Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20180120

Zero zero zero i Maryam Namazie this is the news hour live from london coming up turkey says its launched an ad and ground offensive on kurdish positions in syrias region. U. S. Politicians get back to work trying to break the deadlock that shut down the government on the First Anniversary of Donald Trumps presidency. Women are marking the day by rallying again in a drive to get more female candidates running for office. And schools olympic bosses confirm north korea will be out next month once again aims in pinching twenty two north korean athletes will compete with the two koreas marching behind one of the old fixer. We want to bring you a news story coming to us from afghanistan a major hotel in the capital kabul is under attack by gunmen this according to the interior ministry local media are reporting at least fifteen People Killed or wounded a government Spokesman Says special forces are on the scene at the Intercontinental Hotel battling the attack as the hotel which is on top of a hill overlooking kabul is usually heavily guarded because of its popularity with foreigners and prominent afghans there we have a life situation unfolding in the Afghan Capital kabul a prominent landmark a high profile landmark the Intercontinental Hotel prominent with foreign dignitaries and Foreign Workers that come from broad but also with afghan diplomats as well jennifer glass joins us now from the Afghan Capital jennifer what do you hearing about the situation there. Well i spoke just a few minutes ago somebody inside the hotel a very dire situation indeed they said attackers were inside the hotel that theyve set fire to a number of floors in the hotel as you say this is a very prominent landmark in kabul atop a big hill. In the city and. A very prominent attack now this couple has been on high alert for the last few days as prominent allegations have come through the city but this is attack really very much a blow to Security Forces here in the Afghan Capital this is the hotel on top of a hill is heavily fortified and has been attacked before the last time a huge attack in two thousand and eleven when a number of attackers got inside the hotel that attack though is ongoing we know that is attackers are inside the hotel we understand that they there are there may be a hostage hostage situation underway as well some reports suggesting that as you say Afghan Special forces are on the site of calls being a hotel that is popular not just with foreigners but also afghans in the capital prominent afghans there are bound to be plenty of people inside its quite a large building do we know roughly how many people might have been staying there roughly how many hostages them might be. We dont its really unclear its a very you know changing time here in afghanistan sometimes the hotel is full time times it is its very empty it is a large hotel that spans six or seven floors it was one of the it is one of the Largest Hotels in the city we have no idea how many hostages there might be how many people might be in danger how many people might be really at risk at this moment it is very much an ongoing situation there are reports of gunfire the real question will be how the people got into the hotel in the first place as i said there was an attack there in two thousand and eleven and since then security there has been extremely tight its at the top of a hillside and so getting into the Hotel Getting onto the Hotel Premises is very difficult anyway you must go through a number of security checks just to get to the hotel area let alone inside the building a lot of questions we ask about how this could possibly have happened but right now i think the main concern is how afghan Security Forces are going to end this siege how they might be able to get out of the situation things very unclear right now in this ongoing situation. The security situation afghanistan has been deteriorating and very difficult for a long time not just in kabul but obviously there are provinces in the south where we see a great deal of instability. Are people how angry will people be that the government has been unable to bring any sense of stability and security to the capital itself which had in previous years enjoyed some security but we see more and more of these type of attacks happening with greater frequency. Thats a very good point look at the Afghan People are incredibly frustrated at the lack of security here in kabul and around the country here in kabul of course there have been a number of attacks just in the last five or six weeks or so not to mention the terrible attack may thirty first of last year that killed more than one hundred fifty people and injured hundreds more in the heart of the city since then afghans have been incredibly unhappy about how about how the government has been unable to protect them and around the country the security situation remains a terrible problem as well this latest attack tonight on the intercom and now this ongoing attack on the Intercontinental Hotel will surely add to that frustration and concern that the Afghan Government and the tightest of security cannot protect the Afghan People or International Delegations visiting afghanistan or any other type of progress that afghanistan tries to make and that perhaps is the point here those who are opposed to the Afghan Government try to prevent any progress and highlighting this lack of security is the way that they do that and the afghan public frustrated with the government you know it further destabilizes the government and so it is a very difficult situation for the Afghan Government right now as you watch an attack like this happening on one of what should be one of the more secure areas of the Afghan Capital right for now thank you very much jennifer glass bring us the latest on the unfolding situation in the Afghan Capital kabul gunmen have attacked the Intercontinental Hotel theyve been exchanging fire with Security Forces and we understand there are hostages inside so well stay across that story for you are all the top story this hour turkey says its now launched a ground an air offensive on the kurdish held on clay of a freend in Northern Syria turkish jets have counted out. Strikes on the border district targeting the kurdish white peachey this after days of shelling ankara fears the establishment of a kurdish corridor along its border and has been deploying troops and tanks there in preparation for a ground assault syria has warned against any operation and said it will shoot down turkish planes well Turkish Backed Syrian Rebels are also reported to have mobilized a frame and turkeys president says the next target will be the syrian town of man beach which a u. S. Backed kurdish led force captured from i still in two thousand and sixteen then look at them there we will wipe out this corridor will step up starting for the wished effort operation has defectors started in the field this will be followed by bed b. Since the promises made about have not been kept so far nobody can say eighty three when we do what is necessary. Stephanie decker has more from the turkey syria border. Turkey launched its air campaign shortly before sunset and this follows a week of increasingly Strong Political rhetoric coming from the president from the Prime Minister from the foreign minister from the minister of defense saying that ankara was going to launch its attack on affray and that it had every right to do so to clear his border from what it calls terrorists where theres now been heavy bombardment from the sky theres also been the mobilization of thousands of members of the Free Syrian Army this is the group that turkey supports in side syria and the attack certain seems well underway the y. P. G. This is the group in control of that turkey considers a terrorist Organization Says there has already been civilian casualties it is going to be an incredibly difficult situation for the civilians and politically speaking this wouldnt have been able to happen without the green light from russia because russia controls the sky weve also had an announcement from the Foreign Ministry saying that the troops that it had the military personnel on the ground enough to be in have now been pulled out theres a meeting underway the turkish Foreign Ministry has called a meeting with the americans with the iranians and with the russians here in turkey it goes to show just the international dynamic and the dimensions that the syrian war has and how complicated it is you now have a nato ally bombing a group that is seen as the u. S. Is best to fight eisel on the ground in syria it has implications it is incredibly complicated but certainly after a week of of saying that this is what turkey was going to do that campaign is now well underway. Of morning im joined by marijuana charlotte is there is a senior political analyst and the turkish president i dont has carried out what he promised to do we expect now that to be a ground offensive as well in Northern Syria. Is there some understanding between him and the russians because a lot of people were saying that the tax not going to go to this part of Northern Syria because of the russian presence well clearly the russians control the airspace there and theyve had advisors around the town of offering but theyve withdrawn so apparently after the phone conversation between the chief of staff of the army. The turkish one and the russian ones that they have arrived at a certain understanding so the russians whether theyre giving the green light or whether they are simply were doing because they dont want to have a confrontation with their new partner as it were the turks in syria but certainly the Kurdish Forces are being exposed and being alone now so the russians of basically with drone the americans are not doing much except having a phone conversation with that there is a foreign minister so unfortunately while you know as our correspondent there says that its. Getting more and more complicated but theres one thing quite simple is that the syrians continue to die. Is that violence continue to escalate and that the kurds continue to be exploited whether it was by others assad of syria before whether by the americans later and so on so forth and they continue to die and so we saw our situation before in the last few years where the turks have always been unhappy about the territory that the kurds in the white peachey have been building up in the north of syria the u. S. As you say were prepared to use them as leverage and assad was willing to tolerate it because it worked in his favor in terms of raising them against the Syrian Opposition how important is the kurdish question going to become how much of an access it is it going to be in the syrian conflict this year where clearly it has this collated then it has become more and more important and its again its quite unfortunate because the proposal since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution and two thousand and eleven was that the kurds should have joined the other Syrian Forces against us instead of going it on their own and basically having a bit of a mini civil war among the kurdish factions themselves because as we all know the idea later on there are the their armed forces the y. P. De were not alone in the kurdish areas so basically dominated those areas before and then they went in into some kind of confrontation with the Free Syrian Army so all in all theyve been armed by the United States. Now with this its not its not exactly a border force its just a force by the United States but theyve been used as a proxy as i said i said the father used them as proxy against turkey and against iraq now the United States used them against eisel and in order to have leverage within syria and its unfortunate that some of those elites and im not talking about the kurds or the syrian kurds in general some of the elites some of the approach and were more than happy to be used in proxy conflicts and that and for that we see the results so the kurds have said sorry the turks have said all along that the writing is on the wall there will not allow what they consider to be a picnic a meaning their own you know kurdish. Workers party that the liberal terrorists to have the other side of the coin meaning the id to have such an important military presence on their borders and that eventually theyre going to demolish them and their presence so weve seen that coming the americans have seen that coming the russians have seen that coming the fact that none of them have done anything about it is the saddest part of the story and its going to continue to emerge because were talking about thousands of kurdish fighters tens of thousands of armed kurds now somewhere on the on the border with turkey and iraq and certainly this coalition is going to continue quite an unfortunate day for syria and for the kurds thank you very much. Well in all the developments syrian state t. V. Is saying that Government Forces have taken control of a rebel held ad base in northwest syria. Her base in province was captured by rebels in two thousand and fifteen the offensive is part of the governments ongoing efforts to regain control of the area fighting has forced more than two hundred thousand people to flee their homes south of it live and in nearby parts of hama and aleppo province since december. Will a Lebanese Army says that its found five more bodies of Syrian Refugees who froze to death while trying to cross the border into lebanon nine bodies were found on friday after a snowstorm hit the mountainous area around the Border Crossing several other refugees were rescued two syrians have been arrested on smuggling charges you with the news out live from london much more to tell you about pope francis wraps up his latin american told but is facing criticism for comments he made in chile. In sport Roger Federer is a step closer to defending his Australian Open title with the details. So he branded himself the art of the deal President Donald Trump was on able to strike a deal with the democrats to prevent a Government Shutdown in the First Anniversary of his inauguration republicans and democrats are now trying to negotiate a deal before monday the government officially shut down at midnight in washington after the senate failed to pass a stopgap funding bill on friday blame the democrats for the deadlock branding them obstructionist loses a live now to our White House Correspondent kimberly whole kit in washington d. C. And does it look as though this shutdown could be short lived want to be know about negotiations to resolve it. Well little is known about the negotiations but it doesnt appear from the finger pointing on capitol hill that this is going to be short lived in fact just the opposite weve heard from both the Senate Majority leader a republican as well as the Democratic Senate leader in the last hour the republican leader Mitch Mcconnell saying that this is a totally avoidable mass this is a manufactured crisis by the democrats and Chuck Schumer has just will he in fact he may still be speaking or it looks like hes just wrapped up his press conference basically saying that this is the fault of President Trump that its impossible for him to stick to the terms of any deal well its being negotiated and its literally impossible for there to be any negotiation without negotiation it seems unlikely this will be resolved anytime soon. A frustrated white house marking one year in office not with a celebration but instead with government confusion hours after the Government Shutdown took hold Vice President mike pence on a trip to the middle east place blame on political rivals democrats in the senate but with the exception. That if i. Chose to put politics. Were in it. And thats just. A social media president trub posted multiple tweets pointing at Democrats Holding our military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration this is the one Year Anniversary of my presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a nice present to be courageous stand listening to the American People the last Government Shutdown nearly five years ago lasted sixteen days lawmakers are leading us Congress Returns to work on saturday with the goal of passing legislation to fund the government before federal workers are scheduled back monday morning the democrats in the senate are Holding Government funding hostage. The people protecting this country will continue to work but wont get a paycheck it is the trump confrontation and chaos that continues that is why this Government Shutdown the white house says there will be no discussion on immigration a till the government is reopened democrats insist there will be no funding deal unless protections for more than three Million People brought you legally to the United States as children are passed. Outside the white house on the lawn of the National Mall mostly democratic supporters attending a planned womens march protested the republican stand. And this Government Shutdown is a political gamble for both republicans and democrats polls show when it comes to the opinion of the American Public that a majority do support democratic efforts to reform immigration but not at the expense of shutting down the government so ultimately it will be the American Public that will decide this is an Election Year with Congressional Elections in november of twenty eighteen and regardless of whether or not a deal is struck we can be certain that this is not how donald trump anticipated or planned spending the anniversary of his first year in office thank you very much and washington while womens marches are taking place across the u. S. On the anniversary of President Donald Trump in office this was the scene in washington d. C. As events got on the way that just a couple of hours ago pound to the polls is being hailed as the beginning of a new era in female political activism organizers hope saturdays rallies will encourage more women to vote and to run for office in novembers midterm elections. Sunday marks one year since the historic first womens march which saw one hundred five Million People take to the streets in protest against president onil trumps policies. Well protesters also have been rallying in los angeles demonstrators say trumps policies include rolling back Family Planning services and equal pay protections have spurred them into action im here because im raising two boys and i want them to be feminine and i want them to understand that this is important and its worth standing up and saying something and speaking up when its ray. Jordan joins me live from the march in washington d. C. And so it is one year since the last march took place a pretty tough turn out to be millions turned out for that while the expectations this time. Well they certainly are the expectations were for a lower turnout the park Police Issued a permit for about five thousand five hundred participants for the first part of the march over at the Lincoln Memorial we have now moved to one near the white house where protesters are going to come starting in the next half hour or so to finish their complaints again chance against the trumpet ministration as well as to try to build support for more involvement by women particularly women of color in the political process and that doesnt mean just registering to vote and then casting a ballot it means running for office whether its on a local school board or for a seat in the u. S. Congress the idea is that its not enough for he will to be angry or frustrated with the trumpet ministrations policies the only way that theyre going to see policies that reflect their desires these protesters have been telling us is for them to get involved in the political process themselves its very expensive here in the United States especially now that private companies can invest on told sums of money in political campaigns and its also very time consuming and theres always been this tension that has been held against women because its been alleged that theyre not spending enough time on their family lives if they choose to get involved in politics so what youre seeing a year into the Trump Presidency is a growing sense that this idea that women dont have a seat at the table needs to be turned over once and for all i totes important for women to to have that voice is heard and from more women to be involved in leadership. To really represent. The women on these issues in speaking about how Family Planning services have been affected we were speaking about equal pay all that disparity between a tell us about the issues that the people that really care about what are they talking about and where they want to see the change. Well youre talking about all of those things maher and youre talking about Sexual Harassment in the workplace or in academia or in the nonprofit world or simply walking down the street youre talking about fair pay and fair access to Career Opportunities youre talking about ongoing challenges in trying to access the full range of Health Care Options youre talking about the ability for people to establish themselves in the corporate world and to be taken seriously all of these issues as well as the larger issues of environmental laws problems of racism of sexism of religious bigotry all of those issues have been talked about during todays rally here in washington and a number of gatherings across the United States but certainly organizers here in washington want to focus on is getting people engaged and part of the political process not just be voters all right thank you very much roslyn jordan in washington d. C. Well of course it was the issue of immigration that really dominated president chums first year in power and was of course his controversial ban on travel is from muslim majority nations the decision to undo emergency provisions for migrants from some caribbean countries and of course he maintains that he will still build that wall between the u. S. And mexico John Heilemann joins me live from tijuana in mexico and really this was the country that was very much a lynch pin of Donald Trumps president ial campaign and has been there sippin of some pretty tough rhetoric since he came to power what is the view of president now today way. Well i only just the other day President Trump was again sort of using mexico as a scapegoat really in this continued conflict with democrats and his opponents about the rule and about Border Security he said it was the number one most dangerous country in the world which is objective lee folse and he said that to stop the flow of drugs then the war had to be built you can see the prototypes of the wall behind me thats about as far as hes got so far with that its been held up in congress and you can see also the existing fence that does cover about a third of the mexico United States divide or you see the wall hes planning is about nine meters tall so its significantly going to be more tougher to get across but in the early months of the trumpet ministration there was talk from officials about the trump effect and that was his tough rhetoric and plans for more Border Agents and for the will which was discouraging people officials said from trying to get across in the numbers really did bear that out it was the lowest number of captures of migrants in seventeen years now that trump effect seems to be wearing off the numbers are starting to go back up across some parts that might be the fact that he hasnt been a would yet to enact his proposals and his plans and also because the people that weve been talking to him into one or another areas in mexico are saying that theyre just desperate a lot of them are coming from Central American countries like honduras el salvador theres a lot of violence theres not much Economic Opportunity and so that whatever the obstacles theyre going to still try and get over to the other side thanks very much John Heilemann bring us the latest from tijuana mexico. Well pope francis has led a huge mass on a beach in northern peru as his south american talk comes to an end on hundreds of thousands of people gathered in to heal for the service or than one hundred people were killed by flooding last year in the area and the pope is expected to visit some of the west affected parts meanwhile the pope has been criticized by his top adviser on clerical sex abuse for comments he made on thursday while in chile the pontiff accused victims of a paedophile priest of having sounded another bishop one r us lick tims claim barros knew of the abuse but did nothing to stop it a charge the bishop denies this is what pope francis said you get everything and everyone looking over the data that they bring me proof against bishop virus then i will speak there is not one bit of proof against a boy and all of it is slander its not clear. A Cardinal Sean omalley the archbishop of boston said he couldnt explain why the pope but chose in the words he did adding they were source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse he said the pontiff fully recognized the agreed just phase of the church and its abused children. And watching the news hour much more to come including. We look at the growing divide between rich and coal which sparked irans deadly protests. Sanctuary in northern kenya thats helping the community as well as vulnerable elephants. And then later with andy will be at the finish line of the wilds toughest off road insurance right. Hello there weve got some very active weather across the levant region at the moment we have some very strong winds that gave us a sandstorm for some of us in turkey and then we saw some very heavy downpours as well that weather is gradually edging its way eastward spiraling its way and easing a little bit as it does so as we head through the day on sunday it will be here making its way across parts of iran just giving us a few breaks of rain behind it theres another weather system thats working its way and thats going to be giving us some heavy rain there over parts of turkey and then its becoming slightly more intense for monday so looks very windy rather wet for some of us over the mountains rather wintery as well the system ahead of it well thats bringing us more cloud over parts of iran would also bring an increase in winds as well but here in doha generally looking quite quiet all weather looking like its going to stay around twenty one or twenty two degrees as we head through the next few days malda force in salalah will be up to around twenty six for the southern parts of africa you can see this area of time here working its way towards the south thats the remains of a Tropical Cyclone moving away from us now but we do have a little area of low pressure thats developing between mozambique in madagascar thats in hong kong the rains here it really does look very wet its already been wet in the northern parts of madagascar for the last week or so we are likely to have more flooding. Facing realities growing up when did you realize that you were living in a special place the socalled secret city getting to the heart of the matter the me and maher government calls you a gringo lead terrorist hear their story on the talk to aljazeera at this time the strength of al jazeera is that because we have such a span fifty four people were coming to us and actually shared information with. The men trapped at. The scene for us whether online what is a very new site in yemen that peace is almost possible but it never happens not because the situation is complicated but because no one cares or if you join us on sat there are people that are choosing between buying medication and eating basis is a dialogue i want to get in one more comment because this is someone whos an activist and shes close to the story join the global conversation at this time on aljazeera. Im back with aljazeera lets update you on the stories making headlines Afghan Special forces are fighting gunmen who attacked a major hotel in central kabul the interior Ministry Says three or four attackers are inside the Intercontinental Hotel. Turkey has started its offensive on kurdish positions in syrias our free region it says man beach will be next and the u. S. Government is shutdown after the senate fails to pass a funding bill Donald Trump Blames the democrats. Well over the last week human Rights Groups and opposition politicians of warn that iranians arrested after taking part in decembers antigovernment protests are being tortured and killed in prison but officials of claim that some of those who died instead committed suicide. Joining me now from washington d. C. Is Jasmine Ramsey she works for the new york based center for human rights in iran thank you very much for joining us what do you know about whats transpired about the conditions facing those whove been arrested. Well we know of at least two deaths that happened in custody according to officials the officials have claimed both these deaths were as a result of suicide one of them happened in tehran in evin prison his name was seen on bari officials claim that he hung himself in the quarantine unit in the bathroom of evin prison and another case is. Who again officials claim committed suicide in a Detention Center in iraq in his case his lawyer has gone on record and spoken with our organization to let us know that he believes that there is a cover up going on that his client which he had taken on pro bono at the time it did not kill himself and we know from a family close a source close to the family that they said that before he was buried they saw a marking on his head as though someone had hit him with an axe. So thats what we know yes. And the authorities have said that those that have died in prison died as a result of suicide obviously that the situation is very traumatic for the families of those involved families of those who were arrested he said that you are in touch with one of the law is is there any type of legal. Process that the families can pursue in order to get more facts or just to find out a bit more about the circumstances surrounding the death of their loved ones. Its extremely difficult for the families to do anything in these cases theyre often pressured to stay silent to avoid speaking to the media and lawyers are sometimes charged for speaking to the media we have human rights lawyers in iran in prison currently right now just for taking on cases involving human rights issues in two thousand and nine during the protests of that time when thousands again were arrested there were deaths at the cat has acted Tension Center and at that time in the beginning they did say that the protesters had killed themselves later on just last year side mortazavi the tear on prosecutor was sentenced to two years in prison for negligence in there in the case of at least one protester who died there and we had three cases that died inside the Detention Center and two that died their family said that they died as a result of injuries sustained in that Detention Center we call for an end of them to scuse me an independent investigation of these claims thats standard procedure whenever detainees die in custody the detaining authority judicial officials theyre responsible for the health and well being of people that they take into custody and its interesting to note that in both cases some officials have claimed that these protesters were drug addicts. And weve also seen it in times where there was cases of. People dying in custody in mysterious cases and the authorities try to defame them and say that you know it was the it was the fault of the protester not us thank you very much from washington d. C. Jasmine ramsey. Well the antigovernment demonstrations in iran exposed the growing divide between rich and poor while one or two percent of the population joy is a luxury is life style millions of iranians are struggling to make ends meet in two thousand and seventeen irans government set a poverty line about four hundred eighty dollars a month but household thirty three percent of the population lives below the line thats more than twenty four Million People but its also a struggle for many People Living above the line the Median Income for an average household is about eight hundred eighty five dollars just two dollars more than the minimum they need to get by and with soaring unemployment and inflation many iranians are frustrated that despite the lifting of economic sanctions two years ago the promised economic boom hasnt happened the same bus driver he spoke to some of to rons most vulnerable. Buzzard met her so for a says the hardest part of his job is getting people interested in classical music. It makes it difficult to find work we have found so naturally we have few opportunities to perform. Still so for a says he loves his work and does not need the money i promise i want out of the streets are not about his to perform with a place where you can change the way people feel for a second a minute. And you get back a lot of positive energy from the street. But not everyone of the streets is there by choice so you the makes about five dollars a day selling flowers fifteen when business is good with eight mouths to feed says its better than nothing bitches she i have a diploma but i dont have a job my cousin has a masters degree and he doesnt have a job either the situation in the country is bad officials to do something to give lots of promises and we vote for them and then they take office and forget us say the once the same as millions of iranians a house he can afford a steady job and cheaper prices for everyday goods but hes not hopeful that things will get better anytime soon. Big cities like to run are experiencing a real estate boom luxury buildings and Luxury Brands are popping up on almost every major street but the very urban development that is bringing the rich and poor closer together is the same thing that is pushing them apart more off to you. For the last fifty years the status of a peoples financial situation has been Getting Better what is harmful is a gap thats being created between poor and rich people and that selfawareness that is being created in the middle class of a society is more dangerous than poverty itself we dont have people who are deeply paul like other countries but the gap between the poor and rich people makes the feeling of being held back more extreme its the kind of discontent that helped fuel antigovernment protests last month. And could be the impetus for more unrest in the future. The hum of this from the north of the country he came to her on to make enough money to send home to his wife sister and mother he doesnt like what he does and makes at most only ten dollars a day doing. Was given when i was going to dont do that what should i say i havent seen my family in a month i havent paid my rent or the gaza bill all the power bill of the lotto bill im not able to earn enough money businesses but so people dont pay us. The whole month sings us a song that many iranians know all too well about a man who is tired desperate and pray for help. Zero to one. All by all accounts the u. S. Economy is booming and the u. S. President donald trump has been taking credit for it while the first year of his presidency has been punctuated with good news to sticks about the economy the data shows that actually much of the foundation for that was laid during the time of his predecessor bracco bamma Economic Performance is measured by Gross Domestic Product or g. D. P. Its the total of all goods and services produced in a given period u. S. Government figures show g. D. P. Grew three point two percent in the Third Quarter of twenty seventeen and earlier this week the dow jones hit a historic high of twenty six thousand so thats very positive for the president but the dow began its upward trend in twenty sixteen when obama was president another key Economic Indicator is unemployment and its a fact that more americans are in work unemployment is four point one percent but this downward trajectory it also began under obama so lets discuss this and more with joseph who is the chief economist at u. S. Accountancy firm our s. And thank you very much joseph for speaking to us so hearing that the u. S. Economy has continued to improve on the president g. D. P. Growth ticking upwards but the key concern amongst economists is whether it can be sustained in the face of trumps tax policy whats your view. Well the big smile you c. M. I. Face has to do with a very low Unemployment Rate rising wages and of course an economy that is accelerating into twenty eighteen look president s get far too much credit for the good things that happen economically on their watch in far too much blame for the bad things from my side spent ben bernanke the central former central bank chief of the United States really created the conditions to where we are now seeing a full recovery in the United States is it sustainable yes on its current path whats going to be interesting though is the late cycle fiscal stimulus mr trumps tax cut that its going to begin to show up in individual paychecks in a couple weeks will likely turbo charge United States economy for you know six to eight quarters but then i would expect that the long term trend will revert back towards two percent. So youre expecting that growth will go down as a result of the tax policy is this without getting too technical about things but is this to do with the long term implications of government borrowing because there has been some concern about that. Well thats right whats going to happen is by the time we get to two thousand and twenty the United States is going to begin a operating greater than one trillion in annual operating deficit so theyre going to be calling the president trillion dollar dong when we get to that point and that will begin to tug down on us growth rate the u. S. Long term growth rate is two percent were just seeing a temporary deviation from that mean late in the Business Cycle for a forward looking investor should expect a reversion back towards that trend and youll see it in late two thousand and twenty ok so what about that there was a real sense of speaking just there about the stock market and weve seen a boost to Business Sentiment to Consumer Sentiment but during the president ial campaign of two thousand and sixteen that was a real fear of Political Risk and a sense of uncertainty among the Big Companies and yet even off to trump was elected despite the anti trade rhetoric which we know become penneys hate despite the crackdown on immigration which isnt good for business and they continue to hire to invest it didnt seem to do anything to dampen that confidence we surprised by that. Well you know theres two things that have really supported stock market valuations first is the temporary earnings recession that we saw mid two thousand and fifteen and did in racine a real strong recovery in corporate earnings second with mr trumps ascendance into office firms had a little bit more certainty that there just wasnt going to be any more regulation put on Corporate America you know during mr obamas time you had three thousand regulations that were put on businesses that carried a dead weight loss of about eight hundred seventy two billion two thirds of those run Energy Companies many of those are getting rolled back and thats along with the better earnings outlook has created the conditions for a pretty strong surge in equity valuations now the risk you talk about or very well timed one we have a very tight labor market and because i have think in my opinion we have misaligned immigration policies that will create some risk Going Forward and of course the greatest risk states economy this year is actually the idea that mr trump may announce a poll and withdraw from nafta just a very briefly we havent spoken about the real economy that people care about jobs and wages yes unemployment is going down wage growth has been tapped. Thats right it has been but we do see signs of it picking up i expect well see wage growth of three and a half to four percent in twenty eighteen and with some upside gains in twenty nine thousand joseph percent us thank you so much moving now to northern kenya where a conservation project has found a savvy way to protect young and vulnerable at a fenced area teaching sanctuary in simpler accounting is entirely earned by the local community so they also benefit from the money and jobs it generates and need and then has more from some there a county. This two month old call is like any other baby she demands constant attention but a few weeks ago it was a neuro almost drowned in a flooded river in northern kenya shes now at this Elephant Sanctuary where russian linen yaquis is helping to settle her after the rescue all of the cars here have either been abandoned or lost their mothers to draw out poaching but unlike any other sanctuary this one is entirely community owned. In any case is from the some blue tribe their nomadic herders who rely on goats sheep and camels to help provide a livelihood before. Their core minute to do today do dislike. But for now they come to the. Artists who are never been her certain benefits lineage had goes on to say that what kept a century means a better life for many here and so his community appreciates the animals more. Money from tourists who visit the sanctuary also helps to provide local villages with much needed water health care roads and Financial Assistance for students the sanctuary is run by a board of trustees made up of elders who employ local people to work there in a new cases these days people from surrounding villages are increasingly helping with conservation efforts Community Members are often the ones tipping off the sentry when theres an animal in need. Off to a coffee is rescued its a four to the century and kept separate from the other coughs for five days once the keepers know the new elephant is healthy its introduced to the nursery and its temporary family the sanctuary falls under the number conservancy which is home to about fifty thousand people the same brew of always lived with. Life and although the population has grown and the number of livestock or the amount of livestock in this well is grown they still are happy to coexist with what life because theyre not natural hunters on their not porches and so they feel like its there. It is their role to take care of the environment here. Its estimated that between five and ten eleven cops are rescued in route in kenya and while the return of the century is just over a year old keepers here say theyre conservation work will leave a lasting impression from aljazeera somebody recounting well heres a man weve been waiting for and he has the sport. Thanks so much myron while the International Olympic committee has confirmed north koreas participation at next months olympics in pyongyang during a meeting at r. C. A. Headquarters in switzerland it was decided that twenty two north korean athletes will compete in three sports and the two koreas will march behind one flag at the Opening Ceremony the i. O. C. German president thomas back says the agreement has global significance. Im sure. That these will be a very emotional moment moton leave for all koreans but also for the entire world. I mean most self from a thermally derided country it is a moment. Personally looking for. Two with great anticipation and great emotion Manchester United have moved within nine points of premier League Leaders man city a single goal from Anthony Marcio enough united to take all three points away at burnley united manager joe is a marina says the deal to sign striker Alexis Sanchez from arsenal still not done. A sink us i think is so close so close so close that this should doesnt happen. Its not going to happen. So. Im positive i know that my people is doing everything. For man city still have the chance to finish today Twelve Points ahead of united their game with newcastle into the second half city are one up asshole and the run of three league games out of when they beat us four one paul lambert started life as stoke citys manager of the two know one of one hundred failed defending champions chelsea off third after a foreigner win over brights in their manager in combative mood after that game. The best i do to see the negatives bit and dont see it was that there was bitter but these demons with many problems. From move fourteen games in the you know every competition. And julie kavner looks to be a strong consented to win the Australian Open title the twenty sixteen champion overwhelming Maria Sharapova in the third round encounter in melbourne Tatyana Sanchez has more. Former champion Maria Sharapova the comeback run at the Australian Open is over. I the russian was back in melbourne after testing positive for a banned substance hit in twenty sixteen the sharp over was no match for former champion angele kapur the german winning in straight sets six one six three theres a lot of things any temper of and as i said this is a process and this is. A lot of things that take time to be able to get these matches and players that are playing this well and im going to face a lot of them this year and i have to bring in him today was not enough. Cappa next space is just the way of Chinese Taipei you added another thing i did prior to her Australian Open win list shed be number twenty six the agony ashgabat ones go was wild number one simona halep outlasted her opponent in an epic match the top seed was up against american lauren davis has ranked seventy six in the world with the romanian winning the deciding set fifteen thirteen in a match that lasted nearly four hours twenty six year old khalid is going for her first grand slam title i gave everything by head today and actually im really proud that i could stay there and winning was not busy at all she played great. Roger federer is moving closer to successfully defending his title in melbourne this with speed rashad got a skate to advance to the fourth round federer plays Martin Fisher that. I was hoping i could play at that level so. Im very happy that i was able to rise to a level that i needed to beat richard. You know i. Was tough. Shows it as well. Couldve done it maybe but first at the same time happy to have done it the way it happened. I was pleased and six time champion Novak Djokovic the five did an injury scare in his match the third required on Court Treatment during his encounter with albert ramos the yellow that still finished out as a straight sets win a pattern of how do they are. Now one of the Worlds Toughest off road insurance events has reached its conclusion stage on the argentinean city of cordoba brought this years dakar rally to an end over the last couple of weeks cars bikes courts trucks and u. T. V. Buggies have been racing through thousands of kilometers of unforgiving terrain in three countries there i started in peru pass through bolivia before heading into argentina in a car category spains color science has won the title for a second time. After i first took place in one thousand nine hundred Seventy Eight starting out in the french capital paris with the finish line in dakar senegal just seventy four vehicles made it through the ten thousand kilometer challenge while everything changed in two thousand and eight when security threats along the route resulted in that race being cancelled as a consequence for two thousand and nine events being held in south america the race is infamous for its danger twenty eight competitors have died since its inception and forty two non competitors including spectators journalists and support staff have also been killed our correspondent Daniel Schweitzer was at the finish line in court about. This is the last day in the argentine city of call of the birds two hundred eighty six kilometers theyll travel today but theyve traveled nearly nine thousand kilometers since they started on the sixth of january in the peruvian capital lima them passing soup through some of the roughest to rain in peru in bolivia in the north of argentina known to man woman and the machine more than three hundred compared. Started in the five races less than three hundred theyre going to finish several have been injured airlifted to hospital there are being crutches theres been drama along the way one the whole day had to be cancelled due to Severe Weather conditions thankfully both a talent is on this particular over forty eighth edition of the dakar rally seventy competitors and spectators have died since the race started security always an issue here also pollution an issue the organizers saying that they have taken the route through south america causing the least possible security paramount but after one of the toughest motor races in the world most of these competitors now simply thankful that they will be able to rest shower and look back on what has been a very gruelling two weeks of racing. Ross fisher and thomas pizzas share the lead after day three of the abu dhabi championship of belgium rolling in this pop up on the eighteenth to keep his name at the top of the leaderboard. Just a shot behind rory mcilroy hes looking good on his return from a three month injury. Lindsey vonn is hitting form just in time for next months Winter Olympics shes claimed her seventeenth career world cup skiing victory the american dominating the downhill race in italy on saturday after finishing second the day before. The gold twenty ten olympics missed the games four years later due to injury shes also moving ever closer to in the master marks all time record of eighty six world cup victories. Ok but as a sports looking for now lets get back to mary in london. And i look forward to seeing you a bit later. Well thats it for myself my colleague Julie Mcdonald will be here in a moment with a full bulletin of music leading of course around up of all of the days top stories but we now leave you with a look at some of the key moments from Donald Trumps first year as the forty fifth president of the United States. Graduation. From this day forward its going to be only. First sign of a crowd coming right back to the nation on. The. To. The f. B. I. As part of our counterintelligence mini is investigating the russian governments efforts to interfere in the thousand and sixteen president ial elections. But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. Of the United States with strong. Our. Climate of course. Is on a Suicide Mission from self. Term. As the capital of israel. The u. S. President has denied using the word home to describe haiti. Turns in africa. News has never been more available its a constant barrage of it with every day but the message is a simplistic you have the brain a good logical rational person. And misinformation is rife dismissal and does not well documented accusation and evidence is part of genocide the listening post provides a critical counterpoint challenging Mainstream Media narratives at this time on aljazeera. Training starts lightly but the pace picks up quickly as these grannies work out a long life time of frustration. At eighty five years old in tommy saud what trains as hard as anyone and. I feel so good i feel fresh a punch this side and this side like this and like that i already left a dirty things like soccer because i will bring these ladies are tough and i take their training very seriously. But i do feel a. Little more energetic to feel more alive. For centuries egypt to sort to come on power over the nile event we are harming any of them out of base a country they dont need for most of the debate of their water from rainfall boss upstream this dominance is being challenged by countries who want to agree to share and i know some people you make your. Own question then yes the circumstances have changed in turn cordova struggle over the mild at this time on aljazeera. Gunmen attack a major hotel in the Afghan Capital kabul reports of at least fifteen People Killed or wounded