Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20180208

Backed forces killed more than one hundred per regime fighters. Bangladesh jails former Prime Minister colleagues as theyre on corruption charges. A show of force at a time of apparently unity north korea stages a massive military parade on the eve of south koreas a lympics. With the days sports news well the Opening Ceremony of the winter games doesnt take place until friday the school of killing has already thrown its first stone dead and more later. We begin in syria where three major developments are pointing to an escalation in a conflict thats now being going on for almost seventy years in the Northern Province more than one hundred pro regime fighters have been killed by the u. S. Led coalition and allied local forces. U. S. Says it forces an attack against the Syrian Democratic forces as a Rebel Alliance supports meanwhile russian and Syrian Forces are continuing to bomb and shell the two rebel strongholds of eastern and Northern Province more than two hundred people most of them civilians have been killed in just four days and the United Nations Security Council is planning to meet later at the request of kuwait and sweden to discuss among other things the horrific situation in eastern. Lets take a closer look. At where the u. S. Led bombing raid happened bring up the maps we can see government controlled areas marked in red the kurdish held regions are marked in yellow now if you zoom into the east thats where the u. S. Led coalition launched its operation against government backed troops is east of the phrase hes very close to the kurdish controlled areas u. S. Military says its defensive strikes were in response to unprovoked attacks by Syrian Forces well beyond a deescalation line agreed on by all factions. Live now to jamal shell in gaziantep is near turkeys border with syria so jamal this confrontation i mean it really shows as just how the russians and the americans a battling for control in these particular parts of syria. Essentially its not just the americans and the russians also youve got obviously this harks them not to mention the actual Syrian Government itself and the rain ians as well that are seeking some sort of influence inside the territory what appears to be a happen alone although it is a very dangerous escalation as you mentioned considering the relative maybe subdued nature of the conflict in the past couple of weeks and seems that maybe people are gearing up all sides are gearing up to some sort of grand finale before the next stage of what is almost a seven year long conflict comes about and what we are seeing is this race to try and establish some sort of permanent foothold in different parts the russians have so to speak already kind of pinned their flag down in many parts of the country particularly the coast of syria where theyve set up their military and naval bases there but in the northeast where there are still things to kind of contest for between the americans and their proxies on the ground the y. P. Geed us the kurdish fighters in the talks and their proxies in terms of the Free Syrian Army and the rebels there are there is still all to play for added to that obviously is the fact that aside from trying to maybe. Beseech other its kind of getting specific ground in specific areas and cities inside syria the actual war itself and the reasons behind it and continuing the latest developments in that the americans who are heading this international n. P. Isis coalition a coalition which they made very clear was that the primary targets of it was isis it wasnt Bashar Assads regime it wasnt. Anything else is suddenly used and thats coalition to target militia or fighters aligned with the assad regime in order to defend the y p g and that begs the question why did they do that now they could have used those airplanes drones or whatever weapons they used to kill those fighters for over the past couple of years is it because they need the y p g on the ground or is it. Also because they want to send a message to the sharks to tell them well your campaign this operation on your branches is being called against the y. P. One go unchecked and that there is limitations to what washington real or will not accept in terms of territory gained or lost either by the turks or their kurdish allies that is the americans are nice and meanwhile this intense bombardment of east. Continuing where its the civilians that are continuing to pay the biggest price. These are people particularly Melissa Moore that have been under siege for five years youre talking about very little not no medicine getting there very little food water electricity being touched off this area is hugely significant for so many reasons not least because it is the closest that the opposition to the original Bashar Al Assads managed to assemble to the capital it is on the Eastern Suburbs of damascus now another reason why its so significant or is because water and it live are meant to be part of these deescalation zones that were agreed upon by the trio of iran russia and turkey in the final talks that is the cause of his son process that was meant to be working in parallel with the geneva talks in order to bring a cessation of hostilities to allow for a Peace Process to happen itll also significant because if you remember a few months ago or maybe a little bit more than that when aleppo was essentially all but burned to the ground the russians allowed for these as citizens and civilians in aleppo to go to it live with the promise that that would be a safe zone for them what appears to be happening is all those who fled from and up are now in the crossfire or maybe even being targeted by the Russian Air Force and the syrians which means that really as we all know maybe a risk of stating the obvious there is really no place safe in syria despite all the promises despite all these deals that are being made ok and a time out of while reporting there from gaziantep thanks to mom as well the developments attack as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken on the phone with russia the bottom of page ten and apparently the talking will host the next serious summit in istanbul next month but he said keen to keep a closer eye on the deescalation signs in a Lab Challenge has more from moscow. Syrias war is in a particularly complex and dynamic phase of the moment in part because of recent military action taken by russia and turkey youve basically got russian air strikes picking up over the last few days supporting Syrian Army Forces and allied militia on the ground those airstrikes are in part of course also in retaliation for the downing of the russian jets a few days ago at the same time as all this youve got the turkish incursion into our friend which is still ongoing these are lots of balls for moscow and ankara to be juggling at the moment so whos in a nerd around a basically talked about how they can better coordinate or at least say out of each others way russia has some complaints against turkey at the moment it says that its obligations under the stars are formats are not being met basically supposed to be securing the deescalation parts of the deescalation zone in the north west of the country taking much of it live province setting up observation posts and it hasnt been able to do that yet according to Moscow Russia has also i think slightly suspicious that although its publicly at least blaming nusra for the downing of the russian jets russia believes that perhaps maybe turkish bax groups might have had something to do with it so erdogan has been playing nice to a certain extent and extending his condolences for the death of the russian pilots they talked about a new meeting in the ass stand of formats thats iran russia and turkey to take place sometime in the future some place turkish media saying thats going to be in istanbul my interpretation of this is that russia is basically trying to keep the estancia formats. Rolling along whilst the u. N. Official u. N. Procedure of geneva there is still more of bonds and this allows russia to keep the u. N. And keep the United States at arms length all the while Russian Forces and Syrian Army Forces and militias are pushing home their advantage on the battlefield and thats to bash our last advantage. He appears foreign minister is in cairo for joint talks looking to ease tensions a mecca down project its building along the river aims to be the largest producer of hydroelectric power in africa once the project finishes but egypt which depends largely on the knowledge of water says ethiopias trying to control the flow of the novel which could threaten its water security both countries are looking to address all issues relating to the project at the summit. Full of bangladeshi prime is likely to say there has been jailed for five years after being convicted of corruption so it was found guilty of investing more than two hundred sixty thousand dollars the court also sentence her son tariq rahman who lives in exile in london to ten years of a child he has more from dhaka i talked to her defense counsel. He said that theyre going to appeal the process takes once they get that verdict certified verdict theyll go to the high court now that could take till sunday however the law minister said the presidio there is a presidio delay to get the certified copies which means it could be artificially delayed for them to take it to the high court once a gold goes to the high code to depend on the high courts but then if they got a stay order shell be either out on bail and even if she stays in the jail shell still be eligible for election until a final hearing in the high Court Takes Place even within the Appellate Division now let me give you the situation on the street the city where im standing right now is just a few blocks from the court is eerily silent the stores are closed schools are closed theres hardly any car in the city theres been periodic clashes in the capital city and all across the country it is certainly putting the country into a Political Uncertainty considering there is a scheduled general election in the month of december. North korea has held a military parade m. P. On young had such a show of strength on the eve of a display of unity at the Winter Olympics in south korea that display was announced shortly after an agreement was reached on the north but as a patient in the olympics on friday nov quinn a nice of you to march in the Opening Ceremony alongside athletes from the South African name has more from god and south korea this years north Korean Military parade may have been a more toned down affair but the bombast patriotism and pride were on full display this is the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the north korean army leader kim jong un said that he is quote built a rule of class military one that has the most force and power despite the saying sions. May have opted to take this route this year because the parade fell the day before the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics the country was receiving a lot of criticism people here in south korea at least government officials had said that this could be viewed as a provocation and intimidating factor intended to sow fear so kim jong un via holding this parade it was not broadcast on Live Television by holding this parade was able to appease the domestic audience to show the pride to celebrate the advances in its Weapons Program that the world saw in the last year but also make a nod to the diplomatic sensitivities of the moment north korea and south korea are in a period of major overtures there has been a thaw in the relationship in a real hope that the chuang Winter Olympics will be a moment of true reconciliation and peace. Rescue crews on a cell searching through buildings on the brink of collapse hoping to find more trap survivors of an earthquake in the port city of quali n. A magnitude six point four tremor killed nine people on tuesday but mcbride has more this rescue team from tight chong in central taiwan is preparing to go into the building for the first time hujan chung and his men are used to dealing with earthquakes but this building is in a particularly perilous position. As you can see its very slanted so we have to take precautions and special gear to ensure our safety other emergency crews from across the island have also joined this operation and local media are camped around the building anxiously following progress along with many others you know. We are struggling against aftershocks and bad weather but we will continue to search but we wont give up. Aftershocks have become less frequent but they still occur and alarm sounds each time and eyes turn instinctively towards the teetering structure. Inside the tight team stop aftershock one of them shouts. And deep within the structure all they can do is wait for the transmitter and. More steel reinforcement to be brought in to prop up the building that means when the alarm sounds the crews can wait inside until the trauma passes before continuing their work but they know the time for any survivors is running out. A tight team emerged finding no signs of life and it made the job makes them sometimes fear for their own lives. When the aftershock happens i still get nervous theres nothing you can do but get into a safe corner and pray. If survivors are still to be found alive theyre likely to be in more inaccessible parts of this block harder for the rescuers to get too dangerous for them to work in rubble bright aljazeera taiwan plenty more still ahead here on this news. Thanking acknowledged the dreamers for their courage their. Their inspiration. Eight hours and seven minutes u. S. Political leaders marathon monologue about the plight of young emigrants. And tensions rise along the border between lebanon and israel over a new contentious new war. And in the n. B. A. Now the bron james pops up as cleavers hero once again will have all those details in school. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a potential corruption indictment against him will come to nothing there are reports police will recommend the indictment over allegations that netanyahu and his wife received illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors including a major hollywood producer whos also accused of doing a deal with a newspaper to weaken a rival publication and return for friendly coverage a man can has the latest from west jerusalem. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says this is going nowhere now the case has been really recommended by the police they say an indictment should be issued thats been given to the attorney general if any general then has to discuss with the states attorney and come up with a decision whether to indict or not promise to Benjamin Netanyahu much like President Donald Trump uses social media to get his message across hes been on his Facebook Page hes been saying that this is going nowhere lets take a look at exactly what he had to say. Many of you asked what will happen so i want to reassure you there will be nothing because i know the truth the state of israel is a state of law the law says of the one to determine whether there is evidence against the Prime Minister is the attorney general and he consults with the state attorney the state prosecutor said recently and mesh it not about half of the Police Recommendations and with nothing so what happens next what were looking at evidence being gathered and taking a look at by the states attorney with the attorney general its unlikely that this will go anywhere because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu position he is incredibly popular amongst the hard right has a lot of Political Support within the hard right in that community so theyll be pressure on the attorney general not for bring about any kind of case also by taking this is social media he will also be saying to the israeli people if you want to indict me go ahead but i dont think this is going on because we have the rule of law and those thats is exact words so were not expecting anything to happen soon there is a procedure has to go through and thats where its at right now its on the desk of the attorney general whatever he does we dont know but lets see what happens next. U. S. Senate leaders have agreed to a budget deal that could prevent another Government Shutdown in the next twenty four hours bottas facing strong opposition in the house of representatives which also needs to sign off on a proposal. That leader nancy pelosi made history when she spoke out against the deal that victoria case and the reports confidence building step it was a marathon speech the longest continuous address adelaide in the house of representatives for eight thousand seven minutes nancy pelosi who turns Seventy Eight next month spoke about the plight of young immigrants in america with just a few sips of water to keep her going every day courageous patriotic dreamers lose their status every day the American Dream steps out of reach as members of congress we have a moral responsibility to act now to protect dreamers who are the pride of our nation and our american in every way but on paper palosi was speaking out against the compromise federal budget deal announced by Senate Leaders it doesnt protect the socalled dreamers from deportation the undocumented immigrants who came to the u. S. This children Senate Leaders admit the budget deal isnt perfect but say it will avert a fast approaching Government Shutdown this bill is the product of extensive negotiations among congressional leaders and the white house. No one would suggest it is perfect but we work hard to find Common Ground and stay focused on sure the American People the budget deal doesnt have everything democrats want it doesnt have everything republicans want but it has a great deal of what the American People the budget deal if approved will lift capsule military and domestic spending but first it must get through the house of representatives and this is a position from both republicans and democrats this will probably pass the senate but in the house its meeting with opposition from a lot of very conservative republicans who are deficit hawks and object to the fact that this deal will add half a trillion dollars to the federal budget deficit and democrats are angry led by nancy pelosi because it doesnt do anything to protect the socalled dreamers the contentious issue of protecting undocumented migrants led to a brief Government Shutdown last month it could well do so again still to make america and their. Victory gay to be out there but we had the immigration is one of the biggest sticking points in the budget standoff including socalled chain migration that refers to a person bringing members of their family to the u. S. After being granted resident same child once an end to it but she never times he explains the presence i dont understand came to america that very same way. We need to end chain migration that when the white house uses the term chain migration its meant to suggest migrants yanking a chain and pulling in all of their unskilled extended family to settle in the u. S. But thats how migration has worked in the u. S. Since the countrys founding researches have dug up some notable examples of families reuniting after settling in the u. S. For example dont trump whose mother left scotland to join her sister whod already settled in the u. S. And whose grandfather moved from germany at the end of the Nineteenth Century to join his sister whod been granted residency the year before he spoke Little English yet trained as a barbers apprentice but there was no critical shortage of barbarism us such ancestral journeys are common in the Administration Vice president mike pence two wouldnt be in the u. S. Were not for what he calls chain migration his grandfather was one of several in his family who took advantage of his siblings u. S. Residency and then theres white house adviser Stephen Miller one of the architects of the tough line against immigration his great great grandfather was pulled into the u. S. By a known blood relative from bella ruse assimilation was hard for the family members great grandmother still didnt speak english for years after her arrival and thats exactly the sort of migrant miller is seeking to prevent from arriving on u. S. Rules so were proposing to limit family based migration to spouses and minor children what will the system look at it will look at does the applicant speak english can they support themselves and their families financially do they have a skill that will add to the u. S. Economy at washingtons Cato Institute they estimate that the effect of the administrations immigration framework will lead to the largest cut in Legal Immigration since the one nine hundred twenty s. A forty four percent cut annually excluding nearly twenty two Million People over the next fifty years in the twentys politicians were overt about their racism but now according to david baer there are also naked Political Considerations so i do believe there is a. Political motivation as well they fear immigrants will come in and vote for democrats and democrats think that the immigrants will come in and vote for their party. Its widely accepted that the u. S. Already near the bottom of the cd countries for the number of immigrants it accepts needs immigration for its Economic Development and tax base as its population ages but of course theres nothing new about u. S. Politicians state voting migrants even when they themselves all the descendants of poor unskilled non English Speaking migrants she ever time see aljazeera washington. Well time now for the weather and heres rob to look at each of the Winter Olympics pretty chilly that i thought we might as its starting tomorrow as it is so ive got the map up for siberia theres a reason for this you referred lots of complaints about how really really cold its been in pyongyang well this is the reason the source of all cold air in the winter in this part of the world nation is siberia where typically daytime highs about minus ninety sometimes are going to as high as minus eight so that leak site as it often does comes on the Korean Peninsula that is why it feels cold typical conditions in the area where all the Alpine Skiing will be done day max but zero freezing if you like but by now i think is going to minus and these are typical average conditions and the wind comes out of siberia roughly fifteen Kilometers Per Hour its still particularly strong but minus ten it would feel it obviously however as i said its not been quite this good the training week or at least the last week by the day its been around about minus nine this is the warmest part of the day so as it gets much colder at night down to about minus twenty the winds been added siberia it has been sunday some compensation i say i think it is but it would feel really really cold but things are about to change has been slowly warming up over the last couple days this low pressure not High Pressure inside the reason the breeze is not coming out of the northwest and i think we will find these may be a little bit above freezing by the time we get to late in the afternoon tomorrow and just about the time for the Opening Ceremony laura good news for a lot of people about that rob thanks were expecting to see protests in bulgaria as capsule thoroughfare later on people want to voice their opposition to a plan they fail it will destroy some of europes most important forests vulgar and government is supporting a scheme to turn the patron National Park into a ski resort activists say those behind the developments are offshore Companies Involved in tax avoidance honestly reports. European skiers enjoying the winter sunshine in the results have been scoped may or may not know they were the units to World Heritage sites the beautiful ancient forest here supposedly protected by bulgarian and International Environmental laws the plans to expand the skiing area by cutting down far more of the forests has been enthusiastic lee backed by the government is economically lucrative but condemned by environmentalists as the rate of nature some of the trees are a thousand years old the bears and the wolves could lose their habitats if we allow this to happen in theory National Park then the skiing projects can start in all our National Parks we only have three plus in our nature park so we will open the pandora box and this will be the end of protected areas in the area. Its as much about how controversial it is that protests against the scheme of being held in cities all over europe and beyond its also claimed to be part of a much wider rotten story about the rule of law in the European Union. The row over the legal and environmental implications of destroying the forests here in the apparent complicity of the boll garin government elites have served to focus attention on this place in a way that the rich and the powerful in bulgaria really dont like at all because it appears that bomb scare was actually a giant Money Laundering operation dressed up as a ski resorts. Thats according to people like nick he points a benz goes empty hotels and apartment blocks as evidence of tax avoidance thats not fair is the one behind it is absolutely empty that one is empty because a hotelier turned whistleblower whos watched Anonymous Companies build hotel blocks here apparently knowing theyll remain an occupied the central allegation is this a trick to inflate prices artificially and wash dirty money through the pristine resort its a truth the whole of bulgaria seems to know about but is only coming to lights because of the ral and the future of the forest the Biggest Hotels are owned by that offshore company. The gondolas old by the offshore company they they lock down you know their conditions of work and they dont budge at all because for them they have the monopoly they dont care who even owns the resort is a mystery it was registered in the tax haven of cyprus under the name of an unemployed local man he is on paper the owner of so Many Companies hes one of the biggest Foreign Investors in bulgaria. Government claims to know who the real owners are but is refused to say apparently it isnt in the Public Interest to reveal he wants to chop down the forests or why the more that. Its the last thing we care about whats important is gary in business and tourism to be successful every company that wants to develop beaucaire interest in follows the law and we would support it but on the question of who owns it i cant give an exact answer. The people who run sco already stand accused of environmental regulations despite receiving millions from the European Union for sewage disposal human waste is allowed to run straight into the streams coming down from the mountain what they planned to do with the mountain itself if theyre allowed to cut the forest down is anyones guess Lawrence Leigh aljazeera in bulgaria. Still ahead in the second half of the. Fighting for return true democracy in thailand why activists say the situation has gone from bad to worse. And never to approach to hong kongs housing crisis we look at the new solutions emerging in the real estate market. And more than two hundred runners lined up in the lobby of the Empire State Building to run all the way to the top story and sport. The scene for us where theyre on line what is american sign in yemen that peace is always possible but it never happens not because the situation is complicated but because no one cares or if you join a sunset there are people there are choosing between. Eating this is a dialogue i want to get in one more comment because this is someone whos an activist just posted a story join the global conversation at this time on aljazeera. And there again youre watching aljazeera has reminder of our top stories this hour at least twenty people have been killed by Syrian Regime and russian as strikes and rebel held east and. The death toll over the past four days has now pos to hundreds. Of a Prime Minister of bangladesh has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption alleges it was found guilty of embezzling around a quarter of a Million Dollars meant for an orphanage. North koreas leader has warned that his armed forces are ready to fight if the u. S. And its allies threaten sovereignty kim jong un speech at a military parade in pyongyang was on the eve of an expected display of unity at the Winter Olympics in south korea. Israel has begun to build a wall along its border with lebanon construction work is taking place any a few meters from a disputed area that both countries claim as that as leaders say the wall is threatening the stability of the surrounding region of the wall and lebanons plans to explore for oil and gas in disputed mediterranean waters of increase for action between the two enemy states saying hold this update from the kora and southern lebanon. We are as one of the most volatile borders in the middle east tensions are high following israels decision to build a wall along the border the barbed wire behind me is the internationally recognized border the technical fence was set up by the israelis to protect its border and now they are building this wall now the lebanese government has warned israel against encroaching on lebanese territory because there are some areas along the socalled blue line the border which is disputed between lebanon and israel so lebanon saying that they wont allow israel to encroach on this territory theyre vowing to respond but theyre not saying how now there has been call along this border for for more than ten years i mean the last time there was a war was in two thousand and six a war between israel and the Lebanese Armed Group Hezbollah many but the tensions are high and theres tough rhetoric because its not just the dispute over land borders both countries are claiming an area of eight hundred square kilometers of sea which there is believed to be oil and gas so there are resources that both countries want and theyre disputing that the area israel warning the International Consortium not to explore not to carry out expletive ory drilling so high tensions tough rhetoric but many are downplaying the possibility of an all out war at least for the time being. Aid workers in iraq say Security Forces are forcing thousands of displaced people to leave six camps in baghdad they say theyve been told to go back home within a few weeks many refused they have nothing to return to and destroyed villages iraqi Prime Minister hay develop body has denied the government has a policy of a victim people but it might be happening in some areas. Supporters of a libyan commander been protesting the city of benghazi they say woods. Was forced to hand himself over to forces loyal to general Khalifa Haftar happened after pressure from the International Criminal court. Who is allied with have to offer is wanted for alleged war crimes the Prime Minister of yemen has called on saudi arabia and its coalition to investigate recent deadly clashes in the coastal city of aides and dozens of people were killed and many injured in three days of fighting between southern separatists and Government Forces last month the violence broke out as the saudi backed government faced accusations of pushing yemen to the brink of famine the fighting stopped after both sides agreed to observe a cease fire. We asked for an independent investigation to be conducted by the kingdom of saudi arabia alone or by the Arab Coalition members all together we trust the coalitions leadership and members the truth and facts will only determine the justice process and will decide whos to blame for these incidents that led to the killing of the yemeni people and destruction in. Antigovernment protesters in thailand have been charged with sedition nine of them face at least seven years in jail if found guilty theyve been calling for elections and an end to military rule when a reports from bangkok. The latest protesters trying to stand up to thailands military government have captured the nations attention have also provoked the anger of the generals as they push for a return to democracy thirty protesters received orders to report to police to hit charges of Unlawful Assembly nine of them with charged with sedition for organizing a protest in bangkok last month it confirms that what we have been doing. The right cause and the problem is in front of us in the paper that even the peaceful gathering. Can make you come to this kind of problem and thats not right the protest in the capital was called to try to force the military government to stick to its socalled political roadmap and hold an election in november the generals have reneged on promised elections several times since a coup in two thousand and fourteen and there are indications of yet another delay so far this year there have been several small protests in bangkok in other parts of thailand a sign that people are becoming increasingly frustrated with the military government charging some protesters with sedition shows that the government is still in no mood to allow dissent or political opposition something its been very effective at stamping out since the coup the government said last year it would make human rights and National Priority but activists say theres no sign of that in fact the situation is getting worse this not representing me calm it may not all going to uphold a. Short return to democracy to respect human rights undeterred the protesters are organizing what they hope will be a larger rally on saturday wayne hay al jazeera bangkok. Eight people have been killed after a road collapse at a subway construction site in southeastern china by skewed crews in four shan cities say three people are still missing they managed to pull out nine construction workers trapped under the rubble. The International Criminal court has begun preliminary investigations into a case against the philippines president or deter involving his campaign against Illegal Drugs the claims also relate to extrajudicial killings he allegedly ordered when he was the mayor of our city to alan duke and has more from manila. Well two complaints were filed last year the first one was submitted by a witness his name is ed garment the bottle who claims he once worked for that very day when he was mayor of dubbo city in the southern philippines for decades he says deterrent it was responsible in setting up and running the notorious davo death squad which run after a death drug syndicates and drug users in the area then now a supplementary complaint was submitted by members of the opposition senator on phone ukranian s. And congressman asked the i. C. C. To look into the existing socalled war on drugs by. Which he set up when he was sworn into office in two thousand and sixteen and now handled by the Philippine National police the activists say that at least thirteen thousand filipinos have already been killed since that was launched in two thousand and sixteen though the i. C. C. Is looking at whether there is enough evidence to try this case to tried the third day and whether the case falls under its jurisdiction now earlier the Government Spokesperson says that the president welcomes the preliminary examination and that he wants to appear at the i. C. C. To personally insult the proper security but over the past few months due to has already threatened to withdraw from the i. C. C. Thats not going to be easy because the country he has government already has an existing investigation under the i. C. C. And that it will take more than a year after the un secretary general has received the withdrawal letter before the withdrawal actually takes effect so at this point the government has no choice but to participate with the International Criminal court in its examination. More than three hundred child soldiers in south sudan been freed under a United Nations programme to reintegrate them into society of those released by armed groups in the young by region eighty seven a girls un says its the first time so many young women have been involved in a release Integration Program aims to help seven hundred child soldiers return to normal life day we celebrate the first phase of what will be covered by this release of children groups itself has seen for me years but its just the first thing. And unfortunately a lot of parts of the country Job Recruitment continues now as a tight squeeze for millions who live in hong kong home for many is in a skyscraper sharing tiny rooms with their families and more People Living in a legal structure has to make up holland reports. In the summer an oven and in the winter an icebox thats how this mother describes the room she shares with her teenage daughters the sixteen square metre shack is perched on top of a twenty two Story Building there are. Tonys through the ceiling when it rings one of the windows cracked during the thai food and we could only cover it what tape and paper. T. V. She moved into this illegal structure ten years ago after her husband died they live under the constant threat of eviction and now the landlord wants to raise the rent from the current five hundred dollars a month we dont have any rent control recitation or any of that tendency so thats why for the poor people its very human Rights Advocacy groups say more than a quarter of a Million People in Hong Kong Live in illegal structures or squalid conditions and every year that number rises by twenty percent. Private housing prices have gone up four hundred thirty percent since two thousand and thirteen while the average Household Income has only increased forty five percent in the past decade which means fewer people can afford property in the city and with the average wage for Public Housing at around five years there has been a call for a more innovative approach to the crisis this is one suggestion the zero point two pausing is made from readily available concrete pipes its creators say they can be stacked up and squeezed into vacant spaces in urban areas to provide starter homes another idea being discussed is container homes shipping containers are already used as offices or shops in some areas but these architects say there is another solution one that addresses the fact that only seven percent of the citys land is used for residential purposes. Industrial uses is changing on home you dont need so many factory buildings its a big stock of them and if you convert that to residential thats going to bring on stream a lot of floor area for residential very quickly experts say the problem is not a lack of space but government policy unlike other cities here the government owns all the land and leases a limited amount to developers and so if property prices drop so does the governments revenue which means theres little incentive to bring down the sky high prices if you go palin aljazeera hong kong the u. K. s biggest Retailer Tesco is facing the countrys largest ever equal pay claim thousands of employees want compensation from the company but his law firm representing them says the legal challenge could cost tesco up to five point six billion dollars if aka has more. Its a retail supergiant a bit more than three hundred thousand staff is one of the largest employers in the country but is tesco failing to pay people fairly. Element is one of dozens of female employees taking legal action against the company it is to do with pay and its to do with being paid the same for work that we perceive to be of equal value to to our employer i think that its been the case for a long time where they have page different pay grades without explanation and i feel it is time now for tesco to step up and to explain why they perceive certain skills as more valuable with that other skills the law firm representing the claimants says that staff working in Warehouse Distribution centers most of the men get paid significantly more as much as four dollars an hour or more the workers in these tesco stores most of the staff here women. Over a year it could mean to pay disparity of around seven thousand dollars for work that may be different but lawyers argue has equal merit this is what equal value work is all about is looking at the demands and made on the individual and the value that to the employer has precisely to widen the scope for equal work means so when you hear that mantra equal pay for equal work that the scope of equal work is quite enormous the underpayment might apply to more than two hundred thousand tesco staff meaning the final compensation bill for the company could be in the billions of dollars tesco says its yet to receive details of the claimant callow comment but the company added that tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career the goddess of their gender background or education and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid equally and fairly for the jobs they do the case follows similar action against two more u. K. Supermarkets and sainsburys both are fighting legal battles involving thousands of employees. In recent months several Major Companies including the b. B. C. Have had to address concerns over unequal pay and gender bias. Being forced to review their own practices or run the risk of. Sport is coming up including this. Is about to begin and finally politics will give voice. Brazils Supreme Court has authorized the privatization of a giant state owned Power Company electric brus the move comes as the government sends mixed signals about the future of hydroelectric dam projects particularly on the amazon rafa last america through its in yemen reports from santa. This is the river its Crystal Clear waters and where it joins the murkier amazon river in sand that him. And this port city tons of brazilian soybeans are shipped out each day but on this day its not the increasing deforestation of the amazon for soiling cattle grazing thats brought environmental activists here bonafied to the relief that was missing in the mining and Energy Ministry has posted plans for several large cargo electric dam of the reactors on this river. How do energy is brazils main source of electricity and before years end the government is set to privatized a little brass latin americas largest Power Company inviting Foreign Investors to play a major role in expansion efforts. Local priest said that takes us to an Indigenous Community along the top officials river. And his wife maria live from what nature gives them nothing goes to waste not even the feathers from tropical birds so their head dresses and or sneaks backbones used to making this necklace in the web or her agent and the harvester you hear the damsel destroy the river it will destroy nature what will happen to the trees that produce fruit for the fish to eat we will. Suffer the consequences and if the expert see the top as also not only as the next frontier in a hydroelectric production but also as an example of socalled multiple water usage local communities and conservationists believe that the end game is to turn this the top five also river into an aquatic superhighway this one significantly reduced the time and the cost of shipping brazils number one cash crop soil to this countrys number one market china but to do that downs would have to be built up river in order to raise the water levels enough to allow large ships the sail through this in fact the c. E. O. Of brazils Energy Research office applauds the idea and dismisses recent reports that the era of large hydroelectric power plants is over but he says future projects can no longer ignore social and Environmental Concerns those projects should be done following an inclusive way soledad everybody can be on the table in the benefits can be properly share but in the amazon where critics say theres no such thing as a harmless stem communities like this one are already preparing to resist as best they can you see in human ill just sita some thought him brazil. To give. Up. Thank you i can guess it is now time for all the sports and very good to get flora very good indeed the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics might not take place until friday but competition is formally underway in chang the highlight of the first day of action was the debut of mixed doubles curling as an olympic sport it included a match up between the United States and the olympic athlete from russia a team featuring a married couple u. S. One liners to be. The face of an additional forty seven russian athletes who want to compete in pyongyang will be decided on the morning of the Opening Ceremony a hearing continued on thursday at the court of arbitration for sport and the group were barred by the International Olympic committee off the accusations of doping olympic bosses will be happy to see the games finally begin after a trouble build up the willing supports now from kyung. Finally politics gives way to sport the twenty third Winter Olympics in pyongyang has been used as a pawn in relations between north and south korea between russia and the olympic bosses to now one hundred two gold medals will be decided across fifteen sports on snow and ice and for South Koreans pride can turn to excitement. Here because its a fur. Cold are you worried about because im not worried because our passion is so hot so we can overcome any. Of. The forecast is for a record breaking cold weather sometimes love with a minus twenty celsius with bitter winds and while you expect that in a Winter Olympics its causing problems for competitors skiers who complained about the effects on their equipment but american superstar lindsey vonn will be happy to combat the cold of the missing the last games through injury. Fellow american the kind shiffrin is the new talent shes up against the nigeria womens bobsled trio was created a lot of interest and in the spirit of the famous film Cool Runnings yes there is a Jamaican Team like the nigerians they are they turned Winter Sports women and theres the man from tonga pits a tough act to follow an Opening Ceremony star of rio twenty six thing when he competed in taekwondo hell be Cross Country skiing here but most remarkable is the unified korea womens hockey to announce just one month ago as part of a story in the tension south koreas medal chances lessened by all we could say but this matters more than schools the host nation does have high hopes of medals in speedskating particularly and hope success is always an important ingredient in a successful olympics as long as its done fairly russia face the consequences of a systematic doping regime when it hosted in sochi four years ago controversially when the snow finally settles here theyll be not far short of two hundred socalled elin pick up these from russia and them no fanfare but every chance of medals for them this is the first of three consecutive Olympic Games in this part of the world in so years time theres a summer games in tokyo and then in four years time a Winter Olympics in beijing but this next fortnight is chungs time after time failure the guy previously and its to be hoped that the sport is as fresh and clean as the landscape. Chang in south korea and if you go to our web site you can find a dedicated section on the pyongyang chang limbic games head over to aljazeera dot com forward slash showing chan twenty eighteen. A special committee is set to be established in the United States to investigate how claims against u. S. Gymnastics team doctor larry nestor were overlooked a Bipartisan Group of u. S. Senators want the u. S. Olympic committee and usa gymnastics to be examined. To spend the rest of his life in prison for abusing young female gymnasts in his care over two decades the reprehensible actions of the socalled doctor have been exposed yet there are still so many questions that remain why was this disgusting man allowed near our young female athletes when there are reports that the use leadership knew about the sexual abuse allegations will stay in the United States and go to basketball now where Le Bron James made an incredible overtime play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the n. B. A. On wednesday deep into overtime with the score tied at one hundred and thirty eight each james pulled off this buzzer beater against the Minnesota Timberwolves it held the cavaliers to a one hundred forty one hundred thirty eight a victory for the cavs who have won just seven of their past twenty games finally with something to celebrate james harden in the used and rockets are certainly not struggling for form and when pass the forty point mark for the eighth time this season as he contributed forty one in a one hundred nine one hundred one window over the miami heat this is the tenth win in the last eleven games for the rockets. And its not every day you need an umbrella at an Indoor Sports event pier the pelican was prepared but the rest of those in attendance at the new Orleans Pelicans Indiana Pacers game were not as lucky as the home teams mascot heavy rains in new orleans ensured a leak in the roof and of the initially causing a delay in the start of the action the game was called off. A place in the spanish couple copper del ray final will be at stake on thursday when valencia host runaway Legal Leaders barcelona and mr valverde as men have a one nil lead from the first leg and the form book is also in their favor. Unbeaten in their last five while valencia have lost five in a row even serve is not taking his opponents likely he semifinal second leg. Push it down. Defeated the are difficult team to beat and they are quick on the counterattack but as we are leading them after the first leg they will try to be more aggressive now they are told and they will use defense approach to their advantage and the winner of the valencia barcelona meeting will face severe in this years final view were two no winners over leganes on wednesday to ensure a three one aggregate win when most people visit new yorks Empire State Building they take the elevator but others took the states on wednesday more than two hundred runners from all over the world start in the lobby of the Empire State Building and ran all the way to the top as part of an annual race thats eighty six floors and one thousand five hundred seventy six steps the serious trail is susie walton who lives in singapore was the womens winner its a sixth straight victory at the seventh and ninth overall on the mens side it was columbias Franklin Nicholas carr in your who reached the top first this was his first victory. Looks like smashing good fun laura doesnt. Exactly. Like space that and that is that for me lorica out of her best means i will be back in just a moment there with another full round up so to stay whether. The sky should be no borders up here. Only horizons. As an airline we dont believe in boundaries we believe in bringing people together the worlds better that way. It is a right football of us to go where we need to go to feel the things we want to feel. To see the people we want to see. Thats why well continue to fly the skies providing you with everything we can and treating everyone how they deserve to be treated we do this because we know the trouble goes beyond borders and prejudice. The travel teaches compassion the travel is a necessity. To travel is a right. Remember that this world is full of us to explore. And its a strange thing for us to be apart. Cats are always going places together. As. One who reads all that i could read or every man. Tag which tends to activism with a new mission i sell here with the like all of my build software for social. Digital dissidents within the technological for market its a race to get certain occasions when there are deals on the captain s. Part of the record release this time on aljazeera for the nomadic jacka tries survival is about reaching a destination if we dont hurry the lever to be able to get the top of the story we follow the mongolian herdsmen on a treacherous migration i know its dangerous to the ices of them as they strive to preserve their traditional way of life. Or sometimes luser cattle that was called for because of the storm risking it all mongolia at this time on aljazeera. The escalation of syrias war the death toll rises and so called the escalation zones and u. S. Backed forces killed more than one hundred pro regime fighters. Or a car this is