tv News Al Jazeera February 14, 2014 3:00am-3:31am EST
3:00 am
♪ >> exodus in indonesia. 200,000 people ordered to flee after a volcano erupts. >> hello. i have the world top stories from the al jazeera newsroom. we'll have the latest after top level talks come to a close. >> tension in thailand. thousands of riot police seize back protest sites around government buildings. >> this city is india's i t-hub
3:01 am
and cosmopolitan. even here racism against north-east indians is common, and in other cities, deadly. >> hello, around 200,000 people have been warned to evacuate java island in indonesia after a volcanic eruption. two were killed when parts of their homes collapsed. >> 1.5 hours after alert levels were raised. the mountain erupped. it spewed rocks and ash as far as 17km away. people living within 10km have been told to leave their home. volcanic ash darkened the sky
3:02 am
over the island of java. huge disruptions were caused for travellers. the mountain had a deadly past, erupting in 1990, killing 34, and in 1999 more than 5,000 were killed. there was no deaths are after the recent eruption after authorities ordered a successful evacuation. >> inton asia is taking the brunt of natural disaster. warning systems have improved and authorities are better prepared. the lives of hundreds of thousands are affected again. >> stef joins us from the indonesian capital. where do things stand as far as those evacuations. >> well, what is important to know is this volcano is situated in one of the most populated areas in indonesia.
3:03 am
>> all right, looks like we have lost our connection to steph. apologies for that. riot police in the thai capital are tearing down barriers at anti-government protest sites. thousands were deployed to take back protest sites. protesters had been blocking a major intersection. the police avoided confrontations with protesters, but they met little resistance on friday. wayne hay has more from bangkok. >> such has been the reluctance by the government to use force against the protesters, that some of the rally sites? bangkok have been left vacant more weeks now. those are the areas that police targeted on friday morning, going into the areas, clearing the equipment that the protesters left behind and hearing from the prime minister on friday saying that she did not want to do any real force.
3:04 am
the police turned up here to the suburb in very large numbers, and were met by a small group of anti-government protesters. police have left the areas. this seems ton a small step in what may be a long protest. >> back to the top story right now. the volcano in indonesia. we have steph back, live for us from jakarta. steph, where do things stand right now then? >> yes, it's a very populated area where the eruption took place, it's one of the main cities, a couple of main cities in java, around the volcano. 200,000 people are affected by the eruption, and 100,000 are evacuated. what is worse is grafill grain and ash rain reached the main cities in java, and behind that
3:05 am
to other islands as well. the ash and gravel disrupted flights throughout the country and even from abroad because of the ash which filled and still visible in the sky. nobody knows what will happen next the the volcano has a history of erupting once and violently, and stay said quite for a long title. nobody can predict it, so nobody knows when the flights can continue. >> steph reporting from jakarta. thank you for that. >> high-level talks between north and south korea have been completed. a delegation of senior officials meant counterparts in the border village. harry fawcett is live for us in the south korean capital of seoul. what is the latest there. the latest is there's a briefing
3:06 am
going on, three hours after the talks finished, and what we are hearing is that the south koreans, laul the way through were insisting that the family reunions would go ahead as planned, despite north korea's sentence that if military exercises between the united states and south korea hap as scheduled, they would not take part in the family reunions. the reunions will take lace, this is something they have secured from the talks. there has been an agreement that there'll be no more cross-boarder slandering. that's something that the south koreans said must stop. the big issue so far that we have yet fully to ascertain is exactly whether any concession has to be made upon the issue of u.s. and south korean military
3:07 am
exercises. certainly john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state who was here, thursday, seen time said the issues could not be linked, one was a humanitarian issue, the other an annual set of the exercises. we wait to see if there's more that comes out on that issue from the questioning of journalists in the briefing put to the spokes many of the south korean -- spokesmen of the south korean group. >> vietnam says a second person has died from the h 7 n 9 bird flu. a meeting has been held to discuss the threat of infection. it emerged in march last year and affected 117,000. around 50 died. not all had contact with poultry or other birds. >> more than three months passed
3:08 am
sips typhoon hayian ripped through the country, we return to look at the changes in the recovery. we have this report from tacho ban, the city hit hardest by the storm. >> the streets are bustling again. electricity and running water has been restored. three months after the typhoon, much of the devastation remains. dead bodies are found in the debris, and survivors remain hounted by the memories. 66-year-old fisherman lost his home and five members of his family. >> i thought humanity would be wiped out. everywhere i looked there was water. i looked up and it was dark. the wind and waves were howling. i had no hope that there could be life after that. i left it in god's hands. >> what is left of this family
3:09 am
have been surviving on donations. like others in the fishing community, he lost his boat in the storm, his only means to earn a living. >> to prevent a similar catastrophe in the future the local government banned anyone living more than 30 metres from the shore line. many say they have nowhere else to go and rebuilt shelters from where they used to be, metres from the water's 'em. >> the local government built bunk houses to accommodate the displaced. there is not enough for those in need. housing is one of many changes facing the communities. >> the infrastructure is wrecked. people trying to get back to the life of before, vulnerable and the poorer people in society - it's difficult for them to get.
3:10 am
>> $50 million of aid has come in. solutions are not being implemented fast enough for many. >> they keep calling meetings, but no help has come. what about our livelihood, what do we do when the relief comes out. the children are not as worried about the future. they take each day as it comes, and unafraid can build sandcastles on the shore. >> aid agencies are warning of a growing humanitarian crisis in the south of the democratic republic of congo. the u.n. announced plans to send more peacekeepers to the province of katanga. al jazeera spoke to residents where the fighting between the soldiers and the rebels has been going on. >> the soldiers said if he's shooting, stay in the house.
3:11 am
don't go outside, because you'll be killed. as the people ran into the bush. >> police in the netherlands suspect foul play in the death of a former minister. the body was found in her home. as the health minister in 2002 she was the architect of a euthanasia bill giving people the right to end their lives. forensic tests show her death was suspicious. belgium's parliament voted to allow assisted suicide for terminally ill children. patients have to be 18 under present legislation. it is likely to become law in april. >> thousands of protesters marged through venezuela's caracas on thursday, demanding justice for two killed during ant anti-protest the day before. >> the u.k. dealing with weeks of flooding and more rain on the way.
3:14 am
>> hello again. good to have you with us. >> the top stories - 200,000 people ordered to evacuate java island after a volcanic eruption. ash spewed reaching cities as far as 17km away. riot police are clearing anti-government protesters from camps in the capital bangkok. some demonstrators have been out for three months, calling on the government to resign. a round of rare high-level talks
3:15 am
between north and south korea have been held in the border village. family reunions will take place next week. both sides pledging to tone down hostage rhetoric. >> people from north-east india are ethnically linked and face discrimination. a student was murdered in new delhi, because of his race. many people say that type of discrimination is common. >> this is a theatre actor in south india. it is routine for her to superact with people from the north-east of india. unfortunately, so is being discriminated against. many treat them differently. they look like they are from china or myanmar. the worst experience was after a minor traffic accident. >> a mob of 30 to 40 men
3:16 am
gathered and started verbally abusing me first, including the motorist. the police constable joined the mob and assaulted me twice. >> at this college a third of the students come from the north-east. they say they feel safe and accepted here. outside the campus it's a different story. >> it happened to me this morning. teaching, teaching. >> it means "you people, you people, you come over here, and then you create nuisance", and all that. >> there's not much they can do out of fear they could make things worse. >> the it centres and the modern cosmopolitan feel attracted many from the north-east. an influx of migrants to major cities and the ethnic differences have led to acts of racism in different parts of the country as well. some of them deadly.
3:17 am
>> in january 18th-year-old died after being beaten by locals. it led to protests. >> a former member of a minorities commission sis it's in the systematic, but the acts of a few. >> misguided. half educated or uneducated, coming from poor families, and who are rather have all the elements in their respective areas also. >> locals also don't believe it's a huge problem. they do take issue with the western clothes north-east people wear, some considering them too revealing. >> i don't have a problem with them. they don't dress appropriately. they have never given me problems, and i have never seen any acts of racism towards them. >> i consider them indians or part of the country. the way they are. >> those comments don't help
3:18 am
much. people on the receiving end of the threats and instalments say it feels like second class citizens. >> russia's foreign minister says there are ongoing attempts to derail syrian peace talks in geneva. the opposition's assistance on regime change is not helping. the opposition and the syrian government is due to start another session of talks in geneva on friday. the talks have been acro moanius and shown a lack of progress. it's three weeks since the peace protest resumed. in that time fighting in syria has not stopped. >> u.n. chief valerie amos is urging a way to be found to increase humanitarian access. aid has been delivered in homes so far, and people can leave, but the u.n. says more needs to be done. >> we have 1400 people out, and
3:19 am
we have 240,000 people in besieged communities. we need humanitarian pauses in a lot more places. we need to get to the hard to reach areas, security needs to be improved. the kinds of administrative hurdles need to be streamlined so things are faster. >> the united states criticised russia's president for endorsing military chief abdul fatah al-sisi. vladimir putin said he would support his as yet undeclared run for abdul fatah al-sisi. he was there to secure talks for assistance, particularly to the military. >> a trial for journalists detained in egypt is due to begoing on 20th february. it's now been 48 days since our staff were detained.
3:20 am
egyptian authorities took peter greste on september the 29th. among the accusations against them is having ties to the muslim brotherhood, which egypt declared a terrorist organization. abdullah al-shami has been in custody since last july, from my sister channel. al jazeera rejects all charges and calls for the release of its staff. >> 11 people have been killed in an attack on a prison in yemeni. a bomb was triggered. 29 inmates were able to escape during the chaos. >> the u.k. government says package bombs sent to army recruitment officers appear to be the work. several devices were sent to locationations including oxford and brighton. >> flood-weary residents in the
3:21 am
u.k. could be in for rain. 6,000 homes have been flooded in the u.k. since december. . >> another day dawns over the river thames. here in the town of staines west of london, the river is swollen to bursting point. the speed of the water boosted by months of rainfall. a few hundred metres down. they faced ruined. we are trying to give you a perspective. how many streets and homes, we mounted the camera on a remote controlled drone. there's a brief respite in the weather. it won't last. another band of rain is expected to pass through this area in the next two days, bringing with it a month's worth of rain. >> that's bad news for these homes surrounded by steadily rising water levels. >> it's the first time out of their home in days. >> no one could have predicted
3:22 am
it like this. the weather coming in waves, the storm keeps coming. it's something you can't do anything about. >> when we walked out it was like being in a disaster movie. >> we had to ride it out. it could take weeks. >> towns further away from the river are flooding. this is caused by groundwater bubbling up from below the streets. in the center of town the volume of water is overwhoiming the drainage system. wednesday night hurricane force winds were recorded. it flattened towns and cities. back in staines, they are bracing for the next band of rain trying to keep everyone as try as possible. in some places the flood waters brought new visitors.
3:23 am
and then the taste of things to come - more rain starting to fall. >> the authorities are trying to get aid to areas cut off bli flooding. 42 people have been killed. tens of thousands have been forced out of the home. it's likely to get worse with more rain expected. 18 people have been killed in a winter storm causing chaos across the united states. it's the fifth since the beginning of the years, cutting power to homes. in washington, schools, courts and transport systems were shut down. we have this report from new york. >> it's winter, everyone says. what do you expect? but this season's barrage of cold weather in the u.s. is testing the most hardy. >> crazy. i haven't seen a winter like this in a long time, or maybe never. >> even the professional weather-watchers didn't hold
3:24 am
back, warning of a potentially catastrophic event. the biggest snow storm to date dumped several matches. in the capital washington d.c. federal government officers, schools, courts and transport systems have been shut down for the day. not much movement at airports. at 1.5,000 flights were cancelled, and more than 600 delayed. the north-east region is used to this whether and is well prepared for it too. officials are experiencing and experienced in sending out snow plous and using salt to melt the ice. for many, snow is something of a novelty. in north carolina drivers stranded on icy roads abandoned their cars and walked. highways were transformed into car parks. we are not accustomed to this. officials urged people to stay
3:25 am
off the road and avoid going outside unless it was necessary. >> don't put your stupid hat on at this point in time. protect yourself, your family and your neighbours. >> staying at home is not a bonus for everyone. hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in georgia and north and south carolina have lost electricity mainly due to trees falling on powerlines. the fatigue is taking its toll on residents. >> i'm sick of this weather. i'm ready for spring. >> everyone is trying to get around any way they can. >> south africa's president jacob zuma is defending his government's economic policies, and delivered his state of the nation address, his last before elections in may. the main opposition party has been holding protests against high employment rates. jacob zuma says women's rights and racial equality improved, but the country is facing
3:26 am
challenges. all these attributes have made south africa a better place to life in now than it was ever been before. however, our country still faces the triple challenge of poverty inequality and unemployment, which we grapple with. dealing with these challenges has become a forecast of all democratic administrations. >> the armed group al-shabab says it carried out a suicide attack in somalia. it killed at least six people in the capital mogadishu. it was targetting a u.n. convoy. one of its cars was dammed but
3:27 am
no staff injured. >> it is a pain described as intense as child birth or amputation without anaesthetic. the cluster headache affecting one in 700 people in the united states alone. long-term sufferers are desperate to find relief. tom ackerman has more from washington. >> describing the pain of a cluster headache is one thing. showing it is another, as many patients have done, by recording their own experience. >> i'm about an hour into my attack, and it's getting worse. >> the waves of pain spread from the facial nurfe, seeming to be -- nerve, seeming to be activated by the sleep and wake cycles. >> these parts of the brain are acting in concert to create short but incredibly intensive storms of pain for cluster head
3:28 am
aches for patients. >> they can last days at a times or in cycles. >> after four months of this, suicide looks like a good option. it's not that you want to kill yourself, you want to get rid of the pain. >> it's a disorder that can make norm normal daly activity impossible. >> i need to be in my dark room, in bed, or in a dark room, it's the only place i can feel okay. and, you know, it's waiting out the pain. >> once a year cluster head ache sufferers come to washington d.c. to appeal for help from congress, help that has been lacking. breathing oxygen has been shown to shorten the attacks. the government's medical insurance plans will not cover it. the institute of health cover only a small study.
3:29 am
>> hallucinogenic drugs show some promise. >> when lsd was discovered, they were looking for migraine and cluster treatment. that was in the mix at that point. it was solved for 40 years. >> as restricted substances like marijuana are a mainstream treatment. those suffering from cluster headaches want the laws to give the same kind of special attention to their pain. >> social media giant facebook allows a knew feature, allowing users to custody miss their gender. there's up to 10 gender identifications other than male and female. there's transgender, bigender and fluid. facebook wants everyone to feel comfortable and true to themselves. >> david beckham put aside his role as an mls franchise owner
3:30 am
and returned to his job as a unicef ambassador in the typhoon-hit city. it was a 10th camp set up for victims of the super typhoon. >> more from the website as always, aljazeera.com. americans love their movies and tv show, but often hate the cable company that provides them. hat love-hate relationship could get even more complex. we'll explain. plus the nasty weather on the east coast is not helping america's economy. and if you rent your home instead own it, you are part of a growing trend, and there are some issues to be aware of. i'm david shuster in for ali money."
136 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on