that is something that has been released. at least in the process of trying to search this area over land and over seas. >> all right. thank you so much. scott from kuala lumpur. >> coming up in the show - putting the breaks on pollution. drivers in paris are forced to

leave their cars at home to combat smog. we'll have all the details. plus... >> i'm in portland oregon, a city with creative laureates in the hope that processes like this will unleash the potential of thousands.

>> welcome back. let's recap the headlines on al jazeera now. parliament in moscow will rush through legislation to allow crimea to join the country, it comes after the people on sunday overwhelmingly chose to

breakaway from the ukraine. the u.s. a warning further sanctions on russia could be imnept. the west would never recognise the crimean referendum. the focus of the investigation in the missing malaysia airlines plane is back on the lead pilot. the last verbal message came after a crucial signalling system shut off the the plane carrying 239 passengers disappeared nine days ago. >> hezbollah has been fighting on the government side in syria, we have this report on a bombing. >> members of the looeb niece army suspects the scene after an an attack linked to syria's war. a suicide bomber rammed into a petrol station. local hezbollah leader is one of the those killed.

as well as a husband and wife. the area is dominated by the shia muslim group hezbollah. soldiers have been helping the syrian president fight opposition groups and were part of the retake of a strategic city of yabroud. it carried out the attack. >> what is clearly going on is the battle inside syria is paralleled by a battle inside lebanon, in which the salafi groups which established themselves into lebanon - several of the sellaify groups are fighting against hezbollah, and some of them, like the brigades in lebanon say as long as hezbollah is fighting in syria, supporting the asaad government, they'll fight against hz in lebanon. >> hezbollah is dominant in southern parts of lebanon. there has been deadly attacks in

the area, since admitting sending fighters to help bashar al-assad. last month bombings killed eight and injured more than 120 others. just like the attack in bell beck, civilians are caught up in a surge of violence, mirroring the war fought next door. >> the syrian government says it's in full control of yab road the last rebel strong hold. bashar al-assad's forces launched a full offensive. most of the 40,000 that lived there were forced to leave. before that the government took a number of areas around the area. the u.n. and arab league envoy has been visiting iran. he met the secretary of iran's supreme council. iran is a major supporter of syria's government and funds

fighters linked to hezbollah. they hope they can bring progress to peace talks. the palestine president mahmoud abbas is due to meet u.s. president obama in washington on monday and they'll discuss a draft peace deal between israelis and the palestinians that's been in the works since last july. there are areas of deep disagreement between the two sides. >> this is a funeral for 18-year-old saji, shot in the back of the head by the israeli army - they say for throwing stones. a week later his mother is in disbelief. >> translation: i think they could have arrested him, put him on trial. anything, but not kill him. >> it's this continuing killing and conflict between israelis and palestinians. the u.s. believes it can be resolved, starting with a draft agreement.

president obama will deliver it to mahmoud abbas when they meet in washington on monday. it's the framework u.s. officials hope could lead to a final peace deal. there's some consensus for a palestine state on the west bank on gaza strip. there are questions about whether israel is bargaining in good faith. >> complicating negotiations is the fact that israel continued to build illegal settlements in the west bank. 10,000 new settlement units since the talks began in july 2013. >> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu wants his count i recognised as a jewish state. palestinians say they did recognise the existence of israel in the oslo accord. jerusalem is another obstacle. israelis object to sharing the city and palestinians want east jerusalem as a capital.

>> the minimum we accept. >> international law mandates those displaced in 1948. this is a sticking point. binyamin netanyahu is insisting israel keep a military presence in the valley between jordan and the west bank. president mahmoud abbas wants n.a.t.o. to take over. >> translation: they have been negotiating for 20 years. since saji was born. he was killed, tens of thousands arrested during the years of talks. there's little time left for peace making. the draft framework has a 9-month deadline. differences may have a month to resolve.

>> a new law in paris is forcing half the drivers off the road. it's all part of a plan to help cut down on pollution. drivers can now only use cars on alternate days. city officials sent out several hundred, and are encouraging people to share cars and public transportation was free from friday until monday to convince people to leave their cars at home. >> in venezuela thousands of opposition supporters marched to the cuban embassy, saying they have been working behind the scenes to influence political decisions in venezuela, and they carry signs calling for cuba to stop interfering. these demonstrations come after a month of protests in venezuela. more than 300 people have been injured. hundreds of police in mexico have been fighting with each other overcorruption.

officers went on trike because they want the town's police chief to. they want high pay and better working conditions. >> a second earthquake is struck off the coast of northern chile hours after a stronger one of the the chilean army said there was a possibility of a minor tsunami and urged people to get to higher ground and called off the warning. >> now it's been called the fortland experiment and has been tested in oregon. portland is the first city to name a creative laureate. what does it mean? an official went there to find out. >> it's about cooperation, concentration and creativity. >> this class of seven and eight-year-olds have been handed expensive cameras and told to

have fun. all are helped by julie keef, with the ground title of creative laureate. many cities have poet lawyer yet, this is the first to have a creative lawyer yet. the idea is to get people to think creatively about where they live. the portland experiment is being watched closely. this is one of the initiatives pushed by keef. she's a 2-year mission to promote, develop and stand out. for that she receives $5,000 a year. she insists it's not just about the arts. creativity can spring from anywhere and benefit the community. >> i hope the role of the creative laureate is to talk about why creativity is important in a community, why art matters. >> portland is a thriving center. the north-west city passed a $35 tag to fund and promote art in

schools. at the time of budget cuts, that's one of the first things to go. >> the idea for a creative laureate came from the portland mayor, samad ams. they wanted -- sam adams. he wanted to leave a legacy, something to outlast him. >> i hope every city, the states, the united states, steals the idea and appoints and names their own creative laureate. i think that, you know, all boats rise. when every community has an advocate for the creative pursuits, artistic pursuits. >> for the children at the school, they may not be sure of the political arguments, the economic benefits or the question of if this is funding art on the cheap, they are enjoying themselves and speaking an interest for the future. >> it's very fun, but what i like about it is that you get to see some things that are

interesting to you. they can see the results that can develop the skills that will never be lost. the creative laureate creating a legacy. >> and if you want to keep up to date with the news we are following, head to aljazeera.com. >> ...i come around that corner... >> you don't want this? >> no, i think we should do it how we would normally... no exceptions