Hello, welcome to al jazeera america, im stephanie sy. A decision on the future of u. S. Troops in afghanistan now in the hands of a council of tribal leaders. More than a decade after america entered the region thousands of delegates are gathering on thursday, known as the loya jirga. Theyll accept or reject a security pact. U. S. Forces that remain after next year will receive immunity from afghan courts that was a key point. Also American Forces will not target afghanistan civilians, including in their home. Afghanistan will fund the forces. Secretary of state john kerry clarified a key part of the deal. It is entirely train, equip and desist. Theres no combat role for the American Forces. The Bilateral Agreement is an effort to clarify for afghan and United States military force, exactly what the rules are with respect to the ongoing relationship. For many afghans the proposed security pact is having all the troops out. Jane ferguson reports from kandahar. His family was murdered b
Violence returns to tahir square. Egyptian supporters clear out antigovernment demonstrators. Typhoon haiyan in the philippines leaving families torn apart. Well follow a desperate search for his rescue. Well get to the stories in a moment. First, iraq where eight separate car bombs in the capital have killed more than two dozen people. Now, most of the explosions targeted shia neighbourhoods in baghdad. Well go to our correspondent imran khan for the latest. The latest of the bombings, we have heard in the past few minutes tell us what is happening in the capital. Thats right. The bombs are taking place within the last hour. Eight of them, as you say one caking place in karrada, bringing the death toll up to 28, and 69 injured. This is a pattern we have seen in baghdad and across iraq time and time again. Its typical of a pattern. A pattern affiliated to al qaeda. Calling themselves an Islamic State in iraq. We have seen a number of car bombs. The reason for that is these groups are a
Welcome to the program. Afghan tribal leaders are meeting for a second day to discuss a crucial security deal for the united states. Both sides have not been able to agree on when to implement the agreement. At the loya jirga meeting President Hamid karzai said he wanted the deal signed after elections. The u. S. Want it completed by the end of next year. It sets out rules over jurisdiction and power of troops that will remain in the county, well get more from jane ferguson. The u. S. Said its not practical or possible to delay signing the deal. Clearly comments took everyone by surprise. They did. They have been described by journalists reporting the story as a bombshell for afghans as well as those in washington. Its likely those stateside woke up to unwelcome news, something they were not planning for. They hoped the jirga and the parliament would approve the task. And then it would be a complication, a small matter of having it signed by hamid karzai. Now we have two administration
600 lights, and 140 comments, and an ongoing debate on this comment. Look at my tweet. I was raised in an lgbt household. And nothing bad happened to me. But lina says gender of the parents matters, and that child will be confused. I have two samesex parents, and their household is much like mine, and real choice, not samesex, but between samesex and no parents. Definitely something. Parenting, they say its the hardest job youll ever love. And across the u. S. , 26 million couples are parenting kids, and while the majority of these households are made up of a mother and a father, some are two moms and some are two dads. He came to us as a fourmonthold. A baby. In the u. S. , roughly 95,000 samesex couples are raising children. Most are raising one parents biological child, but some are choosing to adopt. 19 states and the District Of Columbia are allowing sim sex couples to adopt. And in many of those states, samesex can adopt the biological children of their partners. Mississippi and
To our top story out of lebanon. Two explosions have hit the capital beirut. At least 23 people killed, including the iranian cultural attache, and scores wounded. The twin suicide blasts targeted the Iranian Embassy. The explosions hit the beirut upscale neighborhood, a stronghold of hezbollah. It is one of the worst bombings to hit the area. The Al Qaedalinked Abdullah Azzam brigades group is claiming responsibility for the attack. The shells of birth of cars. Buildings Still Standing but severely damaged. Bloodstains on the ground. Chaotic scenes in this southern suburb after two explosions within minutes of each other. It was at the Iranian Embassy at 10 00 a. M. Local time. Soldiers, firefighters, and paramedics rushed to the scene. Removing the bodies of dozens of victims. At least six buildings in the Embassy Compound were damaged. Reports say a pair of car bombs were the source. The Abdullah Azzam brigade with links to al qaeda claim they were behind the attack. These are resid