on al jazeera america >> good afternoon, and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. here are the stories we're following for you at this hour. a state of emergency in california where the water is getting dangerously low and wildfires continue to rage out of control. >> two were shooting at people inside the restaurant. >> and the very latest on a suicide-bombing by the taliban that killed 21 people including two americans. plus safety concerns over the shipment of syria's chemical weapons create violent protests at a fishing port. and why one tactic of

chinese diplomacy is not as black and white as it seems. too much fire and too little water making for a dangerous situation in california. the wildfire that ban two days ago in the l.a. suburb of glendora is still burning, and now the state's governor has declared a drought emergency. >> reporter: this fire is just one consequence of the drought crippling california. >> today i'm declaring a drought emergency in the state of california. >> reporter: the governor of the state jerry brown made the announcement after mounting pressures from applications, business leaders and farmers struggling to cope with the dryest year on record.

it means that california now can apply for relief aid from the federal government. the news couldn't come soon enough for farmer paul van leer who has been struggle to go feed his cattle just outside santa barbara, california. >> we're faced with no feed and cows that need feed. >> reporter: california produces a large portion of the fruits and vegetables consumed by americans. reservoirs in california that depend on snow melt and rainfall are at historically low levels including this one in santa barbara county which is at 40% of its full capacity. >> it creates a lot more flexibility for us to manage what water resource we have left

in our reservoirs, and how much might be available at the end of the rainfall year. >> reporter: inevitably brushfires have capitalized on conditions. normally brushfires are not a threat to homeowners in the winter. >> but not with high wind and a high pressure front. >> that's the culprit. until that dissipates and moves off to the east we're stuck in the same pattern. >> reporter: and that pattern is expected to continue until the end of the month, but the declaration of a drought will buy him more time for his i did. >> it's devastating. some of the animals you know by name, you've raised up, and you have no choice, you have to let them go. >> reporter: unless it rains and that does not appear to happen

any time soon. >> reporter: the governor is asking redents to reduce water consumption by 20%. it allows the state to seek federal aid to help deal with the doubt. stephanie stanton, al jazeera. >> more details emerging about the victims of friday's suicide attack in afghanistan. two were american. susan rice called the attack a heinous and cowardly attack. we have reports from kabul. >> reporter: only after sunrise was the level of damage clear. over 20 guests were enjoying dinner at this restaurant when it was attacked by the taliban. it was believed that none of them survived. >> unfortunately, the death toll we have indicate 21 dead including 13 foreigners. >> reporter: when the attackers approached the restaurant there were cars parked all around here

as there would be at any popular restaurant on a friday night. still this morning there is blood in the street, they haven't managed to clean up the entire carnage from those who were injured or killed outside of the restaurant. the first attacker was this suicide-bomber who blew off what were incredibly thick steel doors that allow the attackers in and start shooting the diners. this is where so many people lost their lives. once inside they shot diners and staff. footage obtained by al jazeera appears to show many tried to hide under tables before being killed. the victims were of various nationalities. four of them were u.n. staff. the u.n. hoped the restaurant was safe but no place in kabul can guarantee security. >> it speaks to the fact that security is a big security in kabul no matter how secure a place may seem, it's always going to be an issue.

>> reporter: the restaurant was popular with foreigners and high ranking afghani officials. it's lebanese owner was well-known and liked. speaking to al jazeera in 2008 he was confident thinks business would not be targeted. >> we do not take part in any political or military activities. so the revenue from this activity is not only beneficial to us but all afghanis. >> reporter: he died in the attack. al jazeera, kabul,ing. >> rebel leaders are in istanbul deciding whether they should participate in peace talks.

>> reporter: there are two issues at stake here. one is participant and one is constitutional. we've got a split in the block here. a group of 44 took themselves out of the syrian coalition claiming that the lead up to geneva had not been properly handled, the right assurances had not been given, nor had they been obtained from the fighters on the ground, who in the end of the day would have to be signed on. that riff they're attempting to heal they have not managed to heal it yet. on the other side what the coalition is trying to look at is what it needs to conduct a credible vote. it's a question of numbers. do they have to change the constitution before they take the vote or can they do it without changing the constitution? it's all part of a clause that keeps them from meeting at all.

the international core are pressuring them to meet no matter what, to meet in geneva. this is where the negotiations start. and unless the syrian coalition representing the broadest body, are there to meet, how can they make the case to the international forum. that is what the international community is telling the opposition should be their primary concern. >> ahead of a controversial referendum. at least four people have died. the result of the vote on a new constitution will be announced later today, and it's all part of the traps significanc transie army-backed military. 30% of registered voters have participated. meanwhile in south sudan a

possible cease-fire. the conflict that began on september 13th has forced thousands from their homes and claimed an unknown number of lives. holding talks, and negotiators from both sides say a cease-fire will likely be decided on monday. we go to ms. johnson in south sudan. thank you for being with us this afternoon. we understand there are reports of pro and anti-government forces stealing food and even cars from humanitarian workers. what is being done to hold these people accountable? >> it's quite disturbing that we have seen significant numbers of vehicles, both u.n. as well as humanitarian agencies being commandeered and taken and used in combat. we've seen looting of premise. today and yesterday a rampage has happened from the

anti-government forces side where there has been significant looting. a hospital looted. warehouses looted, and we've seen also house-to-house searches. very serious affecting the civilians significantly. assistance is very bad. we have condemned it strongly. i have conveyed my dismay to the opposition forces today. and of course there needs to be accountability on this front. the vehicles need to be returned. >> i also understand that the new york sometimes is reporting that the promise 5,000-plus troops and police officers authorized has not arrived yet. why the lag time? >> the police officers have arrived in quite a significant number. prrobust police units, however e

forces are yet to come, the peace keepers, infantry soldiers who can help to protect civilians. we have an advanced team here but we really need to see those forces come as quickly as possible. we're in desperate need of them to be able to do a better job not only protecting the 70,000 civilians on our basis but also protecting them where they are most at risk, out where they are vulnerable. >> joining me now is hilda johnson, united nations special representative for the republic of south sudan. thank you for joining us this afternoon. a stampede of mourners for an indian spiritual leader killed several people. many had gathered at his house to pay last respects before his funeral. >> reporter: they had gathered from all corners of india to pay their respects to a spiritual leader.

what started as a farewell turned into a disaster when a large number of mourners were crushed and killed. >> the police who should have been here. >> the local police say they were overwhelmed. it's being suggested there was a stampede. >> people were sometimes opening the gates and then closing them so there was suffocation. people fainted and fell over each other. some died due to falling. doctors say deaths were caused by suffocation. >> reporter: millions of muslims had come to pay their last respects. now thousands of people are grieving for their fellow mourners and many more people

are injured and need hospital treatment. what should have been a final good buy to a spiritual leader has ended in many more deaths. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> meanwhile, three al jazeera journalists continue to be detained in egypt. producers mohamed fahmy and bader mohammed, and peter gr est are accused of spreading lice and joining a terrorist group. al jazeera denies the charges and demands their release. two others are being held. is india becoming a breeding grown for international hackers. we go to the it school of whistle blower edward snowed en. al jazeera america will be right

back.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. an u.s. cargo ship is slated to leave for the mediterranean next week. italy has approved a southern port city as a transfer site for weapons, a decision that has been met with protest and fear. >> reporter: it's business as usual at the biggest port in italy. but is this the calm before the storm? this is where the first batch of chemical weapons seized from syria will be shipped. >> the loading of cargo from one ship to the other, and this is how they're going to do it. the containers with the chemical weapons will be loaded from the

danish ship onto the trailers which will be driven to the american cargo ships nearby so it can be taken out to the open sees and destroyed them. a local mayor said local residents are worried. >> people here are worried and angry. they're not being told what is going on. how are they going to be moved? what happens if anything goes wrong? containers fell off in the past. is there a plan to protect the population in case of accidents? no, there is not. >> for its workers, they say they're worried about handling chemical weapons. >> i hope it doesn't come here. we don't know what we're dealing with. i hope those who are carrying it also handle it. >> transferring cargo from ship to ship, but we haven't been

told how. >> port authorities don't expect it for at least another week. in the meantime the port will get ready for the arrival of the most dangerous cargo in the world. al jazeera. >> according to the organization for the prohibition of chemical keeps the initial stock pile of weapons is not that high, and they're confident that the arms will be destroyed by the end of june. the man who prompted this week's changes to surveillance policies, edward snowden is only one of thousands who have traveled all the way to india to take these courses. >> hacking isn't confined to those with high-end computers or computer geniuses. hacking, whether done to improve security or steal data can be done with a laptop or just being

in the right place at the right time. >> with simple hacking people can break into companies and do significant damage. >> and those skills are easy to find in india at any one of the thousand of private it colleges. that's what attracted edward snowden the former contractor for the u.s. national security agency to this one. >> edward snowden, if you come here, you could come and learn all those techniques. >> it's the number of foreigners that attend classes that set this it class apart. >> in indian we have global it training, and we have students from all over the world. >> what snowden learned here probably helped him get his job at nsa and the lure of upgrading it skills for a better job has pushed the it education industry

to grow about five times in the last five years. new delhi alone attracts thousands of foreign students taking crash cores. most of these students return to their countries with an upgrade to their current position or better job prospects but some worry this training can easily be misused. and that the industry needs better oversight. >> it's like a wild, wild west. >> specialist said lack of regulation of niec these it schs has created a free for all. >> there has to be structure in how these institutions can be arsenals for the good and goal of security. >> and they argue any education can be misused. >> there are those who have

learned. >> india has no plans to regulate it's it schools so students can come to enhance their computer skills and deciding how to best use those skills before returning home. >> and right back here in the states there is more bad news about the water supply affecting 46 million people all across the country. an investigation by the associated press found that dozens of cities tested positive for pharmaceuticals in their water supplies. the biggest culprits are people in healthcare facilities that flush drugs down the toilets rather than just throwing them away. an estimated 250 million pounds of unused drugs as well as contaminated packaging winds up in or near our water supplies. and coming up next this panda is as much a tourist attraction as she is a symbol of diplomacy. that story when al jazeera america returns.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are today's headlines. california's governor jerry brown has declared a drought emergency. the designation qualifies california for federal aid for what could be the dryest year on record. and opposition leaders in istanbul deciding if they'll participate in peace talks in geneva. a giant panda cub is making her public debut at a zoo in washington. this panda like all others does belong to china, and she's as much a tourist attraction as she is a symbol of diplomacy.

china has been leasing pandas for decades as a way to connect with other countries. >> this is bao bao or precious treasure in chinese. this giant panda cub is, indeed, precious. but for her owner, the chinese government, this animal is a crucial tool of diplomatic engagement. >> the hope is that love for pandas will some how translate to more positive attitudes towards china. >> reporter: modern panda diplomacy really started in the mid 1960's at china gifted bears to the soviet union and north korea. richard nixon became the first president to visit the people's republic in 1972. they gave u.s. two pandas the same year. here nixon's wife pat gets firsthand look of the bears.

because of international treesies on endangered species, china must use money from leased bears on conservation. coincidentally or not, france, australia, and canada have reached key energy deals with china and now are putting pandas on display in zoos. on the flip site an on going territorial spat in the south seed has held up plans to send pandas to a japanese zoo and taiwanese officials resisted the bears because of a long held issues. >> this is perfectly natural. i don't see this asthma liscious. this is the way that countries

act. >> reporter: critics have attacked panda diplomacy for what they say is too much money being spent on one endangered species, but some say that it is helping china with the merits of conservation. >> we need them part of this team, and this program has really been great in fostering that relationship. >> reporter: with so many factors at play china's reliance on panda diplomacy is likely to continue to the delight of zoo visitors around the world. rosalind jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> another alberta clipper is ushering cool temperatures and wind right now. dry across the southwest alls across the south central plains

into the southeast where the winds are coming in. it feels like a comfortable day in new orleans reaching a high of 57 degrees and that warmer air will continue to push in the portions of the rest of southeast. across the north central plains we had quite a bit of snow, and that continues to make its way into the northeast as well. we'll continue to deal with a couple of snow showers across portions of unstate new york and new hampshire and vermont and a bit of rain on the coast. on the backside of the system the temperatures continue plummet, we're at 31 and the winds are gusting at 36 mph right now. we're not looking at a lot of snow covering sierra, and in california 2013 was the dryest year on record. the weather is not helping at all we have a ridge of high pressure in control here. this will be the pattern for the next several weeks.

the winds around that high flowing clockwise and ushering those gusting santa anna winds. that's the reason why we're looking at such a high fire threat. this is mt. shasta typically covered in snow, right now it's looking very dry and empty. we'll look at australia, exceptional levels of drought. in melbourne we could use rain, but it remains very dry. not only a threat to humans, but a major threat to wildlife as well. we have police officers out and about giving koalas water because it's very warm and they continue to be threatened by that rampant development of wildfire. >> thanks so much for watching al jazeera america. "the stream" is up next. for news throughout the day head

to www.aljazeera.com or follow us on twitter. >> behind the scenes many say they're enduring and psychological and sexual abuses at the hands of their coaches. we discuss the dark side. omar is in tonight, a digital producer. he'll bring in the live questions and comments throughout the show. there's a tendency to look at the olympic environment and think it's structured and