Hundred thirty eight people were killed in forty eight hours as russian and Syrian Government jets hit rebel held areas and it led an eastern puter. Also several buildings have collapsed after a powerful earthquake hits taiwans coastal city of quiet. And u. S. Stocks closed with gains after a volatile day which saw markets plunging across europe and asia. Three. I lift off in florida the worlds most powerful walk it takes off with a sports car as its payload will be live at Cape Canaveral. Welcome to the news i its been described as the deadliest day in the rebel held syrian region of eastern in over a month at least seventy one people have been killed in asked rights. In the damascus suburb which has been besieged by the government for four years Syrian Government and Russian Forces of ramped up their attacks there as well as the rebel held areas of province now there are two of four apparent deescalation zones agreed by iran russia and turkey last year a total of one hundred thirty eight people have been killed in those areas in the last forty eight hours and activists say many of them were civilians including children u. N. War crimes experts say the siege of Eastern Ghouta involves crimes of indiscriminate bombardment and deliberate starvation of the civilian population that also investigating reports of chlorine gas being used against civilians but at smith has more on this is supposed to be a deescalation zone part of the russian lived through stewart territory held by antigovernment forces and syria. But if anything the bombing is escalating here in eastern guta in a mascot. The uns head of the International Commission of inquiry on syria says the government siege of the area involves the International Crimes of indiscriminate bombing and deliberate starvation of the civilian population was. There are reports that at least three hospitals have been hit with the help of the Russian Air Force on the rainy and back groups syrias president is pursuing the last major pockets of territory held by his opponents in western syria. The offensive intensified after fighters from one rebel group shot down a russian aircraft and killed its pilot on saturday. Now the syrian army says its deployed add offenses and anti aircraft missiles to its front lines in aleppo and it led to cover northern airspace i had there from the us four hundred or russian and they are controlled by the russian intelligence and of the Syrian Regime so this is russia we need to understand there is an direct confrontation between the u. S. And russia that its dangerous because at the same time turkey is trying to force its presence in the area northwestern syria is where turkey is carrying out an operation to push Kurdish Forces out of afrin its using syrian airspace and has got russias agreement to do so but at the same time the Syrian Government has threatened to shoot down turkish jets turkey also wants to wipe e. G. Out of another northern syrian town bitch but there are u. S. Forces there too much to the irritation of the turkish president begin your producer now that you can why are you there go ahead and leave who did you bring there the y. P. G e p k k you took them there and youre still telling us not to come too many we would come to could deliver the land to its true owners. As ever across syria its civilians who are caught in the middle the un wants fighting across the country to be suspended for a month to allow the sick and wounded to get out and aid to get in. Now the un is certainly calling for an immediate pause in fighting in syria is asking for a month long ceasefire to allow aid in to many of the besieged areas and to evacuate the sick and wounded. We are trying to reach those most in need first so when we are able to reach those most in need for example if this situation those in beseeched areas who have seen no aid whatsoever for weeks and months east and in for and can fry we. We call from the rooftops if you like we are talking about it leap governor at we have about two Million People of concern. And called it the other day its like one huge refugee camp and that is essentially what it is there are hundreds or thousands of people who are internally internally displaced they are on the run extremely vulnerable and they are being they come under attack and under bombardment that is completely unacceptable well as it stands heres the breakdown of the territory controlled by the Syrian Government and opposition groups and other bombing by russian jets in the northwestern provinces supporting a major offensive by Syrian Government forces now they want to recapture a strategically important highway between the cities of aleppo and damascus troops have been fighting the opposition groups there since december that theyre moving northwest trying to cut off a rebel supply line the road between aleppo and damascus connects some of the few remaining opposition held areas in the city well the im sure he is the director of the Forest Center at the Fletcher School at Tufts University the center specializes in Eastern Mediterranean studies he joins me from boston good to have you with us on the program we look at the geography of the area of the strategic importance of whats going on but what really is the aim of the heavy bombardment is that largely and dense Populated Areas like eastern puter. Well the aim the aim is a total military victory in syria by the regime and its allies again against its own population regardless of the cost in destruction or in civilian deaths this has been the case for for the last five years is nothing new. The International Community is more and more paralyzed but it is more but its paralyzed by the narrative of of of the russians and the iranians and and the Syrian Regime who are saying one thing and doing and doing the other theyre saying were pursuing the escalation while escalating they say we dont want that there is no military solution while they were pursuing a full military use solutions so its a its a mind game that has paralyzed the International Community into inaction and part of that mind game as you mentioned and the narrative. You might say the aerial attacks by damascus all areas that rebels are using those locations to launch their attacks is an argument still stand up in any shape or form. I think that. There has to be a full International Investigation on the war crimes of the regime regardless of what excuses they use to bomb hospitals and civilian population in and the use of chemical weapons i mean the the use of chemical weapons is is now almost permitted to the regime after the United States returned i mean did not respect the red line in two thousand and thirteen this is interpreted. As a green light for the regime and for russia and iran that they have a license to kill absolutely and with no destruction and no and they are confident that nobody will do anything about it only a week ago we saw a russian sponsored conference where syrians interrupted the foreign minister in sochi accusing moscow of killing civilians this hasnt made moscow sit back and think of the Public Perception of their support for their actions alongside damascus i mean you have three hundred thirty five people dead over the last six weeks as you say the International Community seems to be only be able to sit back and watch from a distance. Yes absolutely because because. The russians are in no way playing say one thing and doing the other and the International Community has been has become confused and unable to confront the russian and the regime game in syria. Well for the moment certainly didnt have the thanks so much for joining us from boston thank you though in taiwan a magnitude six point four earthquake has hit the east of the island killing at least two people and injuring more than two hundred on the quake was brought down by a hotel or the quake brought down a hotel pardon me and several other buildings have they have been severely damaged the president citing whens rescues all searching for people still trapped under the rubble the silver has more. This was the scene sports after the earthquake struck just ten minutes before midnight rescuers moved in ropes and cranes to get those trapped in what was left of the hotel back to safety. Its believed the occupancy rate was particularly high this time of the year its not a very densely populated area alone that is to the eastern coast of taiwan at the session many fish in an agricultural day. County and most people there are focused most mostly with their lives and tourism and fish in the agricultural at this kind of. Year. So there are two in there so the hotel is one of their one of the building that many true is which is to say search teams from around the island are headed to to help with rescue efforts. Taiwans fire Agency Reports that five more buildings including a hospital were also damaged as were several roads leading to this. Earthquake followed another one over the weekend off the coast of. The city lies along the pacific rim of fire known for regular seismic activity from alaska to Southeast Asia on the silver dizzier. Well joining me now from los angeles is job for dolly hes director of the Southern CaliforniaEarthquake Center and also a seismologist professor at the u. S. He could have you with us live on aljazeera why is taiwan susceptible to earthquakes. Well like much of the pacific rim its on a plate boundary next to their several plate boundaries in taiwan i was well known to have lots of earthquakes and this earthquake today in the sequence for the last few days has been right in one of the hot spots on the northeast coast of taiwan so its not a surprise maybe for International Viewers we always ask the inevitable question about why on earth quakes called be predicted. Well weve been trying for hundreds of years the problem is that the fall rocks that break in these earthquakes are very hard to measure how much stress there is on the rocks and its very hard to know just how much stress it takes to break the rocks and so we dont know when in the hundred year cycle of loading and then finally breaking the rocks theyre about to go as we do everything we can predict them but we just dont know enough although any signs could anticipate that somethings on its way. Well the best sign is other quakes if we have sixty days ago that means the danger is going to be higher for a while it doesnt tell us that well have an earthquake but the odds are one hundred times higher than a normal day and in this case following the sixty days ago we had a six point four that killed some people and destroyed some buildings but we have no way to predict reliably when an earthquake about to strike how worrying will lay what you heard and seen said on your Television Screen of whats coming out of taiwan. Is it susceptible then to aftershocks. Oh its in an area where half the sharks are inevitable you know the question is how many big aftershocks will there be and our usual odds are one in ten or one in twenty chance of a bigger earthquake so they need to be prepared at least for a few days for more action. One of the things that taiwan is very used to it has had a history all of quakes in the past and theyve all averaged around about six point three and they seen this sort of death toll and injuries very low death toll but quite a lot of injuries except in ninety ninety nine when a seven point three earthquake hits and two and a half thousand people were killed. A one point zero magnitude rumble make a real difference obviously kind in some cases yeah then the magnitude screw tico and if an earthquake is a magnitude unit bigger that one actually was seven point seven and nine hundred ninety nine that gives a thirty times as much energy is six point seven and the ground moves much more so bigger is very deadly and even a main street six if it hits right on a town can be devastating which will watch what happens us any in the coming hours its very vital for those in taiwan for the moment john but only in los angeles thanks so much for joining us a my pleasure. Plenty more ahead here on the aljazeera news hour including Israeli Forces kill a palestinian man wanted for the shooting of a settler. Also african and european leaders gather in rome to talk about refugees but did they find any common ground. And in sport the netherlands hope this man can turn around their footballing fortunes more on that coming up with. The middle east now where a palestinian man is being killed during raids by the israeli army in the occupied west bank city of nablus thirty people were wounded as Israeli Forces fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets earlier on choose day now five of them are in a Critical Condition on monday and israeli satellite was stabbed and killed in the illegal settlement. While Israeli Security forces of also killed a palestinian man who was wanted over the death of a settler last month twenty one year old emma nasser gerar was shot that he was accused of killing a rabbi the runs the chin and legal illegal israeli outpost last month that one can possible from the occupied west bank. The Israeli Army Says this is all materials body theyve been looking for him since general you know if he was accused of killing a settler rabbi from an illegal settlement outpost in nablus in the early hours of Tuesday Morning around seventy jeeps into bulldozers and this village. And focus their attention on this about building something. Like at exactly four thirty am i heard an explosion and we heard an exchange of gunfire and it quieted down for about five minutes and then they started shouting surrender but there was more shooting and they brought in a robot that searched the room for about two hours. The killing has taken on a heightening significance because the settler was a religious leader after the killing of the rabbi from a nearby settlement the israeli army mounted almost nightly raids in a village of booking and they eventually found him they say him in the yemen a massive reacted saying the Palestinian Resistance continues. This courageous martyrdom asserts that resistance in the west bank is still going in all its forms led by all military armaments and the resistant and fighting palestinian all the security measures of the Israeli Occupation the security organizations or Israeli Military cannot break the will of resistance and the palestinian youths resisting this intifada will continue the jerusalem intifada will continue the Palestinian People go on to freedom or martyrdom huge crowds are gathered outside of the mothers house and put him. To be even. But its not just my son hes the sum of all of palestine he died his dignity fighting the occupation he has made his people proud. On the seventeenth of january they thought they killed but that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity and an innocent man was killed. The killing of the settler led Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu didnt declare the settlement outposts legal under israeli law and bring it under official protection the bodies of the two palestinians killed in the israeli raids still havent been handed over to the families iraq on aljazeera village occupied west. The u. N. Is warning hospitals in gaza are at risk of shutting down amid a fuel shortages he says supplies will run out in the next ten days putting Emergency Services intensive care units and operating theatres at risk now the shortage stems from a dispute between hamar son the rival Palestinian Authority now both signed a unity deal last year but havent finalized the details. Shares on wall street have been seesawing rapidly between positive and negative territory after sharp losses on monday which calls for in markets around the world now the Dow Jones Industrial average opened two percent down to two mondays fall of four and a half percent but stocks had stabilized and recovered the morning losses gaining about two percent by the close now the turmoil sparked selloffs in the asian markets as they reacted to mondays news from new york hong kongs hang seng index fell by more than five percent japans nikkei was down almost as much topping four point seven percent the falls were less severe in europe but londons footsie one hundred index still closed down two point six percent gabriel is on daves our correspondent in new york been following events for some in how the markets ended on tuesday in new york city after what was really a turbulent monday. Yeah it was really volatile monday in a volatile tuesday as well the markets opened here in new york with a sharp drop of five hundred points shortly after the opening bell and what we saw all day here on wall street was the dow in the stock market as a whole going up and down up and down up and down all day certainly leaving traders nervous all day at the end. Most of that five hundred points all of it actually and finished over five hundred for the day but it just gives you an idea of how volatile things have been after monday when the dow lost more points than it ever had in history before last week which was the last was which was the worst week on the stock market in nearly two years so its been incredibly volatile two thousand and eight so far any of the big games that have been made. At the end of last year going into this year been pretty much wiped out and this is where youre really seeing the market starting to really reset itself but boy it was a really volatile day here and it seems like it will be a volatile day perhaps through the rest of the week here as we see how this shakes out you just mentioned the word volatile and certainly unique because this whole trading such as being quite out of character the way the market has actually transpired and im not muscle to instill some sort of a lack of confidence in traders how they feeling about the volatility them to what theyre seeing because it doesnt hold effects to markets globally. Yeah its unusual to see these market gyrations but whats really been unusual is the Bigger Picture and over the last year or so the stock market has been going through the roof and what i mean by that is its gained at its height more than thirty percent of its value billions of dollars have been added to the u. S. Stock market or over the last year that has been unusual lot of traders have been saying privately its almost like free money raining down from the sky thats primarily because of exuberance over the election of President Donald Trump over a year ago the market had been doing well before trump became president but once he won the election and became president he started to strip away regulations his big tax overhaul which went into effect what you got passed late last year was a boon to wall street so add all of this up and there was this exuberance in wall street over the last year or so and thats what led to this market growing so big so fast what youre seeing now according to most economists and analysts is a pullback sort of a thems taking a cool down of what a lot of people have said has been an overheated stock market for the past year in the u. S. For the moment well leave it than follow markets certainly as the week progresses gabriel is under the in new york thank you now believe that a lot musks on bushs plans to colonize mars have taken another step forward three. His Company Space x. Has successfully launched its most powerful rocket yet the twenty three story full can heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space center in florida own choose day with a tells of sports car inside another spacecraft schildt most roadster convertible in two months is old it made it soft to take off the two out of boosters landed on the nearby Cape Canaveral a full scale. Now the heavy falcon is propelled by twenty seven rocket engines giving it a thrust thats equal to eighteen boeing seven four seven jets that means it can take incredibly heavy payloads of up to sixty three files and kilos that second only to the rocket nasa used for its Moon Missions its cost cutting re usable boosters also give space x. An edge over other Companies Competing for lucrative contracts with nasa Satellite Companies the u. S. Military and its not kind of technology that most hopes will eventually send people to mars and build a colony that well n. B. C. s sarah joins us live from the Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral good to have you with us sara a historic moment certainly for you to see with your own eyes and a significant liftoff which will really change the financial face of payloads from what were saying thats what a lot musk is hoping for. Thats exactly right i dont think we fully realize the impact of what we saw here today but i felt in a heavy lift with just fifteen minutes from left in that launch window it had been plagued by weather and wind related delays through most of the afternoon but in the end it was a success we know theyve recovered two of those rocket boosters we are still waiting to hear from space x. As to the status of the third that Center Booster and you talk about how this has the potential to really revolutionize private privatization of the space industry the commercialization of the space industry we know that foulke and heavy is expected to carry satellites into orbit at a cheaper cost then previously its also going to serve as a sort of a benchmark a stepping stone for future versions that can transport people to mars to the moon so were going to see how that unfolds in the coming years as for now face act. Having a little bit of fun with the successful launch we know that inside of it was a cherry red. With a dummy strapped into it was plain one of david bowies songs on repeat well now were seeing live pictures from the tesla with that space with earth with the moon in the background truly a spectacular picture not just for space x. Which is work for so long on this project but also for anybody whos interested in space and interested to see where this project takes us indeed of course it just sort of changed the relationship does it not between sort of a complete space x. With no government trunks its going to be a real sort of site for this sort of contract in the future from Companies Like this. Exactly space x. Is already do we know several transportations. Resupply missions rather theyre doing several resupply missions from earth to the International Space station so that relationship is already somewhat into place and were expecting to see that expand as time goes on as the government and the private Space IndustriesWork Together to explore and to expand out there not only in space but to the moon and one day mars it will see what happens that way the future for the moment so thanks so much for joining us. Still ahead here on the aljazeera news poll do you this president or does the rest of two senior judges forcing the Supreme Court to revoke cruel position ruling. Out in support of the other will tell us how the worlds best scientists all firing on the opening stage of the divine talk. Hello there weve got more rain and snow galloping its way across north america at the moment heres a system here gradually working its way eastwards and behind it its cold for many of us in the northern parts further south it is mild were looking at a top temperature in atlanta there seventeen degrees on wednesday and that despite the rain you see how heavy some of that what weather is going to be turns to snow eventually as you make your way up towards the northeastern part of the u. S. And eastern parts of canada the whole system moves through fairly quickly its largely gone by the time we get to thursday lunchtime but its still dragging its feet towards the southeastern parts here mostly cloud rather than anything particularly heavy rain wise though it wasnt all western but another weather system working its way in here so lots of snow is expected for the southwestern parts of canada thats edging its way eastwards now for the center. Americas largely fine and settled for many of us here we do have a few showers here and there want to run the uk a temperature and theres a stretching down towards costa rica and i think well see a few more showers here as we head through thursday on thursday though were also going to see more wet weather beginning to gather over parts of mexico so particularly in the eastern parts as we head down towards south america the rains here continue their heaviest at the moment around the eastern parts of brazil more still to come. With. More than seven decades ago a country was split into we began with dick cheney and now the dynamic then been shown to be myopic all it took was a pen a map and a collapsing empire and when the british had to draw a line they pulled it is a servant who had never been to india before aljazeera examines the violent birth of india and pakistan and asks what the future holds for these Nuclear Neighbors partition borders of blood at this time the nature news as it breaks the u. S. Cut the funding has cemented the feeling here that the u. S. Is now part of the problem and has picked the israeli side with details coverage the Nigerian Government insists negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of the girls and hundreds of others. From around the world to a decades long chileans are still thinking about abuses but this time those committed by the church. Welcome back youre watching all this there is news arms a whole robin a reminder of our top stories syrias rebel held region of eastern and jordans deadliest day in more than a month russian and Syrian Government raids killed at least seventy one people on choose de lest abated one hundred thirty eight people have been are being killed in eastern puter and province in the last forty eight hours also a magnitude six point four earthquake has hit eastern taiwan killing at least two people and injuring more than two hundred others on the island the quake has brought down a hotel and several other buildings were severely damaged. Shares on wall street of close to two percent higher after a volatile day it follows a four percent drop on the dow jones on monday postponed global concern leading to sell off that asia and the european markets on choose day. Irans president has called on turkey to stop its military operation in the northern syrian and play that theme has every harley said the campaign should only go ahead with the approval of the Syrian Government which is irans ally his comments come as kurdish y p g fighters continue to fire rockets from syria into turkey injuring and killing civilians jamal a shell has been meeting some of the victims. As a commodore la receives mourners outside his home in rare hamley his mind is elsewhere hes still trying to process the death of his daughter fatima who was killed last week she had just turned seventeen has some bill daley was injured in the same attack when a rocket fired by the Kurdish Militia the y. P. G. Hit their home in the early hours of the morning resumed your look because we were sleeping a lot son woke me up i couldnt see anything for a second it was pitch black when i looked up there was a hole in the ceiling the wall next to me had collapsed i felt incredible pain on my ankle doctors say that while bill k. Will be able to walk again his leg will never fully recover he wont be able to run or jump again. The mourners here dont only share feelings of sorrow theyre united in their opposition to the Kurdish Militia who they consider to be terrorists atma takes me to see his house its around ten kilometers away from the border with syria the destruction calls does extensive not only has he lost his daughter hes also lost his home this is the room where falk must spend her last night in this world she was sleeping when the rocket landed came through the ceiling and it killed her instantly blood still stains the place where she lay on that fateful morning. As far as her father is concerned he has no doubt hes very clear as to who is responsible for the killing of his young daughter and what needs to be done in order to ensure that other parents dont suffer the same as him but of course. The p. K. K. And why p. G. Are responsible for the death of my daughter theyre attacking us from across the border its their rockets and bombs that have killed our children the turkish army must kill them all despite his loss and evident grief or maybe is a direct result of it is defiant there is another. If the nation in our army need us and we are ready to join the war even if there are one hundred or thousand martyrs we will carry on the fight. Turkey says its fighting the why p. G. Is part of its war against terrorism the y. P. Jean accuses the Turkish Military of killing kurdish civilians in its bid to control parts of syria the undeniable fact however is that nothing will bring back this mans young girl and the sad truth is that more parents will suit clinging on to photos of their dead children as this war continues. On the turkey syria border now the International Community faces an even more difficult challenge in containing eisel than when the group was at its peak thats the assessment of a new report for the Un Security Council which says the fight against arsenal is entering a new phase according to the report isel has lost its focus on cold growing and Holding Territory and its prioritizing less visible networks of more anonymous individuals and cells that are focused on carrying out external attacks and in some cases are willing to work with al qaeda to achieve these objectives the report warns countries need to improve intelligence sharing and corporation to deal with that renewed threat but also says the threat from weisel linked groups is quickly spreading across libya west and east africa and central asia. Richard is director of the just security twenty twenty program at the stimson said think tank joins me now from washington d. C. Could have you with us all knowledge is there how much is really a front chinese was sort of less central peroration control since its demise in iraq and syria thank you i concur with the reports main finding that isis poses a tremendous risk and threat to the world even today now lets take a few years back in mid two thousand and fourteen tremendous incursions were made by the Islamic State into syria and iraq taking over Major Population Centers such as mosul we should not understate the importance of pushing them back from their military strongholds its been a devastating blow for isis but with that said there is a tremendous challenge ahead of winning the peace as it is called in cities such as mosul this will take years of governance reform Economic Development as well as continuously building up the Iraqi Military and police. Thats right surely thats sorry mr ponzi thats actually with with regard to whats happening in iraq and iran i mean this report is about whats going on beyond the borders story of iraq and syria and where those. Fighters may go and the real concern of whether they actually stay a coherent army or for so whether they become individuals and create havoc individually or in small cells thats assessment is whats worrying the u. N. At the moment where a national governments. Thats exactly correct as al qaeda has shown over several decades other extremist groups prior to the arrival of the Islamic State all you need is a good sense of Organization Funding but a set of ideas ideas that will rally a militant group of terrorist fighters then you can bring about great damage and spread tambour terror not just within regions such as the middle east that have been the brunt of most of these attacks but in nearby regions in central and southwest asia the report highlights one to four thousand isis fighters exist in afghanistan today they are threatening countries such as russia they are threatening the whole of europe which has a problem of foreign returned fighters from these theatres such as syria and iraq today they have cited in the report that there are identity and travel documents that have been illegally stolen its going to be very difficult to differentiate refugees from militants associated with the Islamic State this problem will be around for some time to come its important though that its not treated as strictly a law and order Intelligence Response type of question but one that involves Development Humanitarian organizations this is where organizations such as the un can help take an integrated approach to addressing the causes of extremist violence which is the what happens in the future for the most. In washington d. C. Thanks for your time sir. Its always foreign minister says those they rule risk of returning to europe poem the boats used to cross the mediterranean on jay leno of phone who was speaking at a conference he is hosting in rome to discuss migration and security representatives from several african countries as well from the united nations. Possible from rome. So fourteen nations at least forty nations in gauge here the Italian Foreign ministry in rome in what is an ongoing conversation between the countries in africa that actors countries of origin and transit for the many many thousands of people trying to make their way to europe and the socalled host countries in europe that receive them which of course italy is a prime one the conference heard that the numbers had been decreasing quite encouraging really over the two thousand and sixteen seventeen period in large part of they havent said it here because of italian methods of dealing with the libyan coast guard encouraging them to turn people back but in fact turning them back to camps that have been described by aid groups and activists as prison camps and Detention Centers where Smuggling Networks are rife and exploitation right as well that will have to be dealt with here in terms of protecting the human rights of those involved in this migration and as well as that as outlined by the Italian Foreign minister defeating the socalled Business Model of smugglers but he said finance terrorism and looking out for the return of fighters i still fighters coming back to their countries of origin in europe using these routes its all about human rights its all about protecting and saving lives its all about bringing together many many countries in a common cause common and difficult cause with multiple competing interests. Well more than one hundred migrants of escaped from a camp in libya the group who were mostly from somalia say they were being held by people smugglers near the town theres hebrew in the Libyan Desert they say theyve been beaten and given food only once every twenty four hours. Now lawyers for the kenyan opposition politician. We go now have told our jazeera that hes been deported to canada after being charged with treason and he was arrested after taking part in a mock swearing in ceremony for Opposition Leader raila odinga the good are seen here on the left was the next year last week when he declared himself the peoples president rejecting huda kenyatta as reelection good or holds both canadian and kenyan passports. The Supreme Court of the maldives has revoked its earlier order to release several imprisoned Opposition Leaders a day after the president declared a state of emergency and arrested two of its judges you mean a bill to you is accusing them of being part of a plot to overthrow him hes also ordered the arrest of a former president who says half brother assam a binge of his reports. Just hours after the state of emergency was declared in the island nation of maldives this board carries a prominent Opposition Leader to the countrys main jail on a Remote Island the. Moment of the un was arrested on charges of bribery which the opposition says this politically motivated. His family released a video earlier in which he urged his supporters not to lose hope. When this police came to arrest me im going with them i dont even know why they are arresting me ive done nothing wrong or unlawful i urge the people to be strong and stand with us we will win. With the arrested but two judges for the deepening the political crisis. It all began on thursday when the Supreme Court called for the retrial of nine opposition politicians including exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed just also reinstated twelve m. P. s who had lost their seats for supporting the opposition but president of the yemeni refused to comply with the ruling and celebrations turned into protests. Yeah i mean also declared a fifteen day state of emergency and ordered the military to secure the Parliament Building for an indefinite period. And this is. In addition to the two judges police raided the house of the administrative head of the Supreme Court the court says police didnt have enough evidence to arrest a judicial executive president yemi who happens to be the half brother of arrested leader abdul gayoom came to power in two thousand and thirteen that was a year after multibillion police and army overthrew president Mohamed Nasheed but in a shaky democracy president ya mean has faced similar allegations of becoming authoritarian and being corrupt his government insists that despite the state of emergency nonfunctioning Supreme Court and military posted outside parliament its business as usual for citizens and tourists that the Supreme Court was expected to do favorably on a petition to impeach i mean Opposition Leaders allege the president s loyalists made it clear that they would not comply with such a verdict and launched a crackdown. For now the country best known for its tranquil beaches is struggling to deal with yet another round of political turmoil some of the jobs there south Africas Parliament has postponed president jacob zuma state of the nation address amid fears the opposition would disrupt his speech zuma is under increasing pressure to resign over corruption allegations and also being called to step down from members of his own party the ruling a. N. C. Has called for a special meeting off its Top Committee to decide zimmermans fate. We decided to drop approach the president often having to propose that we postpone the joint sitting in our that eighteen room for establishing imagine a more interesting body to tell im almost here. Now the u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson has arrived in the colombian capital bug atar as part of his visit to latin america he set to meet president Juan Manuel Santos the pair expected to discuss the status of the Colombian Peace accords before holding a joint press conference oh yes person donald trump says he would welcome a Government Shutdown if congress doesnt agree to measures tightening immigration laws his comments come as legislators are trying to reach a deal on federal spending two days before a stopgap government funding bill is due to expire the white house released a statement clarifying that the president was not advocating for a shutdown. If we dont change the legislation if we dont get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to kill gang members and were just talking about him yesterday and there are many gang members in the know hes a rancher if we dont change it lets have a shutdown well do a shutdown and its worth it for our country i do love to see a shutdown if we dont get this stuff taken care of now the u. S. That coalitions has expanded its Bombing Campaign in northern afghanistan the number of missions have been increasing the trumpet ministration in the last few days taliban positions near the Afghan Border with china and to gie could stand up being targeted particle hey reports now from washington d. C. I supposedly secure part of kabul the scene of mass casualties. A luxury hotel targeted and now in the u. S. Capital new questions about whether President Donald Trump strategy in afghanistan is working the attacks last month were a real shock thats a state Department Official touting the new policy and hearing these kinds of criticisms maybe its time we have a frank discussion congress whether or not there is a military solution in afghanistan were spending fifty billion dollars a year that could be better spent why do the taliban want to political settlement they now control more terry that tory than they controlled since two thousand and one theyre gaining ground. Theyre creating chaos that was the big question here what is the Long Term Strategy the administration has long said they want to negotiate a settlement with the taliban that is until President Trump said the opposite theres no talking to the taliban we dont want to talk to the taliban were going to finish what we have to finish what nobody else has been able to finish were going to be able to do it the explanation now he was simply upset i think what president president trunk was expressing was a reaction to. The terrorist activities of the horrible terrorist activities last month in kabul significant elements of the taliban are not prepared to negotiate and it may take a long time before they are willing to negotiate. To get them there the Administration Says they need to turn the tide on the battlefield the Coalition Just announced that theyve expanded the Bombing Campaign to the north in just over the last four days dropping twenty four bombs in what they say were taliban targets the most ever from a b. Fifty two bomber the air campaign has dramatically increased under President Trump according to data from the u. S. Military they dropped more than forty three hundred bombs in two thousand and seventeen thats up from around Thirteen Hundred the year before secretary of Defense James Mattis was also asked to defend the strategy on capitol hill in fact what were doing to earn the trust of the American People are doing sure another nine eleven hatched out of there does not happen during our watch making it clear recent events will not change the strategy after more than sixteen years more troops more bombing with the hope that eventually leads to peace. Washington. Well still ahead here on aljazeera. In scotland which is the Traditional Home of a winter olympic sport. He has. A head. He has. Thank you very much with just three days left until the Winter Olympics begin in p. R. A number of russians banned due to doping on giving up their fight to compete thirty two have appealed to the court of arbitration for sport including champion speed skater victor an airing will be likely held on wednesday it follows a decision last week to overturn the lifetime doping bans of twenty eight russians one hundred sixty nine have been cleared to compete in chinas neutrals also known as a limp dick athletes from russia the issue was central as a meeting of the International Olympic committee on tuesday youre huge amount of work has gone into making sure that we can ensure that it will be a clean pass a clean athletes from russia to compete in these games here so i think we await the decision as everyone else does but with the most important we are very confident of our position some of the russian athletes care to take part of already touched down in south korea including these the mens ice hockey players they were greeted by fans at the airport but no russian flags will be allowed to be displayed when they start competing as neutral team next week. When the games get underway one of the strangest sports to look out for will be curling where giant stones a swept along the ice britain is strong and men and womens curling and the secret of their success lies in the sports history in scotland wellings reports. While some prepare for a Winter Olympics by hurtling down a ski slope others give a gentle throw a watch a giant slab of granite like its why a loss what used to be known as housework. And then a giant stone settles closest to the center scoring points this is curling and scotland is home to some of the worlds best colors even your head is the skipper of the multi medal winning british womens to a bronze medalists in such a four years ago the mia heads are a culling family has sheep brothers thomas and glamour in the mens team who won silver in such a father competed in the sport before it became an official Olympic Event in one nine hundred ninety eight one of the advantages and he was i was a couple disappointed as well of being a follow up to the intense competition because i guess i love advantages its like running and support each other and were there for each other and do whatever for each team and i think whats really been the scandal has been going really well theres this family members going i was going to monk was going to a few locals are going. To see their faces when we go there to culling is traditionally an outdoor sport but the ice has to be thick enough and siphon off and that last up and hair like of went south in one thousand nine hundred seventy nine and occasion cold the ground much buzz legendary in scotland the great thing about curling is not so much the actual game of the imagist weeping that always accompanies the going to popularity having been part of life in scotland for hundreds of years is about to get another push for the Winter Olympics and the precious stones come from an island off the west coast of scotland by the name of. Granite would. That mean the house of cards those would be used. Yes the World Curling Federation pervades their use for all World Championships and Olympic Games heavens yes this day certainly. But its in this forum on a street Paisley Abbey nick glasgow that evidence of colleagues origins could be found. The piers that in the early part of the sixteenth century. A monk from the abbey here they settled a wager by throwing a stone on ice. Doesnt call it curling but to all intents and purposes it involved ice and throwing stones so that sounds very like a basic form of curving nearly five hundred years later the british team will love history on its side in china canada sweden and switzerland just some of the teams who might provide formidable opposition as they gently nudge their way to what they hope will be god the wellings aljazeera standing. Ronald koeman has been appointed the manager of the netherlands as they try and rebuild after failing to qualify for the twenty eighteen world cup the former everton boss will take charge for the first time in a friendly against england in march and has Seventy Eight netherlands cups as a player and help them win hero nine hundred eighty eight he replaces Dick Advocaat he resigned off to the World Cup Qualifying Campaign we are not qualifying food. We did not qualifying for the last europeans and but we have still good players and we have still a lot of talent full players and im really positive about the future of the National Team south africas cricket team have it all to do in the six the match one Day International ferries against india going into wednesdays third match in cape town the hosts all ready to nail down and theyve also been hit by injuries to several of their key players but they have a good record in cape town winning twenty eight of their thirty three o. D. I. Played. The most important things for us to stay positive and not really. Seek too many questions or too many on says rather only winning you dont ask yourself any on any questions its all great. So you just have to stay positive. Keep trying to change the momentum. I dont think so the guy is going to come visit. Its big cities for us was sort of bigger played very well and as you saw the leg do. As hard as possible. To win. Whatever games coming up. Dub cyclist dylan gran of again won the opening stage of the de by top on tuesday granted they can hit the front of the pack with one hundred fifty meters the one hundred sixty seven kilometer course remaining beating magnus court nielson and viviana to the line those three finishing well clear of the other sprinters wednesday second stage will see riders head out across the huey. The eagles have landed back in philadelphia after their first ever super bowl when dozens of fans gathered outside Philadelphia Airport to see the teams return from minneapolis they beat the new England Patriots forty one to thirty three on sunday a celebrate every parade will be held in philadelphia on thursday. One man missing with eagles quarterback nick foles the super bowl m. V. P. Was at disney world in florida instead were paraded was thrown in his honor. And finally the roller derby world cup has been taking place in manchester over the last three days with thirty eight teams and thousands of spectators in attendance this ball could be described as a combination of roller skating and wrestling this was the first time the event was staged outside of north america the United States based australia in the final and after the all these took the lead the americans fought back to edge in front and since the players are all women the cheerleaders may as well have been men right following the halftime show at the usa would go on to kill the title. And also baseball for now more later thanks very much touch here you can follow all of the stories that were covering a website or logging on to be doubly doctor. Dot com that is the news hour with me so rob will be back with more news on the other side of the break to stay with us see if humans. The final solution. And london fourteen twelve zero 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 for a drive to the base one five years on the syrians still feel battered or even those who managed to escape their country have been truly unable to escape the war. From Satellite Technology to three d. Printing and recycled waste to solar powered classrooms africa is transforming young innovators ah propelling change Building Communities creating employment and solving problems theyre challenging systems and shaping new ones. Creative thinkers shaping their continents future innovate africa at this time on aljazeera. Timothy to understand very well the first thing we dont leave. The one hundred thirty People Killed in forty eight hours Syrian Government jets areas. And eastern