Hello im rob matheson this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up the u. S. And russia clash of the u. N. Security council over the alleged use of chemical weapons in syrias rebel on klav of duma. The first member of Donald Trumps cabinet is questioned over a possible collusion between the u. S. President s campaign and russia. And the love story of a cleaning woman and an amphibian humanoid lead to the Oscar Nominations. Egyptian military has detained its former chief of staff just days after he said he would run for president in an election this march sami on and had been seen as the main challenger to president of the father of sisi but hes now called off his campaign muhammad has the latest. 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. In a televised statement the military said imam 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 miscalculated the level of support that he has within the military institution and within the security and his so within the pollen institutions the second one is not mistaken a decision he expected to step and this is not the end of the story you told the see something account of the action on his part on 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expected that real opposition to sisi was likely to be thin on the ground potential candidates have either already withdrawn or seen their candidacy while. Some have blamed an atmosphere of fear to other president ial hopefuls were forced to quit the race earlier this month one of them. 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 shafiq 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 and is somebody with hes a serious contender he was the former chief of staff the deputy head of the Supreme Council of the armed forces did winning body after mubarak and he is much senior in terms of the military command in d. C. So hes somebody who is very well connected with the americans very well connected region in the 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. Ok lets have a look at something on the background he became chief of staff of the Egyptian Military in two thousand and five that was under former president Hosni Mubarak in two thousand and eleven and during the egyptian revolution he worked closely with u. S. Officials including james mattis the current u. S. Defense secretary but just a year later former president Mohamed Morsy forced him to resign and eventually formed his own Political Party to discuss this further im joined by tajik massud hes a professor at the Harvard Kennedy school of government hes also author of the book counting islam religion class and elections in egypt hes joining me now from boston thank you very much indeed for being with us here on aljazeera we just heard in mohammeds report there that. It was all model sure from the Door Institute said that there was a possibility the annan had actually not to miscalculated this bid and he had expected this step and this isnt the end of the story do you think that theres more to this. I think theres almost got to be i noted that comment by professor short as well you know simian then is not like what the colonel who was mentioned earlier who sort of announced earlier this year a kind of strange bid for the presidency and then was quickly shuffled off into detention and then sentenced to a prison term so i mean im in is a very serious player who clearly understands the military clearly understand sisi and understands the gyptian political scene and so its its impossible to me that he didnt know or didnt realize that there was going to be a strong response and the question is what does he have in response to that i mean i think one of the points that dr r. Sure made for example is that a semi i meant clearly has loyalist supporters within the military establishment its inconceivable that he would have decided to run for the presidency without having some backers within the military so the question is how will those people respond so i do think that its too early to say that and then candidacy has been nipped in the bud but we are clearly and its clear that the regime has indicated its anxiety about i meant candidacy and well see now what happens in the coming days in what must be a negotiating process between and then and the military what cracks or opportunities if you like did the opposition kind of see in the c. C. Government that encourage them to take the risk of standing in these elections. Well you know remember when we talk about opposition candidates its hard to put samuel and then in that category i mean hes certainly a challenger to c. C. But does he military man represent the opposition to you know politics as its currently being managed egypt its not clear certainly his statement his candidacy announcement indicated that he thought that ccs policies were bad that the military was being asked to bear too much of the burden of governing egypt that in fact there did need to be a cooperation between the civilian and the military forces so certainly he talked an oppositional game in that brief period where he was allowed to speak but its too much to i would say right now to call him an opposition candidate but certainly challengers to see see what opportunities that they see this is a president whose popularity has declined significantly as a result of many of the tough economic decisions that hes made the most notable of which was the floating of the egyptian pound more than about a year ago which saw the pound plummet to Something Like eighteen pounds per u. S. Dollar and that has certainly been felt by a lot of egyptians particularly middle class egyptians in their pocketbooks in addition c. C. Has pared back subsidies and done all kinds of other things that i think were actually necessary for the egyptian economy but did not do him any favors in terms of his popularity so there are definitely chinks in his armor this is not the president that people were baking cakes and chocolates with this picture on them in two thousand and fourteen this is a very different person whos you might even say a bit embattled to really interesting to get your view on this thank you very much from the. The u. N. Says an estimated five thousand people have been displaced by turkeys military offensive against kurdish fighters in the african region of syria. And the operation which involves shelling and air strikes is set to enter its fifth day its believed around eight hundred thousand civilians are living there activists say at least twenty three civilians have been killed after it is surrounded by turkish and Free Syrian Army forces to the north east and west and Syrian Government forces to the south at least twenty one people suffered breathing problems after an alleged chemical attack on a rebel held on klav in syria near the capital damascus the syrian observatory for human rights has accused the government of being behind the attack it says white smoke was released after Syrian Forces fired rockets into the neighborhood of duma the attack prompted warnings from the International Community diplomats from twenty Nine Countries have met in paris to push for sanctions and criminal charges against those responsible for similar attacks. The United NationsSecurity Council has met to discuss chemical weapons on the situation in syria as kristen salumi reports. Russia called this last minute Security Council meeting on the issue of chemical weapons in syria to defend itself against attacks coming from the United States alleging that russia was ultimately responsible for ongoing Chemical Attacks in syria because it had failed to authorize ongoing investigations by the u. N. Into those attacks the u. S. And Russian Ambassador were quite friendly on their way into the meeting but once that meeting took off into formal statements they went on the attack the russians said they are all for accountability in syria when it comes to chemical weapons but past investigations they said were unscientific and politically motivated those past investigations found evidence that syria and ice will both have used chemical weapons syria of course denies that they have used chemical weapons russia suggested that the recent attack being talked about and Eastern Ghouta was actually being manufactured or somehow exploited by the west side and you commented this is not seem strange to anybody that this alleged episode the voracity of which is yet to be confirmed or perpetrators yet to be identified for some reason these converges with the meeting in paris in the forthcoming Syrian National dialogue in sochi when russia does not 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 russia also announced its putting forward a new proposal to address chemical weapons used in syria but the United Kingdom pointed out in its remarks that past proposals undermine the councils intend to hold the government of syria accountable and said focusing on nonstate. Actors like i saw clearly this will be a problem Going Forward something that will have to be negotiated the United States for its part said that it would not accept any proposal that undermines its ability to get at the truth and hes twenty seven people have been killed when a car bomb exploded in libya a blast in the eastern city of benghazi killed worshippers who were leaving a mosque after evening prayers a second car bomb exploded just half an hour later injuring security and im dylans personal. The u. S. Justice department has confirmed to all jazeera that attorney general Jeff Sessions was questioned last week over the alleged collusion between Donald Trumps president ial campaign and russia its believed to be the first time a member of President Trumps cabinet has been questioned in the inquiry our White House Correspondent committee reports. Getting closer to the president the department of justice confirming attorney general Jeff Sessions has been interviewed by Robert Mueller steam as a witness in the russia investigation its the first time a member of Donald Trumps cabinet has been questioned by the special counsel the trump says hes unfazed by what sessions might have told investigators im not at all concerned thank you the investigation is probing possible Truck Campaign ties with russia and whether the United States president tried to obstruct the russian vesta geisha as the head of troubles Foreign Policy team during the twenty sixteen president ial Campaign Sessions has unique insights given he was also involved deeply in the firing of the former f. B. I. Director james comey in tweets and publicly trump has complained bitterly that sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation i am disappointed believing sessions should have done more to protect him sessions as one of more than a dozen current and former Trump Officials to be questioned earlier this month it was revealed one time from strategist steve bam and her. Its also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. Late last year former National Security advisor Michael Flynn and advisor George Papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by Donald Trumps lawyer that the russian investigators and would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying kimberly help at aljazeera washington. Still ahead on aljazeera venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro says hes ready to seek reelection in april. And Pakistani Police make an arrest over the high profile murder of a seven Year Old Girl. From dusky sunsets over the sprawling savannah. To sunrise the top in metropolis welcome back the weather across much of central Southern China really quiet at the moment little bit of rain around but you know to shanghai struggling with temperature just four degrees and cold air is pushing further towards the south and as those two masses mix were going to see quite extensive snow fall along the young c. River valley during the course of thursday further south the flow still southerly so hong kong is looking dry fine twenty one degrees pretty warm in hanoi in mysore twenty five across much of the rest of indo china the weather condition is looking fine also into Southeast Asia nothing special here so if the northern part of the philippines is looking fine manila enjoying a nice day to come further south are some showers much as youd expect but theres nothing here which stands out the same goes as we head on through into thursday singapore and Kuala Lumpur Kelly where some bright weather at times a few showers around the gulf of thailand into south asia and weve had an area of low pressure giving some rain for delhi some thunderstorms too that is now beginning to clear away but still misty murky conditions of course of a swathe of those in pakistan india and through into wards of bangladesh which come from the south where the conditions looking pleasant enough bangalore there where the maximum of twenty nine degrees fine here in the Arabian Peninsula spect in a bright day in qatar with that twenty four the mice one in doha. The weather sponsored by qatar. Aljazeera explores prominent figures of the Twentieth Century and how rivalry. Influence the course of history steve jobs and much better market you feel. Like bad stuff bill made software what it is today will change the world to high tech visionaries breakthroughs inspired the digital revolution jobs and gates face to face at this time on aljazeera. Youre watching aljazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour the Egyptian Military has detained its former chief of stuff just days after he said he would run in the president ial election this march sami on and was seen as the main challenger to president of the file c c n n its now called off his Election Campaign. Thousands of people are fleeing fighting in the Northern City and region about three and as a Turkish Military offensive enters its fifth day the exodus comes as the u. N. Security council met on the alleged use of chemical weapons in syria. At least twenty seven people have been killed after a car bomb exploded in libya a blast in the eastern city of benghazi killed abortion vers who were leaving a mosque after evening prayers. A coalition of more than a dozen latin american countries has rejected venezuelas call for early elections saying it contradicts democratic principles the progovernment constituent assembly in caracas is calling for polls but the end of april president Nicolas Maduro says hes willing to seek another time in office i live in america added to the sea and human reports from santiago. Foreign ministers from latin america and canada who gathered in chile to discuss the crisis in venezuela look like totally off guard. Decision to hold snap president ial elections from which most opposition parties have been banned. For this decision by the government which really impedes the realization of democratic transparent and credible elections. One of venezuelas best known government opponents is here asking for more two months ago the former mayor. Escaped from house arrest and fled the country. And thats why i was asking latin american nations to follow the example of the United States and the European Union by imposing sanctions on high ranking venezuelan government officials but he is going much much further saying here what most opposition leaders who are still inside venezuela dare not ask for in public live this man tells aljazeera venezuela needs what he described as humanitarian intervention which he concedes could mean the use of force. Venezuela needs to be liberated from this dictatorship that. Were already invaded by the cubans venezuela needs a humanitarian intervention by the u. N. Or whatever International Organization we dont want the world to come later and give us its condolences when democracy is already dead. Regional leaders are increasingly frustrated with efforts to convince them israel as president. To restore basic democratic freedoms and accept transparent supervised elections which would take at least six months to prepare. Venezuelas foreign minister who was in some earlier regional gathering reacted angrily to the meeting of his peers. So the same imperialists who instructed the European Union to sanction venezuela they instructed order nate these governments to attack venezuela. Some speculate president moved up the election date as a show of force ahead of a new round of negotiations between government and opposition leaders from monday but if caracas insists on moving ahead with what some see as a further power grab some could be persuaded to do more than just shake hands with those who argue that the time for talking is over you see in human i just see that some. Pakistani police have arrested a man suspected of raping and killing a seven Year Old Girl was in a band saw his body was found in a rubbish dump earlier this month the suspect was arrested near the city of kasuri where the girl was found a murder spot outrage on social media and led to protests across pakistan. U. S. Vice president mike pence has visited 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 he met israeli president of moving rivlin and toured the Holocaust Memorial palestinians have held a general strike over the Vice President s visit and the u. S. Decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital shops transport and Public Services were closed across the occupied west bank and East Jerusalem in protest the Ruling Fatah Party called for the strike saying it was the beginning of a peaceful struggle against the decision. Negotiators from the u. S. Canada and mexico are in montreal for the latest round of talks on the north American Free trade agreement known as nafta has been a frequent critic of the agreement saying here withdraw if negotiations dont produce more favorable terms for the u. S. Because more. During the two thousand and sixteen election donald trump often said nafta cost the u. S. Jobs and loss trade as president hes given mixed signals sometimes supporting a new agreement then tweeting that nafta was a bad deal privately frustrated canadian and mexican officials are putting on a brave public face there have been five previous rounds in which progress has been made and for mexico its very important to continue to make progress both with the United States and with canada for an example of nafta is impact look to the Auto Industry since the deal was signed twenty five years ago carmakers have moved much production to mexico where wages are lower that makes the industry more globally competitive say now to supporters but critics reply the costs have been too high for everybody as a relates to the working classes last summer nafta Canadian Workers lost their jobs American Workers lost their jobs mexican workers got the jobs but they were never compensated this is sustained lee fist. At this gourmet pet food Company North of toronto nafta has been good for business u. S. Customers of the largest market if these nafta talks dont succeed the firms founder says hell look elsewhere to make up for lost business a situation familiar to thousands of companies in canada and mexico now with that pretend. Nafta being destroyed ripped up by continue to build in the us or do we focus my efforts into the e. U. In asia. Earlier this month canada angered the u. S. By filing a big trade complaint against it with the World Trade Organization thats said to be increasing tensions in the nafta talks so is the trumpet ministration stance on a border wall with mexico but canadian and mexican negotiators say theyll continue to work for a deal even as the us president talks about tearing it up is that absolutely no guarantee for canada and mexico that the other side really wants to complete a deal so canada and mexico know that if they walk away from the deal for the table nobodys going to call them back in less the u. S. Pulls out in the coming days therell be more talks later this year now that President Trump has relented on his demand that march be the deadline for a new deal or no deal daniel lack aljazeera toronto the u. S. Senate has approved president Donald Trumps nominee Jerome Powell to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve all had support from republicans and democrats to lead the central bank a lawyer and former investment banker will start next month he succeeds janet yellen who was the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve is. China and south korea have condemned the u. S. Decision to impose steep tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines the move but the Trump Administration is to protect u. S. Manufacturers against foreign competition europe says it regrets the move which could see goods taxed up to fifty percent mexico which will be directly affected says it will use all available Legal Resources in response this may fund says the team called the fact that the u. S. Launched investigations into the safeguard measures on imported solar panels and washing machines and adopted state tariffs on the its products is an abuse of tried measures china is strongly dissatisfied with it. The mayor of paris has called an emergency meeting to deal with serious flooding in the french capital but it was saying as burst its banks prompting authorities to close several roads and council boat cruises water levels have risen to at least three point three meters above normal while the Oscar Nominations arrived with signs that the Entertainment Industry is taking heed of recent scandals involving Sexual Misconduct as well as demands for greater diversity in the film business problems 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 meet to end black lives manner movements they can probably be fairly happy that theyve theyve come up with a respectable set of nominees had but i dont think thats going to be too much shock and horror i think its been such an incredible year for four women in film female director granik gerwig was nominated for lady bird the fifth woman ever nominated 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 adding 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 nods 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 won the most nominations with thirteen including best picture and best director i would say now that these nominations are come three a sip of water as for any problem even if the show from russia 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 the 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 man known as the father of South African jazz has died. You massa can i was famous for his distinctive afro jazz sound his career spanned more than five decades he gained International Recognition through hits such as so were told blues a song that became synonymous with the Antiapartheid Movement in south africa. Was seventy eight. The brazilian city of cell pollo has closed its zoon Botanical Gardens following an outbreak of yellow fever which has caused seventy deaths across three states the facilities were closed after a wild monkey died from the disease almost one hundred fifty cases have been confirmed in the miscarries south pollo and Rio De Janeiro the governments are rushing to vaccinate twenty Million People against the fever which causes High Temperature muscle pain and nausea you can find much more about all these stories on the web site of the address for that is all it is era dot com. This is aljazeera these are the top stories the Egyptian Military has detained its former chief of stuff just days after he said he would run in the president ial election this march sami on and was seen as the main challenger to president sisi annan has now called off his Election Campaign thousands of people are fleeing fighting in the Northern City and region about three in that the Turkish Military offensive enters its fifth day the exodus comes as the u. N. Security council met on the alleged use of chemical weapons in syria russia has called for a new inquiry into who is to blame for the attacks a move the u. S. Has branded a distraction. When russia does not 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 at least twenty seven people have been killed after a car bomb exploded in libya blast in the eastern city of benghazi killed worshippers who were leaving a mosque after evening prayers a second car bomb exploded just half an hour later injuring security and im being as personal but as well as president says hes ready to run for reelection Nicolas Maduro is yet to be formally nominated by his Ruling Socialist Party president ial elections are to be held by the end of april polls show venezuelans blame the dual role for Food Shortages and triple digit inflation but its unclear who from the divided opposition will stand against him. Pakistani police have arrested a man suspected of raping and killing a seven Year Old Girl zainab inside his body was found in a rubbish dump earlier this month the suspect was arrested near the city of course so who the girl was found her murder sparked outrage in social media and led to protests across pakistan. The u. S. Senate has approved president Donald Trumps nominee to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve powell had support from republicans and democrats to lead to the central bank the lawyer and former investment banker will start next month he succeeds janet yellen who was the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve those are the headlines the news continues here on aljazeera after inside story ill be back in about half an hour of my. More u. S. Backing for israel and palestinian Vice President mike pence as the u. S. Embassy will be moved to jerusalem next year and washington will back a two state solution but only if both sides agree and so much distrust and disparate u. S. Policy is the socalled Peace Process still relevant