and other observers warn that a few high profile releases will not be enough the regime has to do more stories rescind this reckoning ellos has to instill judicial reform this Security Sector reform a complete overhaul of the electoral system without this. I dont think the people will be satisfied thousands of prisoners of conscience are still in jail accused or prosecuted for protesting against the government in a statement the us embassy said it was encouraged by the latest releases paul brennan aljazeera mohamad and elmo is founder and editor of all pride dot com its an independent news website about ethiopia hes joining us now from washington d. C. Thank you very much indeed for joining us the government says its doing this because it wants to build grounds for a National Consensus do you think this is going to be enough. Dr moreau denies his entire career of fighting for fighting to build bridges and for democracy and equality in the country in the sense hes released today along with about one hundred fifteen other federal inmates is a welcome news and i think it is symbolic for what the government is trying to do hes exactly the kind of person that they need to have a dialogue but is that enough i think it remains to be seen because. More than half of my. Colleagues in the congress in the opposition are in jail he is released today should be followed by the release of others like him. Under the same pretext i think then and only then the government can begin to rebuild a consensus and trust in the process so that through the constellation time take effect there were arrested of course because of the violence that broke out in twenty fifteen that resulted in significant injuries and some deaths what do you think is going to be the reaction of the supporters of the people and the politicians who have been released today. I think people are happy that. Some of the people who have been released home with their families today but they remain as skeptical this government has been in power since nine hundred ninety one and they have made promises different times story for more when they face challenges and external but some of those promises never really came to pass so i think a lot of people are watching this is the skepticism in waiting to see what comes next as you say this government has been in place since one thousand nine hundred ninety one you say that there has been skepticism about what the government has failed to come through on in the past what reason do people have to believe that the government is going to stand by what its promising this time. I think you know. A year ago. Fighting for my people my people would let me free in does essentially what happened today i think what gives a lot of people of them is amys theres a young population that is demanding it is right that is asking for more in ethiopia faces a challenge where the perth is is not going away in it has pushed the ruling party to a corner where now there are divisions even within the governing coalition where the members of the ruling ethiopian Peoples Democratic front is saying surely embracing the protesters demands and calling for reforms i think child power struggle within the party and the fact that there is an assertive Younger Generation of Leaders Within the ruling party in the fact that the protestors and the young people who taking to the streets and demanding their rights these gives people a lot of them ism because one way or another change seems inevitable in ethiopia is just a mother of how soon it will come in a way we are going to see more chains mama drama is founder and editor of pride dot com we appreciate your time thank you very much. I was twelve people have been killed in twin suicide attacks in nigeria the bombers targeted a market on the outskirts of the city of madieu gree at least forty eight people were injured and in kaduna state in Northern Nigeria a gunman have kidnapped two americans and two canadians and killed two police officers. North and south korea will march under our unified flag at the Opening Ceremony of next months Winter Olympics but also field a joint womans Ice Hockey Team for the games until china and south korea theres just are a reconciliation was announced after their first high level meeting in more than two years although measures include joint training and cultural events and pyongyang will send a Cheerleading Squad to the games cafe know but because more from the south korean capital seoul. This is a significant agreement between the two koreas especially considering that before high level talks last week there had been no official communication between the countries in more than two years now they have agreed to march together at the Opening Ceremony under a Korean Peninsula flag theyve agreed to form a joint womens Ice Hockey Team and interesting lee theyre planning to stage events inside north korea theyve agreed to hold training events out at a ski resort that is a pet project of the leader kim jong un theyre also planning to hold a joint cultural event at mount come down now south korean tourists have not visited there since the south korean was shot by a Security Guard ten years ago and north korea has tried to bring up restarting that Tourism Program in the past there have been displays of unity at sporting events before for example the two koreas marched together at the Opening Ceremony of the two thousand sydney olympics but this is agreement follows a period of heightened tensions and increasingly threatening north Korean Nuclear and missile tests south korean president says he hopes this year will mark a turning point in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula but others are skeptical of the Japanese Foreign minister has told the meaning of his counterparts that they should not be naive about north koreas intent nor should they be blinded by what he called its Charm Offensive saying that even now north korea continues to develop its Nuclear Weapons program. Well u. S. President Donald Trumps accusing russia of helping north korea to evade International Sanctions in an interview with the Reuters News Agency hes caused doubt on whether talks with north koreas leader kim jong un will be successful on tuesday twenty countries agreed to consider tightening sanctions on the north they were meeting at a summit in vancouver in canada where japan warned fellow delegates not to be fooled by north korea i am aware that some people argue that now that north korea is engaging in inter korea dialogue we should reward them by lifting up sanctions or by providing some sort of assistance frankly i think this view is just too naive i believe that north korea wants to buy some time to continue their nuclear and missile programs they simply want to get something out of this daryn look well joining us from washington d. C. Is Mark Fitzpatrick hes director of the Nonproliferation Program at the International Institute for strategic studies thank you very much for being with us this seems to have taken a lot of people by surprise what do you think prompted this agreement well north korea for the first time in a couple years has responded positively to south koreas overtures because it thinks it can get something out of use agreements it can reduce potential for war it hopes to get some economic benefits and it hopes to drive a wedge between the United States and south korea so theres a lot of wins here for north korea and from the Southern Side they want to reduce the tensions as well so its probably a win win but how correct is japans foreign minister speaking there suggesting that this is actually a method of distracting the world from north koreas ongoing misao campaigns. Well i think the Japanese Foreign minister is rightly skeptical i think everybody in washington where i live is skeptical about north koreas intentions and the key is whether south korea will give away economic benefits that north korea doesnt deserve just because it comes to the olympics does it deserve to have sanctions lifted most people dont think so in the south korean government officials that ive talked to say dont worry theyre not so naive. One question is whether this. Tourist spot will open and whether south korea will allow its citizens to go and spend money which would go into the hands of the north korean regime i think the United States is probably cautioning against that and well see how that works out south korean president has always made a point of being open to talks with north korea but now that these talks have happened how difficult does that make his position when it comes to dealing with the u. S. And japan for that matter. Well i think in is telling his counterparts you know dont be too worried that hes not a new kid on the block hes been through this game before and hes not going to give give away you know lifting sanctions but but this is all focused on having a peaceful olympics and a peaceful olympics olympics is good for the south korean psyche its good for the south korean economy so i think the United States and japan are ready to give south korea a break here and not not push them too hard the question will be whether this olympics piece can last beyond the olympics and most analysts skeptical about that in fear that come april there will be a resumption of tension i wanted to ask you about that just very briefly in terms of the timescale do you think that there is any potential for this to become a longer term arrangement or are as you say were just seeing this is far as the olympics in april well so far north korea hasnt made any concessions at all on its provocative missile and Nuclear Program so unless they do so unless they agree to Greater Transparency and some limits it wont last beyond april thats when the north thats when the south korean United States joint exercises are scheduled to resume and i think thats when north korea will resume some missile testing and will be back at a presumptive state of war good to get your views on this Mark Fitzpatrick of the Nonproliferation Program of the International Institute for strategic studies thanks for your time. Plenty more ahead on the news hour including. United in defiance catalonia separatists make their return to the regional parliament. The u. N. Warns of more months of drugs ahead in somalia with millions in desperate need of help. And rafael nadal keeps his cool of the Australian Open on his way through to three and hes going to have all the news from melbourne and still. Syrias main kurdish parties urging the u. N. To act quickly to protect kurdish controlled territories in the countrys north the p y d warned that one Million People live in the only of all of africa which turkey has threatened to attack turkeys president of egypt says hell launch an offensive soon to push out Kurdish Forces tanks have gathered on the turkish side of the border im going to link the city and why p. G. Kurdish fighters to turkeys outlawed p k k party which has fought for autonomy for decades and strongly criticized the u. S. For arming and funding the white b. G. Which have played a significant role in the battle against deisel u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson says hell take these concerns into account but in a speech about syria there was no talk of stopping support for cut his troops but lets be clear. The United States will maintain a military presence in syria focused on ensuring isis cannot reemerge our military mission in syria will remain conditions based we cannot make the same mistakes that were made in two thousand and eleven when a premature departure from air iraq allowed al qaeda in iraq to survive and eventually morph into isis it was that vacuum that allowed isis and other terrorist organizations to wreak havoc on the country pope francis has held mosques in the southern chile and yet another Catholic Church has been set on fire as one of at least ten that have been set ablaze in the past week the pontiff stop in the out of of egypt is seen as the most complex of his trip because is the center of a centuries old conflict with local indigenous groups from to mco latin america editor Lucien Newman reports. This is how indigenous my putsch is prayed with branches and cries to the sun and the earth and it was with their traditional rites not the Catholic Churches that pope francis began his visit to chiles most rest of region the other. I doubt but that we can hear alco sing of a sorrow that cannot be silenced from centuries of injustices that heavy one sees taking place. The pope dedicated his homily to the my pooches acknowledging that their blood was spilt on this very air base chosen for the people ceremony and it is still being disputed by seven hundred families thousands walked long distances from all over the region to attend even from neighboring argentina and the but. We are separated by dandies mountains but we have the same approach of people who had to say no demands for the return of our Ancestral Lands that were taken from us. But many couldnt get here because of barricades put up by masked. Groups who blocked access roads but. I would region has been beaten by too many conflicts since the pope is closer to god than we are hopefully he can into seed and i will be have for peace three Catholic Churches were targeted by arsonists in the lead up to the popes visit no one has taken responsibility. Here. Privately you know him. But the vatican spokesman told aljazeera the pope is not here to mediate the pope called for my pushes to be recognized as equals but he made no mention of the key issue of land rights instead he warned against confrontation and violence. Violence begets violence destruction increases fragmentation and separation violence can turn even the most just cause into a lie. Franciss repeated p. For unity is what many wanted to hear but its unclear whether it will contribute to easing a centuries old dispute in chiles poorest region. You see in human ill just see that. The European Union is planning to impose sanctions on seven senior venezuelan officials next week diplomats say theyll vote in favor of travel bans and asset freezes on thursday the u. E. U. Wanted to put pressure on president Nicolas Maduro his government which is accused of cracking down on the opposition and ruining the economy the crisis has led to an influx of people crossing into neighboring countries. Has more from the colombian border city of. Minutes well as imploding economy as man increase in the number of venezuela and refugees moving to me especially in border towns and cities like where we are right now half a million of them are now in colombia cording to government figures hearing that many are sleeping on the streets close to the border taking over classes and sports fields in this city theyre cooking out on that the streets leaping in hammocks or tents their number has been increasing since the beginning again the year create creating a lot of tensions here in cuckoo time putting a strain on social services the city. Has started registering them just to find out how many of them are actually now here in this border town and the secretary general of the United Nations and this was in colombia last week and said this time for the International Community to do more in assisting colombia for this problem that will not go away and will probably only get worse in coming months britains lower house of parliament has approved a bill that will help the countrys withdrawal from the European Union through a formal transfer european laws into u. K. Loads bill now goes to the Upper Chamber but it may face more resistance is expected to have several amendments added before being sent back down to the lower house for further debate. The parliament in spains catalonia region has met for the First Time Since snap elections in december the still on the certainty over the new president of the parliament separatist partys one former leader collis push them all but hes in selfimposed exile in belgium called penholder reports. But the first vote in a new session of the cattle and parliament and the separatist members of the new assembly the next chapter in their campaign for catalonia to split from the rest of spain. Were not going to back down were going to work to build up the grassroots and turn a goal of an independent republic into reality. Yellow ribbons marked the seats of elected members of parliament who are in jail or on the run judges accuse them of rebellion for leading the campaign to create a breakaway republic when spanish Prime Minister used Emergency Powers to call snap elections to the cattle and parliament his clear aim was to try and realign the balance of power but that gamble has not paid off because once again separatist parties have been able to build a majority and the ruling coalition. Of the process session coalition was elected parliamentary speaker at wednesdays inaugural session but i learned that if the. Parliamentary speaker is an important job he will effectively control the political agenda within the next two weeks he must organize a vote to choose the new head of the cancelling government the separatist partys want to reinstate ousted leader demand who fled to belgium when the Spanish Government declared emergency rule in october. Brazil would someone back in the. Spanish police say theyll arrest bustamante if he returns unity politicians who favor remaining part of spain also reject the proposal. The new first minister must be hearing catalonia not abroad we will not accept the savior the moccasin virtual politicians are holograms. Separatist m. P. s ended the opening session with the capital. A rebel song about breaking the chains of spanish oppression while outside several thousand rallied to support the separatist cause they sense the stage is now set for a new showdown with Spanish Government leaders in madrid. Police in pakistan say a five Year Old Girl was raped before being strangled to death in the countries in northwest body was discovered in a field on sunday close to the city of ma done theres been outrage in the country over the murder and rape of a two year old is zainab on saturday the case has caused widespread protests with accusations of negligence on the part of the authorities. The un says more than half of somalias population need emergency aid because of conflict and a major drought millions have been forced from their homes and hundreds of thousands of children are malnourished the u. N. Says the situation is going to get worse unless it receives one point six billion dollars in extra funds and smith reports. Most somalis are finding it hard just to survive day to day after more than four years of drought and the continuing war with al shabaab fighters the un says it just managed to stave off famine in somalia last year but with poor rains forecast again this year more intensive aid will be needed to help the one in every two somalis who are displaced by widespread fighting. Together over the more than two million a fifth of the population one into some displaced away from their home this is fuelling suffering it is feeling the levels of humanitarian need and they do not have neighborhoods and their ways to survive for more than a decade fighters who are linked to al qaeda have been trying to take over somalia bombings in the capital mogadishu and conflict nationwide makes it hard for aid groups to introduce projects that will help the economy grow long term and reduce dependence on a war has to be a long war on how. The support. That we are not in the name of. Responding was born in the right. The threat from gunmen remained significant despite being forced from much of the territory they controlled by forces from the somali army and the African Union reduced funding means twenty one thousand troops are due to leave somalia by the end of twenty twenty Somali Government leaders say they dont have the resources to plug the gap those troops will leave the risks more instability and rather than a groups helping somalia become selfsufficient aid workers are struggling to keep the population from starving to death but its meant aljazeera still ahead on aljazeera. Donald trumps presidency has had a huge impact on foreman is in the United States and across the globe and had a look at that. And drawing lines in the sand the dakar rally leader extends his overall advantage on stage eleven and they will have all the details in sports. Hello it is snowed in louisiana not unprecedented but on the usual spot as far south as you can get this extreme cold you know temperatures have been really low and weve pushed as far as we can go now to see if anything things ought to ease up a little bit but to study seven degrees a max in dallas and zero in chicago but the sun should be out this is for thursday the wintry weather is coming down the Pacific Coast from d. C. Through Washington State california a good bit of snow is forecast here as you can see which is wanted to be honest but rain of course at lower elevations elsewhere the sun still doing its work chicagos up to plus for new yorks after plus to now a line of rightness been lying from the bahamas through cuba and then down to this past Central America is peping out once more weve got the potential of them quite heavy right i think in honduras costa rica and panama the onshore breeze is just make he continued to be honest it might even reach parts of billys if youre really unlucky or think they will be honduras that is the focus of this of course seasonally we expect some decent showers through southern brazil in europe why theyre still there but the suns eyes and nice and warm when its aries. The controversial leader of Islamic Jihad father scott who is one of the most one internists in the history of israel you cant turn his on his alleged extra judicial killings by Israeli Intelligence and mossad says im being caught in the bus cause the outcome is only death if someone tried to get to chicago immediately superintelligent was shut down the border dont kill him in damascus at this time on al jazeera world. Our jews iraq and. Where every. Youre watching all jazeera reminder of our top stories this hour ethiopia has freed Opposition Leader made it a good deal that was detained during antigovernment protests in twenty fifteen the government released more than four hundred others as part of what it says is a National Reconciliation drive. North and south korea will march under a unified flag at the Opening Ceremony of next months Winter Olympics and also field a joint hockey team a gesture of reconciliation a follows the first talks in more than two years. Pope francis is urging chiles my pussy Indigenous People to end violence and the struggle for more rights hes held mass in the out of kony a region which is at the center of a centuries old conflict with the government. The uns agency for Palestinian Refugees is looking for other donors after the u. S. It cut its contribution its withholding half of the one hundred twenty five Million Dollars it had pledged to the u. N. Relief and works agency in twenty eighteen washington was unreal was biggest donor and accounted for about thirty percent of the bodys budget the latest cut comes on top of an already drastically reduced contribution from the u. S. In previous years among con reports. It will be camps like these jalazone in the occupied west bank that will be affected most by the us decision to cut a refugee funding to the United Nations relief and works agency otherwise known as. There isnt a household here that doesnt rely on whether its Health Education all Waste Collection fifteen thousand refugees live here yeah it would be a big problem with. The agency wasnt here for just two days you would see thrashed by leg up on the door in places like gaza residents fear they will be left destitute because of the u. S. Decision the israeli siege of gaza already creates acute shortages of food electricity and other essentials as well as causing high unemployment and infrastructure to crumble. I think you should have mercy on the people and the little ones my husband isnt president i cant buy wheat eleven on syria jordan and elsewhere five million Palestinian Refugees are reliant on. The agency has a deficit and says this new cut further harms its operations we are going to be working relentlessly to extend the donor base to find other donors to come in to fill this gap because our sincere hope is that we will be able to maintain services to some of the most marginal and fragile communities Vulnerable People in the middle east we hope that Regional Security regional stability will not be threatened but that has to remain a risk in light of the u. S. Reduction politically the palestinians say the u. S. Is no longer a partner for peace this is another way sure does the heart of been the thinking over there but as the leadership and it shows that we are parked. It shows the reading of the political product of where the president and his administration would have come from to this issue it proves every day because of the euro zone and because of the another one us President Donald Trump has already caused controversy internationally with the announcement that the u. S. Embassy will move from tel aviv to jerusalem and thats angered palestinian president mahmoud abbas. This sins of donald trump when he wrongly claimed that jerusalem is the capital of israel is a challenge to millions of muslims and christians this is favoritism for the sake of the Israeli Occupation for the israeli crimes for the israeli attacks on our Palestinian People this means that the us has chosen to violate International Law how can we trust has it been astray how can we trust this superpower we will never trust them again we will never accept them as mediators between us and the israelis the u. S. Cut the funding has cemented the feeling here that the u. S. Is now part of the problem and has picked the israeli side the u. S. President donald trump said he was looking for the deal of the century between the israelis and the palestinians or palestinians say that that deal is now history imraan khan aljazeera gelatine refugee camp in the occupied west bank selling salim ali is head of the Palestinian League for human rights its an organization that helps palestinians syrians and he now lives in oxford and spoke about how he benefited from funding. I am one of those refugees who studied up on a well funded school and this is how i managed to acquire all of my education my education that got me into Oxford University i think its effect is going to be huge especially in terms of on the operations in syria because a huge amount of on our budget the donation of the United States of america to honor was a huge amount of it went to syria on a whopper a sheds and there is no other donor even the second largest donor in the e. U. There is no other donor matches the donations of the United States especially in syria operation so the effect is going to be catastrophic especially for half a million syrian and syrian refugee displaced inside syria and in the middle east politicians in the u. S. Trying to prevent a possible Government Shutdown on the anniversary of Donald Trumps first year in Office Congress will need to push through a short term spending bill by friday to avoid federal agencies shutting their doors over the weekend democrat leaders have said they wont back a spending plan unless there are guarantees to protect young immigrants known as dreamers who are facing deportation. The me too movement has been in the global spotlight in the past few months its empowered women to speak out about Sexual Harassment and abuse but as particle han reports the election of donald trump as the us president has also played into that movement and has had a clear impact on women in politics preserve protect and defend there was no comparison donald trump had his day so help me god and the very next one women had theirs. In washington d. C. The largest protest in the history of the country women across america and the world marched to reject the president his sexist actions comments and past allegations of Sexual Assault he was even caught on tape bragging about it grab him by the. And he was still a leftist. The question at the time was this a moment or a movement i never thought that i would do this until i went to the womens march in washington d. C. Lets let this be the beginning empowered women like rebecca cola ran for elected office in virginia a Record Number ran eleven toppled long serving male politicians its been happening across the country. And i just say to donald trump keep your hands off seattle. Women are running like never before and winning in large part because women are also voting in huge numbers because of trump the worst could possibly happen actually happened and we have someone qualified to be leading this country long time feminist icon Gloria Steinem is in a unique position to judge this movement she told me she believes it is here to stay its beginning to shift and i think i think were beginning to see. That there is no gender. People are people. And beyond reason beyond gender which are schooling i believe its a system that political scientist laura brown says will change because of this she predicts women will have parity in government in a decade or so what you see here is that enough women are finally getting involved at the local and state level to ensure that there will be a strong bench of women candidates ready to run for those higher level offices in the coming years and decades one year in and it appears there is something donald trump is making great again feminism although it is highly unlikely that was his intention to call him aljazeera washington british as a republican strategist and a consultant shes joining us again from washington d. C. Good to have you on the program again rena after one year what message do women take away from the trumpet ministration i think women take away the message that this country is theirs and they have to be vocal and engaged a meaningful way in the political process for there to be any change that is going to advance women in this country certainly this candidacy and this presidency so far one year in has shown the average American Woman and that perhaps we have a longer ways to go than we originally thought President Trump hasnt quite been the champion for women that he claims to be how do you think and this is kind of an unfair question i on my screen to speculate but how do you think republican female voters who voted donald trump into office no field given the allegations that have been made against him. Well so its important to note that fifty three percent of white women in america voted for donald trump its always been my sentiment that women who voted for donald trump despite the allegations that surfaced prior to november two thousand and sixteen allegations of improper language about women some even of Sexual Harassment and in previous years i think women still chose to elect him because he would shake up the system they wanted something new to happen in washington they wanted to take a chance on something new and thats why they voted for him however those women who did vote for him i think now feel some degree of remorse we are sitting at a time where National Security which is a hot topic for most female voters in the United StatesNational Security is uncertain we are not sure whats happening with north korea were not sure of our position in many parts of the world and so i think that leaves many women feeling a bit remorseful about their vote for President Trump as patty was saying in her reports which we heard just before we came to you there seems to have been a significant uptick in the number of women across the u. S. On both sides of the divide who are joining the political process do you think the ballot is going to be enough to try to change what women may see as a parable if you like a stumbling block in the current administration. Well one important figure to note as well is that there is not gender parity in u. S. Congress we are so far from that like professor laura brown said we have to be optimistic about the future the bench is stacking up there are strong women who are who are making strides every day and bringing other strong women with them to engage in the political process whether that be of candidates or as activists but i think were a long ways away from political parity in addition to gender parity there are sixty two women democrats serving within the u. S. House of representatives but only twenty two of those are republicans so we see a stark divide there sixteen female democrat senators and five republican female senators in the senate so that is that is a true a really tremendous hurdle i think for the Republican Party in this decade to overcome and especially with divisive language language that isnt exactly forget child friendly its just not sometimes appropriate for any place this president is not doing much to engage more women in a meaningful way when it comes to the political process so i think republicans have a longer way to go and have a tougher road ahead of them to get more republican women elected good to have you on we know thank you very much indeed rhenish. On on thursday were going to take a look at the chair mold to assume part of trumps Foreign Policy in the middle east leading voice in hong kongs prodemocracy movements being jailed for a second time for his role in protest and twenty fourteen joshua wall has been given a three month jail term for contempt of court judges rejected his lawyers request to release him on bail while their demand for an appeal is considered another activist rafael wont was also jailed fourteen others received suspended sentences for their role in the protests. Police in myanmar have opened fire on buddhist protesters in rock on state the Regional Government says seven people were killed at an event celebrating the ancient out of congo kingdom its turned violent after demonstrators were told they were not allowed to gather at a sensitive site a province in the eastern philippines is on high alert as the countrys most active volcano continues to spew lover for a fourth day thirty four thousand people have been forced to evacuate jamila island organ reports from albury province a perfect code is how many here describe mount my own thousands travel to the luzon region to see the bulky new clothes but for the people of and by the volcano is more than just a tourist attraction it is also a source of anxiety. Its been spewing ash and lava for the past week prompting the Mass Evacuation of thousands of visitors such as the family of roman and divine and theyre now staying back you wish in the center having grown up in a village on the slope of the volcano theyve lost count of how many times theyve fled danger they now consider themselves professional evacuees. I think. It never gets easier we live our life he would behind us we sleep here its uncomfortable but we know we have to obey the authorities will forcefully evacuate us anyway. Just like many places across the country the province of oil by often bears the brunt of natural disasters its facing the Pacific Ocean so its prone to typhoons and erupting volcano is because it lies along the socalled pacific ring of fire. But the province is considered the most prepared when it comes to Emergency Response always in first class will be unlike what is said during diapers we can prepare for it but for the my on when it arrives we never know or looking at the present and we still have always to innovate because theres always isnt always the same. Thousands of filipinos live below to me yawn and dependent agriculture for their livelihood this village is empty and people are making sure it stays that way to the danger passes over and over again so we strive for zero casualties even if we have to forcibly extricate people from here some of them insist on coming back to look after their crops and their livestock we worry about that stockpile of ash and lava up there this is far as we can go just right at the six kilometer danger zone local officials tell us they have not seen the volcano this restive the smoke coming out of the bottom part of the volcano is lava that just flowed moments ago no one died in the last major eruption of mt to my yawn four years ago that does little to apiece people here they doubt whether their preparations will be enough to withstand natures unbridled feehery. Still ahead an old. Headache for. The sport. Archaeologists in mexico have discovered whats believed to be the largest underwater cave in the world diversifying human bones and pottery and theyre hoping to use them to gain a better understanding of the mayan civilization politician reports. Deep underneath the state of kin tunnel row in eastern mexico new the sandy beaches of can coon the tourist resort on the caribbean coast scuba divers explore what they say is the worlds longest and largest underwater cavern on the floor. Stretching for three hundred forty seven kilometers the freshwater caves are known as sea not dead dust all hosts the maze of underwater channels is not only extensive but also deep up to one hundred meters in some spots so on the sea in the sea not these muslimeen of the scene there are about two hundred underwater caves in this i quit for a system which we thought could be connected but we were not sure of that so now we know about the collection and the flows of water while the way they said it can put them into the way. That scientists think the kids were used as a source of freshwater during the ancient maya civilization divers began exploring the mayan aqua firs in the one nine hundred eighty s. Mayans considered the cave sacred to the portal to talk with the gods north down a northern me email or us and it gives us a wonderful perspective a new understanding of how the leaders of the ancient satele means and how the ancient mayans developed it allows us to understand more clearly the rituals and the pilgrimage sites and finally the great pretty hispanic settlements that we know of which run along this cave system. At the peak of their civilizations in the six to ten centuries mayans master agriculture mouths and the strong to me as well as building hospitals and sporting arenas and theyre credited with creating calendars and discovering chocolate. Mayans abandoned their cities around one thousand years ago when spanish explorers arrived hundreds of years later they found most cities overgrown. This discovery by divers deep under water may shed more light on what happened above so long ago. I know its time for the sports heres andy thank you very much well north and south korea will march together at next months Opening Ceremony for the winter games in pill in shanghai the two koreas made the agreement during talks on wednesday as well as a pairing under a unified flight the two koreas will form a combined womens i soccer Team Taekwondo athletes supporters and musicians will also be parts of the north korean delegation on north korea boycotted the last olympics in south korea that was the one nine hundred eighty eight summit games in seoul twelve years later at the two thousand sydney olympics athletes from the two countries walked under one flag at the Opening Ceremony the two thousand and six wins the games in syria was the last time that sue countries a paid to get that at and olympics he also correspondent lee wellings. Well the Significant Developments dont have to be confirmed by the International Olympic committee and roseanne on saturday but i will confirm them because this is very good for the i. O. C. The same as peace brokers when in fact theyve just been perfectly positioned to be used by the koreans to come together its not unprecedented but it is usually significant because if you go back to two thousand and six the korean team marched together and in one thousand nine hundred one north and south korea competed at the world table tennis championships together so it does happen but this feels bigger because of the political implications and there are also difficulties involved no doubt about that if you look at the womens Ice Hockey Team that will represent korea or south korea quite strong north korea on so that dilutes the team having some north korean players of course there are going to be some upset south korean ice hockey players some of the coaches some of the people in south korea are wondering whether this should happen that one of them said look its its not the same as gluing a broken plate together so not everybody is happy about it but whats happening transcends sports and the huge delegation from north korea that were going to be in pyongyang were talking about around five hundred fifty people means more than who wins a medal they three at the Australian Open so rafael nadal and Caroline Wozniak you progressing through to the third round in melbourne is a tough day for some of the big names but as johnny guys are oscar reports the mens world number one looks to be on something of a hot streak. Rafael nadal continued his bright start to what he hopes will be a seventeenth grand slam title with no sign of his knee injury the dow was in the pink against the you know the way up nothing was getting it is why not even a ball go. And the world the one who passed the argentinian three set to reach the third round a. Third seat Grigor Dimitrov survived an epic encounter in the second round as he was taking to five sets by the kids donald the world number one hundred eighty six just didnt have the edge over the ball gary the end david chalke winning this one eight six you say australias mick carey also also had a fight on his hands against picture troitsky the seventeenth seed complained several times to be on par about noise from the crowd and the full team microphone and the umpires headache didnt and. I but kerry also eventually saw his tricky opponent seven five six four seven six as a progress into round three was the women strong second seed Caroline Wozniak it came from five one down and set to save too much going to the back would cost her ration yes but they were going to possible future contender for the crown an ounce tougher presence on wednesday at fifteen years old ukrainian vata cost york became the youngest player to reach the round of a glance and since one thousand nine hundred seventy i should be only be at a cubs guy. I heard a lot of time that im talented and i know dad. I know that only talent will learn how to play good so. Oh i can see that im. Im working pretty hard. On the five hundred twenty one the next great compassion he whispered to leno and she hopes to keep progressing in melbourne johnny cash or oscar ill just say. In june footballs governing body will decide where the twenty twenty six world cup is to be played a joint bid from the u. S. And mexico and canada is the front runner with morocco its only rival right now the countries hosting the african nations championship asuna hamish reports from casablanca. These were the scenes eight years ago when south africa hosted the world cup and in eight years the continent could once again welcome footballs biggest showpiece. Morrocco has surprised everyone no with their last minute bid to organize the twenty twenty six edition and the man in charge of african football has given the country his full backing. Synagogue and this is our hope and dreams and has it is unfair that a great continent like africa has only been allowed to organize one world cup in a century i think it is legitimate for us to want one of our countries to make this commitment and im myself as a president and committed to join in this bid and will be the twenty twenty sixth edition there is the first expanded the world cup consisting of forty eight countries this newly renovated one hundred the fifth stadium here in cousin blanka could be a showpiece venue but morocco has to prove it can handle such a big event its building a good track record right now by hosting the continent second biggest tournament the african nations championship its also staged the bigger africa cup of nations and the francophone games which featured one thousand seven hundred athletes and although morocco faces a stiff competition from a joint usa canada and mexico bid this confidence within the country that they can deliver the debate which we are facing is is is very hard you know we are competing against strong economies we are competing against america kind of the mexico but then as i said. So to system has changed a lot of things have changed rock also has has changed during the last years basically in terms of infrastructure we are seeing more and more developments in morocco the north african country has already had full failed bids you know. We see that morocco has perfectly organized the african nations championship and it can host the world cup in twenty twenty six moroccan football is on the rise russia twenty eighteen will be the first world cup photo. Yes theyll be hoping they can make it fifth time lucky with this bit. On how much all dizzy casablanca. Science has extended his lead some more than an hour at the dakar rally off the stage eleven the spaniard finished in third place on wednesday also had a ten minute penalty or move by organizers which was given to him earlier on in the wake of an alleged collision with a quote by science leads by one hour and forty five seconds from frenchman stuff and has a handsome with just three more stages remaining. But is always ball for not more lights lots more news and sports on our website aljazeera dot com thats all for me for this news hour ill be back in a moment with more of the days news stories and see that look like. Part. The sams in archaeology graduate from iraq hes also a part time going to Pergamon Museum which includes a reconstruction of the famous ishtar gate in most of the people hes showing around came to germany as refugees this is just one of several billion museums taking part in the project called Meeting Point and as well as bringing people together one of its aims is to emphasise the contribution of migrants right up to the present day to western culture. Because ive been here for some time i can help them with lots of things that mrs ford to me the great thing is its not just about museums about forming a new life it is a part of life its culture. Peace here i mean. I still in afghanistan for some taliban fighters a new call to arms for taliban leaders a threat to their authority. To see children as they call for that side of the islam there were only. Unprecedented access i sill and the taliban at this time on al jazeera. At celebrations in ethiopia after the release of an Opposition Leader on hundreds of other prisoners as part of a government amnesty