Other citizen this is a news outlet live from london coming up egypts former military chief of staff is arrested days after announcing hes running for president the u. N. Says turkeys military offensive in Northern Syria has displaced family found some people with many more in need of. The u. S. Justice Department Confirms that President Trumps attorney general has been questioned over alleged collusion with russia plus. Remembering the man known as the father of South African jazz has died of cancer. Im tatiana phantasm doha with all of the latest sports news the including rough and outs the vault number one calls it quits at the Australian Open quarterfinals. The last challenge seen as a potential threat to the reelection of egypts president Abdel Fattah Elsisi has been detained by the military. Has also called off his campaign the following minutes the chief of staff is the latest in a string of candidates whove been forced to withdraw from the upcoming president ial elections mohammed in how small. Just days after he announced his candidacy in his countrys upcoming president ial elections egypts military has arrested former Egyptian Armed forces chief of staff sami ana. In a televised statement the military said im committed violations when he announced his president ial bid without obtaining permits from the armed forces hes also accused of committing forgery to be included in the voter database there are two explanations for this one is that he actually. He miscalculated the level of support that he has within the military institution and within the security interests so within the hard pollen institutions the second one is he actually did not miscalculate this and he expected this step and this is not the end of the story youll probably see something a counterreaction on his part or all the part of his loyalists so its still too early to tell im an announced his intention to run hours after current president of the fatah has sisi declared his plan to seek a second term. Even before sisi made his candidacy official it wasnt just widely assumed that sisi would prevail in the march elections it was also widely expected that real opposition to sisi was likely to be thin on the ground potential candidates have either already withdrawn or seen their candidacy walk. Some have blamed an atmosphere of fear to other president ial hopefuls were forced to quit the race earlier this month one of them and what is said that the nephew of former leader anwar sadat said last week he wanted to protect his Campaign Workers from intimidation or arrest another former Prime Minister and air force general ahmed shafik had also announced his interest in running but he was placed under house arrest before being deported from the United Arab Emirates where hed been living in exile according to his lawyers was detained as soon as he landed in cairo and then there is Egyptian Army colonel ahmed consul in december he was sentenced by a military court to six years in prison after he announced his plans to run for president leaving many to wonder just how serious a threat the military men may have posed to sisi a former military chief of staff said not only is somebody with hes a serious contender he was the former chief of stuff the deputy head of the Supreme Council of the forces did winning body of them a lot of and he is much senior in terms of the military command and. So hes somebody who was very well connected with the americans very well connected. So hes not someone who was a lightweight anyway during ccs rule which has been marked by a crackdown on freedom of expression human Rights Groups have been placed under severe restrictions and many critics in the media have been silenced the question now how many more president ial candidates will be added to a seemingly growing list of those being suppressed. So what some analysts background where he was made militia chief the stuff in egypt in two thousand and five. The former leader Hosni Mubarak at the time of the revolution in twenty eleven he was closely involved in liaison ones with u. S. Officials including james mattis whos now the u. S. Defense secretary he was forced to resign by former president Mohammed Morsi in two thousand and twelve and subsequently formed his own party to fight in elections egyptian analyst im a khalifa says and the rest was not unexpected. Mr sandman then gambled and he very clearly lost he should have taken a quick look at the short term history with mr mcmahon saw somebody also belonging to the military finding his way to military tribunals for which he paid with six years of his life as well as mr much of who was in a rather comfortable house arrest at the marriott but it was such a restrictive environment that reuters journalist was impeded from merely interviewing him so the signs were all there but i think that mr annan was gambling gambling that mr sisi has shown some vulnerability has hammered some supports and theres also been some strife within military circles particularly within intelligence circles and i think he felt he may be able to capitalize on. The u. N. Says turkeys military offensive against the kurdish one p. G. In the african region of syria as this place an estimated five thousand people. The operation which involves shelling and air strikes is now its fourth day its believed some eight hundred thousand civilians are living that many of them displaced from other parts of syria some are said to be too vulnerable to flee activists say at least twenty three civilians have been killed as well as thirty eight kurdish fighters and forty three rebels fighting on the turkish side. Are free to surround it might and Free Syrian Army forces to the north east and west and Syrian Government forces to the south its for the most of those fleeing through government held territory so then clave inside aleppo city thats controlled by Kurdish Forces but the syrian observatory for human rights is accusing Government Forces of blocking them Stephanie Decker has the latest film on tackle the techie syrian border. The village of how man which is now been announced at the f. S. A. Have taken a significant why because it lies very close to the Turkish Border in the area just close to where we are just a further east of a hyundai and it does play into the narrative that we heard from the turkish Prime Minister just a few days ago that their plan is to establish what he called up to a thirty kilometer security zone pushing the y. P. Ji away from its borders it has been a fluid fight however on the ground there are incidents when villages have been taken by the Free Syrian Army and Turkish Forces and you know a day or so later retaken by the white b. G. But of course turkey has superiority when it comes to the sky theyre flying jets theyre bombing from the air and that of course carries with it a huge advantage when the u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson says russia as the ultimate responsibility for the Syrian Governments use of chemical weapons it comes after at least twenty one people suffered breathing problems after an alleged chemical attack on a rebel held enclave near damascus rebels on the syrian observatory for human rights are accusing the Syrian Government of being behind the attack a similar attack was reported that are ten days ago causing seven cases of suffocation. Has been besieged by Government Forces since twenty thirty four hundred thousand people. Only yesterday more than twenty civilians most of them children were victims of the purge chlorine gas attack. Recent attacks and the really serious concerns that bashar the Syrian Regime may be continuing its use of chemical weapons against its own people. Whoever conducted the attacks russia ultimately bears responsibility for the victims and his and countless other syrians targeted with chemical weapons since russia became involved in syria to listen was speaking at a conference in paris to launch an International Partnership against impugn a safe of a use all of chemical weapons thats our reports. Well the u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson really set the tone at this launch of this new anti Chemical Weapons Group here in paris when he said that those who use chemical weapons are carrying out crimes against humanity and that they must not go unpunished well they were ministers here for more than thirty countries and what they said that they would do is work harder to stop the use of chemical weapons to share intelligence on the matter to try and gather evidence of chemical weapons attacks all with the goal of trying to prosecute those who do carry out such atrocities now of course the focus here was very much on syria the Syrian Regime has been accused by the United Nations of carrying out several attacks over the past few years and we spoke to the u. N. Director in new york of Human Rights Watch and what he told us was that while this French Initiative is of course very welcome what is really needed is a full investigation by the u. N. Security council we shouldnt let the Security Council get off easy the russians have used their veto eleven times since the war started in syria in two thousand and eleven we cared let them get a pass here they can do things anything that this meeting that the french are setting up can do to put pressure on the russians and others to make sure that the Security Council gets back in its chairs does its business will be a good thing the u. N. Chief and tony harris said earlier this year that more needs to be done by the u. N. Security council to carry out that investigation into what is happening in syria but of course that vetoed by russia eleven times over this investigation means that the u. N. Security council has in many ways had its hands tied and the hope is here that perhaps what will happen in this group will help put more pressure on the Security Council and russia to try and do more to make sure that that pass is broken. Well in the last hour the United NationsSecurity Council has been meeting to discuss the chemical weapons situation in syria speak to kristen salumi who is at the u. N. Because they feel quite confusing of course the washer agreed in twenty thirteen that they would remove the chemical weapons from syria but now theyve called this meeting why well its interesting this was a last minute meeting called by russia and it appears to be in direct response to the accusations coming out of paris by the americans in particular russia took the opportunity to defend itself against these allegations that they are somehow responsible for Chemical Attacks in syria and to say that they are very open to a new investigative mechanism for chemical weapons in syria they tried to put the blame on the americans in the west for politicizing the process now russia said theyre all about accountability the initial report investigation mechanism as you say they did support but they withdrew that support they claim because the process was unscientific and politicized and this led to some angry exchanges in the Security Council room just a short time ago between the Russian Ambassador and the American Ambassador have a listen to what they had to say so did you go when you got a strong dusty not seem strange to anybody that this alleged episode the prosecutor which is just to be confirmed with but potatoes yet to be identified somehow coincides with the meetings of both parties on sochi. When russia doesnt like the facts they try and distract the conversation thats because the facts come back over and over again to the truth russia wants to hide that the assad regime continues to use chemical weapons against its own people and is it likely the council will take up the russian proposal. Well we heard from the United Kingdom for example that they are happy that this meeting was called and they welcome any opportunity to return to the table and discuss the issue of investigating chemical weapons in syria but weve been down this road many times before russias vetoed three past chemical weapons resolutions that were put forward by the west they talked about putting forward their own proposal in the past and that went nowhere and the american response today i think is telling nikki haley said that the United States when accept any russian proposal that undermines the ability to get to the truth there politicizes what must be an independent and impartial investigation so both sides accusing each other of being political of being unscientific here not clear how theyre going to overcome those differences at this point but if the goal of that meeting in paris was to get everybody back to the table and talking again at least its had that effect and as we heard from the human rights director just a short time ago in the show there cant really be any accountability nation globally if there is an action on the part of the Security Council which has the power to sanction and and hold countries accountable so will it go for it still you know not a lot of optimism here but again the fact that theyre getting back to the table and talking is at least some progress thats been made thats cost us in a way that with the very latest coming out of the u. N. Security council. Two car bombs have killed at least eleven people in the Eastern Libyan city of benghazi according to officials with eighteen more injured attack happened in the. District as worshipers were leaving a local mosque after prayers the victims are thought to include civilians as well as militia personnel theres been no claim of responsibility. Coming up on this news hour why u. S. Vice president mike pence has become a very popular man in israel aid workers warn that conflict in the democratic republic of congo has left three Million People at risk of starvation and in sports russias unofficial olympic team unveiled their look for chang. The u. S. Justice department has confirmed to aljazeera the tourney general Jeff Sessions was questioned last week over alleged collusion between Donald Trumps president ial campaign and russia sessions was interviewed for an inquiry led by former f. B. I. Director Robert Muller its believed to be the first time a member of President Trumps cabinet has been questioned in the inquiry john pass describe the accusations of collusion as fake news and a witch hunt can really help get joins me now live from outside the white house is it significant that now sessions is being questioned kimberly. It is significant as you point out were now at the cabinet level but weve had more than a dozen former or Current Trump officials that have been investigated but to this point in terms of sort of the the level of knowledge and power with regard to the investigation the russian vessel geisha which of course is looking into whether there were Truck Campaign ties with russia and whether or not the president in fact tried to obstruct that russia investigation Jeff Sessions has unique knowledge about that he was the Foreign Policy adviser on the president ial campaign he was also deeply involved with the firing of former f. B. I. Director james comey and to recuse himself from that investigation something that donald trump has complained bitterly about on social media in public feeling that the attorney general should have done more to protect him but when reporters asked donald trump in the oval office earlier today whether or not he was concerned about the interview and some of the questions that Jeff Sessions may have provided to Robert Mueller steam he brushed off those suggestions thank you overmuch where growth. Was. You know im not here because. You know i didnt but im not at all concerned you didnt get all you did you did not even a little bit you know hes going to do a good Job Committee the question everybody wants to ask her is donald trump going to be the next one in the hot seat. Right and you know its really unclear because the president has given four different answers to reporters about that one question whether or not he would speak to Robert Muller he said no he said yes he said maybe and as of january tenth he also said well see what happens it certainly would be risky for the president its not clear whether or not he would give if he did grant an interview whether that would be written or an oral interview but certainly what we can get from this and glean from this is the fact that despite the claims by the president s lawyer that this investigation would wrap up by the end of last year not only has it not wrapped up but it appears to be intensifying many thanks bringing us up to speed outside the white house on the investigation u. S. Vice president my pen says that in the western wall in occupied East Jerusalem on the second and final day of his visit to israel the wall in the old city is one of the holiest sites in judaism pens was shown around the site by a rabbi earlier in the day he met israeli president ruben rivlin and toured the Holocaust Memorial. And palestinians have held a general strike over the Vice President s visit and the u. S. Decision to recognize jerusalem the capital of israel shops transport and Public Services were closed across the occupied west bank East Jerusalem in protest the ruling party fatah called for the strike saying it was the beginning of a peaceful struggle against the murders are a force which has more from occupied East Jerusalem. Well after his speech to the Israeli Parliament the knesset on monday tuesday saw mike pence and his host really doing something of a victory lap given just how much support there has been for the tenor of that speech which was seen as incredibly supportive of israel without really any other side of that coin and there was very very little in terms of any kind of appeal to the israelis to change any course of action in terms of their relationship with the palestinians or anything else it was seen as a speech almost unqualified in its support of israel so when meeting the israeli president reagan rivlin mr rivlin called mr pence a mench a man of integrity and honor mike pence in his comments during that meeting talking about jerusalem once again being the capital of israel as far as United States is concerned very much the watchwords of his visit so far hes been repeating that phrase many times saying that he still saw a possibility of progress in the Peace Process with the palestinians based on that fact of course for the palestinian perspective that is no longer a prospect the u. S. Being a mediator or a broker in the Peace Process there was a statement to that effect from saberi cad the long time negotiator and now chair of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization mr pence then went on to visit the Holocaust Memorial vashem with the israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu and then came to occupied East Jerusalem to visit the western wall the holiest sites which jews can pray at in jerusalem and he said that that visit was inspiring he now returned to the United States with the fulsome praise of his israeli hosts here but also the even more certain condemnation of the palestinians you now say it with even more certainty that the United States cannot be part of the process going forward. Israel has again accused the Un Human Rights Council of unfair treatment during a meeting in geneva at a review of the countrys rights record many states to end of which are in the tensions and the torture of palestinian prisoners as well as the motor fight racism inside israel and even barber has been following events and has more from geneva where the last time israels human rights record was under review here that was five years ago these rallies actually boycotted the session well on tuesday there was an israeli delegation here and they pointed out several areas in which they said there had been improvements in the human rights situation in israel for example increasing access to legal aid for the countrys bedouin arab population setting up an action plan to combat racism against people of ethiopian origin and fighting Human Trafficking but what many countries talked about was the countrys obligations to protect the human rights of palestinians living in the occupied palestinian territories East Jerusalem the west bank and gaza israel is the only state in the world that can be called an apartheid state we remain deeply concerned that the denial of the right of selfdetermination to the Palestinian People in the absence of which no other human right can be exercised or enjoyed in this regard south africa is of the view that the issue of East Jerusalem and the two state solution are fundamental to the right to selfdetermination of the Palestinian People who brought a protest from israel about inappropriate language and after the session israels ambassador here suggested the delegation hadnt got a fair hearing we came to the p. R. With the hope of having a Constructive Exchange the many recommendations and comments that have been made by Member States will be carefully reviewed. Unfortunately is is ive mentioned in my concluding remarks some representatives have decided once again to raise this opportunity to wage a Political Campaign against israel and its try today exerted discussion to matters they do not belong to the real human rights agenda with the un report on israels human rights situation is due to be adopted here later this week but in the past israel has not allowed un reporters to carry out their own investigations so the mistrust between israel and some of the Member States of Human Rights Council is likely to continue for some toyman now to venezuela where the progovernment constituent assembly is ordered president ial elections to be held by april the thirtieth president Nicolas Maduro will seek reelection but its unclear who from the divided opposition will stand against him the ongoing crisis surrounding a lack of basic foodstuffs staple goods and medicines is likely to be one of the major issues in america and its a listen human joins us from the chilean capital where a group of latin american nations have been meeting so i believe the meetings wraps what sort of conclusions that they come to on venezuela lucier. Yes thats right too this is the fourteen member group of lima which also includes canada very stern declaration just read out let me read you the most important it says that the Group Rejects the decision of the venezuelan government to call president ial elections in the First Quarter of the year this decision impedes the realisation of democratic transparent and Credible Elections to conform to International Standards then they say that they are demanding that these president ial elections be called in an adequate timeframe the snap elections according to all the Foreign Ministers that was here will simply make it impossible for the opposition and for the International Community to put forward to put together some kind of a negotiated agreement for two nationally supervised elections that would also include opposition parties which so far as to have been barred from taking part in any president ial elections in the future these Foreign Ministers were duly taken by surprise they had met here precisely to discuss the crisis in venezuela to discuss what was going to happen with negotiations that are taking place in the Dominican Republic between the venezuelan and Opposition Party leaders being barred by various countries including chile and mexico and the Mexican Foreign minister in fact after this announcement that just came out of practices that mexico is withdrawing from those negotiations because he says that the talks are simply not serious on the part of the venezuelan government to do so some strong words but what if anything really can be done to stop the venezuelans just going ahead with this. Well actually thats really the fifty Million Dollar question apart from diplomatic words and sanctions which some countries including china does say that they will increase weve also had the European Union that has just slapped sanctions on selected members of the mother government basically printing their asset with drawing their reserves but stronger measures are not have not been announced or at least theyre not being discussed publicly sue we do have however any on the former mayor of caracas and going to live this man who was here who spoke to almost all of the Foreign Ministers hes calling on the International Community to actually quality cause of urgent carry out what he calls a humanitarian intervention with including forces from the United Nations or any other and im quoting him International Group many thanks to say a thing is alive from santiago thank you so much more to come on the news hour including were out the World Economic forum in davos where threats to the Global Economy and the weather are dominating the agenda. Jam adulterous fantasy drama the shape of the water leads the oscar race to the nominations and Caroline Wozniacki is still searching for suspects ground ciano well explain how shes doing at the Australian Open. Welcome back now as we look at weather conditions across europe weve seen this area of snow across turkey gradually dying away so improving situation here weve got to quite conditions across southeastern areas generally fine around the central part of the mediterranean but across more Western Areas weve got a frontal system pushing in pretty mild conditions and also some fairly heavy rain that frontal system pushing through the u. K. And northern parts of france during the course of wednesday night through into thursday behind it slightly cooler brighter conditions likely for the rain eventually pushing down into the Iberian Peninsula has had a crossover side of the mediterranean weather conditions cherry not looking too bad across Western Areas further towards the east this circulation of low pressure is bring you want to showers on to the coast of more eastern parts of libya and also for egypt to bokaro should be a largely dry temperatures dropping away as we head on through into thursday with just the chance of a shower turning up here now to head into central parts of africa weather conditions are generally looking pretty good seven in the showers across the pond still a few showers across the congo and towards ugandan towns in the west africa are looking dry and find plenty of sunshine expected here acra sunny highs of thirty one and it should be a fine day in Lagos Nigeria the maximum of thirty two. This is held most dangerous most vicious where the slightest error means a one way ticket over the edge which reality is that men are coming back to more of all those who may not need to. Braving tough conditions facing death at every turn get better and serious here very aware that it is no gamble with their lives just to run and if risking it all on aljazeera. And hundred put it on the. U. S. And British Companies have announced the biggest discovery of natural gas in west africa but what to do with these untapped Natural Resources is already a source of heated debate nothing much has changed they still spend most of their days looking forward to full dry river beds like this one five years on the syrians still feel battered or even those who managed to escape their country havent truly been able to escape the war. Welcome back reminder the top stories here an aljazeera egyptian president ial candidate sami and has been detained by the military and called off his campaign he was seen as the only potential threat to the reelection of Abdel Fattah Elsisi thousands of people are fleeing fighting in the Northern Syrian region of a freend on the fourth day of turkish shelling and the ground offensive and the u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson says that russia bears the ultimate responsibility for the syrian cat governments use of chemical weapons after the latest suspected gas attack. In the in Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has warned against threats to global civilization in his opening address at the World Economic forum in switzerland at the center of this years summit is the debate over the growing gap between rich and poor u. S. President trump will close the gathering of seventy World Leaders on thursday china hole has more from. Its gridlock boss just as the World Economic forums annual meeting hard stop high in the swiss alps a huge dump of snow has brought things to a standstill it doesnt matter how important you are theres little to do but wait. I know there isnt anything like this before i think so i like it but its a bit of a struggle does not on a small. Small because i had a good graphics the last time the snow drifts were this high dive oss was coincidentally also the last time a u. S. President visited davos that was bill clinton well with an avalanche warning in place this year also bracing for the arrival of donald j. Trump was in the fire was protests have already begun ahead of his arrival on thursday this was the scenes during and in davos itself President Trump may not get the warmest welcome the u. S. Announced new import tariffs this week angering china and south korea and illustrating trumps America First policy of economic nationalism and protectionism anathema in a global club that believes in free trade as the indian Prime Minister pointed out in his opening address bar set some are darvish many societies and countries are becoming more and more focused on themselves if feels like the opposite of globalization the negative impact of this kind of mindset cannot be considered less dangerous than Climate Change or terrorism that was a thinly veiled slight by the leader of the worlds Fastest Growing economy aimed at the leader of the Worlds Largest economy what must it trumps response on friday is the weeks most anticipated event joined a whole aljazeera at davos in brazil a verdict is expected on wednesday over an appeal by former president ignacio silver against a corruption conviction if the prison sentence is upheld one of the countrys most popular recent leaders hes likely to be sidelined for a potential comeback in this years president ial election stories about reports. The beaches of water have long being a holiday getaway for People Living in brazils financial capital. But lately its become one known for another reason its the focus of the corruption accusations against former president. But everyone say this is lulas apartment i think that as a former president of brazil he should have been the most correct of all if he bought it and gave up on the apartment as his lawyers say he should have a document informing that i think hes cute you must pay for his mistakes. The former president was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison and a decision on his appeal is due this wednesday the low were convicted of accepting over a Million Dollars in bribes from a Construction Company prosecutors say that that money was used to buy and to renovate that three triplex on top of that building they also say that in return help that company went contract with half a tall company be there with us but many say there is not enough proof to condemn him because the tribe plex continues to be registered under the Construction Companys name thats why people like and that is on so subtle sondos continue to support him. Supports the workers those who are working hard every day i will vote for a leader for sure people are saying him to stop him returning to the presidency but we the brazilian people should compare what lula did for us and what the current president michel tema has done to us thats my impression brazil is heading to the polls to elect a new president in october and new law continues to be this countrys most popular politician he was president for eighteen years after two thousand and ten he supporters continue to see him as a champion of the poor. Who is now. Seventy two is facing six other investigations hes not only fighting back but has also announced hes planning to run for president again. In. Nowadays we dont have a candidate who offers a project a proposal that gets the electorate involved we were dragged to a severe economic crisis and what the population can see is that social and Economic Conditions deteriorated significantly this year you like would end up behind bars or elected president whats certain is the accusations against him have not been able to disillusion those who want him in power again. It is i will just see what brazil aid workers in the democratic republic of congo are warning of mass starvation because of continuing conflict they say three Million People in the sinai region dont have enough to eat and clone including four hundred thousand children fighting between the army and rebels means farmers have been unable to plant crops for several years as katherine soy reports. A year old couple go to his mother more baca and three siblings spent two months on the route from their village to concise and towards capital with little to eat they had fled the fighting between Government Forces in the combine and supper rebels which was adding to communal conflict that already existed its been a month since they arrived and both mother and son still have symptoms of malnutrition. It was very hard walking so long with my children at some point i couldnt walk at all if it wasnt for the help of the people we were with in the forest i would have died. At another Nutrition Center mothers bring their children to get weight and for food and medicine she did tom was distended belly discolored hair and let their dicks data all these signs that he need assistance humanitarian agencies say about four hundred thousand children in this region are mon norrish and more than three Million People are facing starvation because they have been unable to plant crops for three seasons its quite difficult to see theyre still on the crisis in class five because most of the affected are in five villages that are hard to access people who had fled to the forest but are now coming back home and those who are still displaced able. Much help lets not forget this has been a protection crisis and right now when the conflict has. Been dispersed in certain areas we start to see in very difficult cases of children that have seen a lot of atrocities committed on their on their farms weve seen children that have had to witness how their parents were killing her mother people here are now receiving some mate but in this area last year dozens of people were killed the Catholic Church put in the figure for the entire region since the conflict began at around three thousand both rebels and Government Forces accused of the killings and. I do not want to go back to my home village my house is destroyed my children were killed how could i return. At the center in canada we are told she is going to be all right hell get all the medical any attritional help needs that be concerned is that many other children would be so fortunate because aid agencies dont have enough resources to go around katherine sorry aljazeera the size central in the democratic republic of congo. In the u. S. State of kentucky a teenage boy has opened fire inside a Rural High School killing two of his classmates seventeen people have been injured after the attacker opened fire and hundreds of students run for their lives the fifteen year old suspect has been arrested its the first fatal School Shooting in the u. S. This year. The Oscar Nominations are out ahead of a ceremony on march the fourth that will be watched closely for how the academy reacts to recent events in the movie world the film picking up the most nominations was again modelled taras fantasy job the shape of water with thirteen overall including best picture director three boards outside of being missouri got seven nominations including best actress for Frances Mcdormand portrayal of a mother seeking revenge on a sex attacker is seen as topical in the wake of abuse allegations against senior hollywood figures shell be up against a shortlist which includes shish are ronan ladybird get a go with film hes also nominated for best picture and director allowing the oscars to avoid the all male shortlist of directors that was criticized at the Golden Globes and after complaints in recent years of the so white oscars there was a strong showing for get out a horror film satirizing us Race Relations including a best director nomination for jordan peele one consequence of the sex abuse scandal is the presence of Christopher Plummer among the nominations for best supporting actor in all the money in the world he took on the role of John Paul Getty for just two months ago after kevin spacey was dropped rob reynolds reports from los angeles and congratulations to all the nominees the Academy Award nominations inch toward greater racial and gender diversity reflecting the era of the meat to black lives manner movements they can probably be fairly happy that theyve come up with a respectable set of nominees who i dont think thats going to be too much shock and horror but i think its a been such an incredible year for work for women in film both female director rather gerwig was nominated for lady bird the sixth woman ever anomaly in that category which has been won by a woman only. Once in two thousand and nine my daughter was murdered seven months ago nominated for best female actor in three billboards outside being missouri Frances Mcdormand character epitomizes an indomitable and unstoppable woman demanding the truth and justice i dont think those billboards is very fair to the film focuses on timely issues of violence against women and corrupt abusive policing i have. My own side of this story notably absent from a best actor nomination was the disaster artist star james franco who was recently accused of Sexual Harassment and i think that for my son he has cost him a nomination. To do you know in black. Nominated for best picture get out is a horror film satirizing Race Relations its director jordan peele became the fifth black best director nominee in history get out star daniel color is now in the running for best male actor. As is Denzel Washington for roman j. Izrael esquire just come the two africanamericans mary j. Blige and Octavia Spencer received best supporting female actor nominations. In other nonce to diversity the gay romance call me by your name was nominated for best picture and mexican director guillermo del toros the shape of water one of the most nominations with thirteen including best picture and best director i would say now that these nominations are coming through a sip of water as for any problem even if its show from roma but its not way ahead of the pack could the story of a tender love affair between a mute cleaning woman and an amphibian humanoid creature really when film wins top prize. Territory Stranger Things have happened. Hollywoods elite will have an opportunity to make more comments on issues of social and cultural importance during the awards ceremony itself which this year will take place on march fourth robert oulds al jazeera los angeles. The joining us from hollywood p. Tam and chief film critic for Deadline Hollywood and Entertainment News i think very much for joining us. We have the best as in the golden globe was being attacked for being not enough women we got the oscars in the past being a crew accused of being too white lots of pressure this year it has there because done enough with the nominations to redress the balance oh i think so you know i mean there was a lot of thier going into these nominations that this was going to be possibly a return to oscars so wide or that they werent going to nominate a woman for best director or much less any other category outside of the actresses and this has proven you know this is tie in the record this year for the most nominations for women outside of the acting category supporting forty women across the board including the first ever for cinematography which is an all boys club generally and sound mixing and on and on and on seven women nominated for the are nominated best pictures really an extraordinary showing in this what i would say is the year of the woman and then insurance of diversity for black actors have been nominated here as well this year or so but i dont know what the hash takes going to be out of this list of nominees they did a pretty good job but what happened to wonder woman i mean she their first real stand alone female superhero movie since i think Something Like two thousand and five Enormous Growth in the box office but no showing. Yeah i think it just proves the academy are snobs and they remain snobs when it comes to even getting close to nominating a comic book movie for best picture its never happened i venture to say it probably never will happen the closest they came this year was a screenwriting nomination for logan which had to really turn into a serious drama and lose its x. Men kind of superhero past two full the writers that it was the seriousness of work i mean the problem is they dont appreciate these kinds of movies for what they are i think theyre terrific belts and terrific entertainments but you cademy really tends to be more like the independent spirit award sometimes goes for the smaller films the more indie kind of movies a big blockbuster like wonder woman sure they love the money but they dont recognize that on oscar of course going on we cant we have to mention the elephant in the room the hashtag me too at campaign the amount of allegations of abuse that has come out over the last few months paints do you think we are sorry might well have to change getting the sense in the tone and the atmosphere because of all of this going on at the same time. Well i think that theyve sort of dodged a bullet there because the Golden Globes took care of that didnt a with the all black dresses everywhere and all the stuff that went on the Golden Globes it will make it easier for jimmy kimmel and others to actually joke about it which was a something you couldnt do before the Golden Globes and i think they sort of set the globe set the table here the sag awards on sunday continued it well theres a lot more serious speeches there the oscars are definitely going to have to address it and i think theyre ready to figure out a way but i dont think youre going to see a repeat of these other ones where everyone a everybody walks on the red carpet wearing out you know the same kind of color dress are are you know every im sure the buttons will be there and there will be a lot of talk on stage but the very fact that forty women outside of the acting categories will be there as nominees is statement unto itself by the academy that the times they are a change in hollywood many thanks kate hamond theyre giving it the very latest from hollywood absolutely. The man known as the father of South African jazz fest died from cancer a Seventy Eight year old human the kayleigh became a legend around the world for his antiapartheid songs and campaigning to free Nelson Mandela twenty page reports from johannesburg. Hugh masekela is trumpet playing propelled him to global stardom he spent three decades living in exile in the United States we he campaigned against the Apartheid Regime back home in south africa. Nelson mandela sent me a. Letter that was. Smuggled out of pauls more prison and in it he just leg and carry you know with the music school with the recordings and he knew everything in my childrens names and knew my wifes name well is going to school with my wifes father. And it just reached me with all this just i was blown away i went to the. Muster killer collaborated with the likes of Harry Belafonte and paul simon is instrumental grazing in the grass was an International Number one hit in one nine hundred sixty eight. And joined us in their first band together as teenage is that he would like people to remember him first. And then his contribution. In the struggle. Being selfish things to success and success is with. The people the peoples stories usually you know masa caliber turn time soon after Nelson Mandela was finally freed in one thousand nine hundred ninety after twenty seven years in prison this part of johannesburg new town is synonymous with south africas jazz scene that was a regular in the clubs that dot the streets his music affected young and old he was one of my idols and i would have loved to meet him. At some point in my life now that hes gone its really depressing instead for me because ill never get the chance to tell him how he inspired us as South Africans in upcoming musicians. Continued to perform onstage well into his seventys sharing his lifelong passion with adoring fans for as long as he could. Until he lost a decade long battle with prostate cancer. Page aljazeera johannesburg. So glad this news hour while madrid star is a sight for sore eyes thats coming up in school. Business updates brought to you by Qatar Airways going places together. Business updates. Going places. Thats a tough. Sport. Thank you so much so youre welcome to one of our dreams of becoming only the third man to win each tennis grand slam at least twice over at least for now the hip injury got the better of him on tuesday and the Australian Open quarter finals but he wasnt the only high profile like that of peters them at reports. Marion chile which was the latest food before rafa in the dough in the once quest to win a second Australian Open title. Meadow had been in good form in melbourne in twenty eighteen and took the first set six three but the sixth seed hit back by the same schoolmarm in the second the spaniard was back in front with a tie break of victory in the third set but it would not be too much longer before a hip injury would play rupp he required a medical timeout and would be back on court but was never quite the same again. When the fourth set six two and when leading to love in the fifth could no longer bear the pain and retired injured. But. I dont want to lie and tomorrow were going to communicate whats going on after the m. R. I. But. You know its not the moment that was going are not going on because we really dont know when the doctor when they dont know for me big focus is to continue with my own game you know i cannot influence he much on the other across the net but going to try to kid take care of my things in one of my things and part on my part of the court and hopefully im going to have another great match. The crow at will meet great britains kyle edmund in the semifinals edmund took care of third seed Grigor Dimitrov in a surprise result britain is ranked forty ninth in the world and has never reached a grand slam semifinal chile each will be looking for a second slam title after taking the twenty four u. S. Open. On the womens side belgiums will number thirty seven he leads mertons produced an equally surprising result when she met ukrainian fourth seed eagerness with alina the belgian is playing in her first ever main draw at the Australian Open and is putting on a show of note burtons charge past so its only six four and six love in only seventy three minutes. If mertons is to advance to the final shell need to take care of another of the worlds highest ranked players second seed Caroline Wozniacki needed three sets to get past spains carlos what is novato the dane winning six six seven and six two she is also searching for a first ever grand slam title and although derby hoping to come out on top down under peter aljazeera. Olympic officials have sent out a list of russian athletes theyll be inviting to take part at the winter games in pyongyang but there are some pretty big names left off of that list the biathlon olympic champion and on ship in the Cross Country while champions of and six time ellen pick short track champion victor have all been left off the Russian Olympic Committee has called the decision on grounded and absurd since none of those athletes have been implicated in the doping scandal affecting the country russia is banned from competing as a team because of a Systematic Program of doping some of it athletes will be able to take part neutrals. Such a decision is not found it to upset think it up listen to us so were waiting for the i. O. C. Explanations of why our athletes who are the leaders of not just in russia but worldwide didnt make it to their preliminary list if they participated in the competitions for this year and even know mckayla shifrin remains on top in the overall world cup rankings that us despite losing her lead in the giant slalom standings the american slid out on her first run in the latest event in italy its from platts on tuesday but open the door to front women tessa wallie to take the g. S. Lead but it was germanys victoria reckons burkett clinched her third giant slalom victory of the season with the fastest combined time from both of her run. What has a sign for sore eyes Cristiana Ronaldo has been fim sporting a big black eye at training for around madrid the portuguese star got a boot to the face during royals seven one thrashing of depo t. V. In the league but he got back to work at training on tuesday preparing for his teams cup at del rey quarterfinal with like innit. There are very few Football Players who can lay claim to having broken record set by the great arjen time Diego Maradona but his mark hampshire is one of the a few weeks ago one hundred six the past the record goals tally set by merit donna at a tally and not pally and on tuesday he was on it at the National Archaeological museum in naples by having his jersey inducted married on a one syria twice with not play and although hump chicas yet to win a title with the team that carly the League Leaders in italy. All three were the most important certainly is a great achievement for the i was able to be a Good Neighbor and they are able or are certainly better supported on history very well it all over the last year im not sure is it to museum but im really happy imagine what. This ball for now so its back to you thank you tatiana about to for me for this news hour but i will be back in a moment with much more of the days news but so watching and dont go away. As witchcraft as sorcery killing spreads across papa new guinea. When east exposes shocking human rights abuses. Of the specific missions darkstar it. At this time on aljazeera. We understand the differences. And the similarities of cultures across the world so no matter how you take it aljazeera will bring in the news and Current Affairs that matter to aljazeera. From Satellite Technology to three d. Printing and recycled waste to solar powered classrooms africa is transforming young innovators are propelling change Building Communities creating employment and solving problems theyre challenging systems and shaping new ones its about creative thinkers shaping their continents future innovate africa at this time on aljazeera. Egypts former military chief of staff is arrested days after announcing hes running for president. Hello again im so tired