Skip to main content

tv   News  Al Jazeera  April 21, 2014 9:00am-10:01am EDT

9:00 am
timeframe. >> we're looking at the risks, rewards, and dangers of high frequency trading >> there are no rules or regulations >> all this week on the new expanded real money with ali velshi helping you balance your finances and your life. now an hour, starting at 7 eastern / 4 pacific only on al jazeera america
9:01 am
>> arwhy are they calling the elections now. >> reporter: first of all, elections should be held prior to their date but this is how it is being interpreted. the message from the syrian government telling the
9:02 am
international community that this is still a state. the state is functioning. really we heard the president say over recent weeks really that they believe the war has reached a turning point. it's just a matter of time before the war ends. showing that they're still in control because it would have been easy for them to extend the assad regime. but the opposition is calling this a joke what is going on in the country. >> a campaign to reelect bashar al-assad is underway.
9:03 am
he has not nominated himself. and the war was a consequence of an up rising against his rule. >> who should i vote for, the man who killed many people? >> reporter: eveeven if many ofe people wanted to cast their ballot they won't be able to because of questions of the electorate process. >> reporter: before assad, his father assad, now parliament has approved louis laws to allow thd
9:04 am
to run for the post. one of the corrections is they must have lived in syria the past ten years. that means most of the opponents are excluded from the race. some of them have formed a government in exile. it's members are not interested in competing with a man they want out of power but they aren't able to prevent the vote. >> they had no executive government. >> the areas of control are in his advantage. >> reporter: he may remain in power but many won't accept the election at legitimate or fair.
9:05 am
it may divide the country, and it won't end the war. >> what is it that assad is hoping to achieve? >> reporter: well, to tell the world that the status is still there. tell them that it has the upper hand. it's not interested in compromise. the geneva agreement calls for fair elections. a few months ago the wars sides from sitting at the table in gentlemen knegeneva, but they wt agreeing to anything. over recent weeks we have seen the government make a lot of gains on the battlefield, and this has demoralized the opposition which has been calling on the international community to provide it with more weapons to prevent the regime staying in power and
9:06 am
holding this vote. >> reporter: well, syria's children have become the forgotten victims of its civil war. it says five million syrian children are in need of urgent help. more than a million are refugees, and 10,000 children have been killed. one in three children have been either hit or shot at. >> reporter: now he lives on a farm with his three children. he had to move here after syrian jets destroyed his house. all three have a disorder that stunts their growth. >> look at my son, he's 13, but he looks five years old. >> reporter: his cousin also needs medical care for cerebral palsy. but there are no hotels nearby. and getting to hospitals in aleppo has become too dangerous.
9:07 am
>> we used to receive treatment but now we cannot because of war. >> reporter: the si syrian war s all but crippled the medical system, and it's now all but impossible to receive treatment. >> i have no money to pay for my kids' treatment. >> reporter: government forces have been accused of targeting hospitals in areas controlled by the rebel organizations. aid agencies warn almost half of all medical personnel have left syria. dozens of doctors have been tortured to death because they treated injured rebels. the shortage of hospitals mean that people have built these makeshift clinics. this pediatric center looks after the eastern part of thes
9:08 am
province. >> we deal with caesareans every day and there is lack of personnel, medicine and equipment. >> reporter: many field doctors are using old he coats as band ages. children have died because of recent power outages. children have been hit on the head to knock them out because there wasn't any medicine. there has been a rice of polio, meningitis, measles and many other diseases with the war raging on, and the future looks bleak. >> out to south sudan where the united nations has reported a massacre of hundreds. south sudan's army has been fighting a number of rebel groups. some of them back the former
9:09 am
vice president. in one mosque alone 200 people were killed. coming up here on the news hour, in thailand we'll show you how the southeast asian country is leading the way in the use of solar energy. >> plus we go fishing, and one day we will no longer be able to fish in those waters. >> reporter: precious fish stocks are being depleted by unregulated foreign trollers. and in sports we'll find out who is up and who is down. >> russia has accused the
9:10 am
government of kiev of crudely violating the international accord on resorting the crisis in ukraine. three people have died after shooting broke out on sunday, three days after an agreements with signed in switzerland. >> the most important thing is to prevent any kind of violence. this is the first point of the geneva agreement. the first to confront each other now in ukraine, but in these and other aspects the geneva agreement has not been implemented, and steps have been taken by those who take power in kiev who violate the agreement. >> peter, it seems clear that moscow remains defiant. he said any attempt to isolate russia was going to fail. >> that's right. the talks on thursday, the four
9:11 am
party talks were never really expected to ray chief. much, but me did come out with a road map to the de-escalation of the crisis. what foreign minister lavrov was saying today is that ukraine, kiev s not meeting any of the way points on that road to destabilize and improve the political climate in the country. it's not leaving up to its promises to provide amnesty of those who were taken into custody after the occupation of the buildings in the east of ukraine. he talk about the senseless violence and the possibility of civil war. he said the attack on sunday, this checkpoint that killed several russia speaking border guards was just another indication of kiev's total failure to disarm it's
9:12 am
nationalist fighters. >> peter, you've also got other moves by president putin who has been signing a few new decrease. he wants to make citizenship easier for russian speakers. what is he aiming for, why is he doing all of this? >> it's all about the former soviet union, and both these things that were basically discussed really go against the old cold war order. in terms of rehabilitating minorities. think of the tartars, they were abused by the regime. hundreds died. now they say the reunification must mean more political hope for the tatars, and this idea of giving russian-speaking people
9:13 am
in the former soviet union a possibility of russian passports. there would be a substantial minority of russian speakers, but russia will see it as a sign that they care about the people who are part of the motherland. >> thanks for that. peter sharp in moscow. there. joe biden has landed in the ukrainian capitol. he is expected to announce an aid passage. meanwhile in eastern ukraine the military has confirmed the second gunfight broke out late on sunday between the army of pro russian activists. a checkpoint south of donestk three people have been detained. let's start with vice president joe biden's visit.
9:14 am
he's clearly coming at a very sensitive time in ukraine. what is he going to be doing? >> he's going to be meeting especially tomorrow with the acting president. he's going to be meeting with political and regional leaders. i think they're going to discuss the situation. as you know the economy of ukraine is a big concern. there are several warnings over the past few months that they're going to face the issues and behind closed doors they'll discuss the geneva accord that was signed last thursday and things really have not changed on the ground so far. >> as far as the geneva accord goes, is there any sign that anyone is complying with it, that it is going to be implemented? >> reporter: so far there is no
9:15 am
sign whatsoever. when they said kiev should start following it, it means that it should start clearing out below protesters in independent squa square. and russia should be pulling back. some say they're going to try organize themselves to figure out what kind of response they will provide to that geneva carried and how they wil--accorw they will act in the coming days. vice president biden will put his weight, put pressure on the government in kiev to say, well,
9:16 am
let's bring about those constitutional reforms and bring about laws to decentralize power in this countries and maybe it will be a starting point for protesters to leave the buildings. >> thank you for that, our correspondent in doneskt. now south korea's president has condemned the actions of a captain as an act of murder. it was trying to change course without slowing down. divers continue to retrieve bodies from the wreckage, and 64 are reported dead. we have the report from jindo. >> these images from 2010 show the captain of the sunken ferry on another ferry on the same route. >> i believe the ferry is safer than any other transportation. >> reporter: four years later that's exactly what hundreds of
9:17 am
young passengers did, obeying instructions to stay put as the ferry sank. while the captain was among the first to be asked. in seoul if the vice president's scathing criticism of the captain. >> it was like an act of murder that cannot and should not be tolerated. >> reporter: she demanded a full investigation into how the approval to add an extra deck to the ferry and extend it's operating life by ten years. here on jindo the focus remains on the emergency cruis speedinge recovery effort and bring as many bodies as possible back to shore. >> amonamong the rescue divers,y
9:18 am
are getting ready to bring the bodies out of the ship. >> we need to cut the life jackets and get the bodies out. >> all aimed as speeding the recovery of the bodies in. each one brings with it a grief that is at once shared and deeply personal. al jazeera jindo, south korea. >> one of china's biggest strikes in years has ended it's second week. workers in a shoe factory have been protesting over pay, pension. both facilities are run by the same company. the company said the number is much lower than that.
9:19 am
a labor rights activist and founder of the china labor bulletin joins us from hong kong via skype. good to have you on the program. this strike seems to be--well, it is one of the biggest strikes in recent history in china. just take us through what it is the workers want that they haven't got. >> it's a company of more than ten years. they cheated the workers. they did not pay the level of social security tha of the work, and they paid much lower level so workers only by chance, that they find out, and they forced forced--they were really angry, and at the same time they have no other channel than organizing a strike and to stop working to
9:20 am
put out their demands. so strike is the only way they can do it. >> but there are labor laws in place, aren't there, so why was this company allowed to break the law? >> well, agencies did not monitor this, think want to keep this so-called good investment environment, so they don't want the factory investors to move out. at the same time these factory owners and we all know that for many years they have this so-called social responsibility
9:21 am
program, and they send penal to monitor these factory behaviors. they respect the workers' rights, but i don't think this will work any more. more than ten years ago i talked to the big brands that this factory is producing, and at least you can make sure the workers social security accounts should be paid, and the the brands, they said, well, you know what, we don't know where the government will go, and the government is using the money, so we don't feel like to pay. i told them, and this is a legal requirement, if the government is misusing the money, that's their responsibility, but it's your responsibility to pay for
9:22 am
the workers. >> i know you're very involved in labor rights in china back in the 80's and 90's. how would you assess the labor rights movement today. are the chinese workers, do they have more power? >> yes, chinese workers, if you look back at the last 35 years, what makes this nowadays the globalization behaving like this, careless of human life, and careless about human dignity and workers rights. the workers ever to say we are responsible. we don't have rights. we are not doing it on purpose. i would say this, from this regard the chinese workers are powerful driving the global law lower but at the same time we
9:23 am
behave differently, and there is much less fear. so workers in china dare to speak out. that will make major change to the future of the world worker rights. >> now 50 rebel fighters have been killed in a military operation in iraq's central province. the three-day offensive was carried out targeting fighters from the islamic state of iraq known as the isil. seven rebels died in fighting with troops outside of ramadi. the city of fallujah has been under siege since the beginning of the year but they have closed off all access routes.
9:24 am
>> many of the isil fighters are moving further south where they regroup to go back into anbar. now the iraqi army said over the last three days they mount first degree intelligence-led operations to kill 50 isil fighters. they say that these fight precious some of th--fighters af the more hardcore fighters. it is being scorned over in parts of baghdad who say this is another example of sectarianism, but that there is no prove that these members were of the islamic state of iraq. now expect more announcements
9:25 am
like this. this works very well for nouri i al maliki. a video posted online by the a armed group showed mohammed al sheik. the kidnappers demanded the release of two fighters jailed in libya. al jazeera continues to demand the immediate release of its journalists. they are accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects all accusations against its staff.
9:26 am
a fourth al jazeera journal has been held without trial since august, and he has been hunger strike for 91 days. he has become a symbol of the fight for press freedom around the world. >> from this position i call western authority in north america that now they want to give amnesty to this agent how can you now say that you will do election, and you will do this and this, and the journalists, if they believe that, the situation in egypt, will it change? can it change, and journalists bear the brunt of that. it can't. many journalists injured. my son for than 251 days wa witt
9:27 am
taken to court. without telling him what is the crime. of what he did. more than 90 days in full hunger strike. he said what he not to him. but considers himself as defender of all journalists. >> that is his father there. let's get the weather with richard and the boston marathon is about to start. what is it going to be like for the runners? >> meteorologist: the women start in three minutes time and men in just a half hour. the temperatures at the moment is 9 degrees in boston, and it looks as show the conditions are going to be close to perfect. let's not perfect aside from all the issues surrounding that, this is one major race. it holds the record of the largest number of finishers. it has got the fastest men's
9:28 am
marathon from jeffrey mutai, and fastest women's. but when you look at the conditions, the clouds, the temperatures, probably only getting up by the time the main runners finish to 14 degrees. it should be good running conditions with quite low humidity. we do have fine record in western europe. people on the beach enjoying the sun. and, indeed, looking around europe you can see areas of low pressure spiraling around. it's a mixed picture for many parts. for werners we've got the clouds, and further east it's not looking too bad as far as temperatures go. it's fairly mild temperatures. we'll get to the marathon at the end of the week. >> richard, thank you very much, indeed. there is more to come on the
9:29 am
program. still ahead we'll take you underground to the world of illegal gambling and find out why it's a thriving business. plus, tourists flock to the birthplace of nobel laureate of garcia and we'll look at his legacy. well it's official... xfinity watchathon week was the biggest week in television history. but just when you thought it was over... what now? with xfinity on demand you can always watch the latest episodes of tv's hottest shows. good news. like hannibal... chicago fire.... ...and bates motel. the day after they air. xfinity on demand. all the latest episodes. all included with your service.
9:30 am
it's like hi-fiving your eyeballs. xfinity...the future of awesome.
9:31 am
9:32 am
>> pervading minorities that his government will give protection against what they call extremists. let's discuss this election in more detail. let's go to assistant professor of government at georgetown university, good to have you with us.
9:33 am
how on earth can a country hold a credible election when it's at war? >> well, certainly its window dressing, but on the other hand it's important to bear in mind that this country is a split country, there is a real civil war, and it's not clear even in a free and clear election that assad would not get the majority of votes. there are people who do support him and that has been seen in the last four years of war. >> as you say against him the opposition is weak, they're split, and because of the constitution most can't run. >> that's right. they have to be in the country for ten years. that's not unusual in other constitutions as well. that should not be the concern. but there has been pressure in the international community to
9:34 am
further the cause of the cease-fire. that's what is needed now. the u.s. russia, qatar, all these countries should come together and renew the pressure on all sides including on the opposition, which has refus refd the cease-fire in the past. >> how much is the opposition responsible for the state of affairs. >> they wagered on military problems. they refused any negotiations until assad's stepping down from power. it's like the lebanese civil war, same story, it can only be solved with an agreement forcing the parties to relinquish the war and victor and vanquish
9:35 am
which won't lead to anything but complete destruction of the country. >> and many want assad out of the picture by holding this election by properly taking part, is it a very clear interesthat hethinks he's ahead. >> certainly, but there is the chemical weapons issue, and if there is pressure he will yield. it was negotiated that we have this negotiated settlement rather than a military solution which has been fomented by outside powers. i think it's a dangerous enterprise, and yes of course he wants to hold on to pow. that goes without saying, but again international pressure, serious pressure could bring a peaceful solution. >> thank you very much. speaking to us from georgetown, university. >> now in pakistan gambling has
9:36 am
been illegal since it's creation since 1947 but it has not stopped the creation of thousands of gambling shops, and the police are often involved as well 1237 it's pakistan's favorite pastime. and when there is a big cricket match many gather to watch it. and although it's illegal, many will make bets as to who will win. >> i always thought pakistan will do well. but it's not looking so good. god willing i won't lose the $50 bet that i made. >> in big sporting events like this, they rake in millions of dollars in illicit proceeds.
9:37 am
>> reporter: al jazeera was give access to these book makers who are based out of a hotel room. once the match is over they'll pack up and leave easily having made hundreds of thousands of dollars. gambling was outlawed in 1947. 30 years later the laws were revised when parliament passed the province of gambling act. the penalties are $10 in fine and up to one year in prison. even the relatively lax punishment and poor enforcement illegal gambling thrives. the police have been involved in gambling events and book makers. karachi's head police officer say it is difficult. >> some do get involved in illegal activities like this, not all but some. when we learn of it, we deal
9:38 am
with them harshly. >> reporter: but clearly it's not enough to prevent illegal book makers like this from making big profits. al jazeera, karachi. >> over a week of fighting between myanmar forces an. >> fighting was going on just outside of my village, and i was forced to flee with my family in a way we were beaten up. i dare not go back to my village now. >> a prominent journalist who has been myanmar's longest held
9:39 am
journalist died. he helped establish the national league for democracy. the former newspaper editor spent 19 years for his political activism and was released in 1978. >> security forces used water canons and tear gas to disperse a crowd. now activists in brazil are calling for the legalization for cannabis for medical use. fake marijuana leaves were deplaced in ri rio de janeiro. using the drug is not illegal but crossing cross borders is
9:40 am
illegal. >> they should be legalize it for prescriptions. >> many mourn gabriel garcia marquez. we have more from columbia. >> she's 97 years old and her memory is fading. but she can still remember when she was a teenager and a nanny to a little toddler of gabriel garcia marquez. >> he used to play with the ball a lot, but he was an envious kid. if he saw another child had something that he wanted, he would try to get it for himself. >> reporter: marquez was born in this scorching hot ca caribbean town that i in this house that a
9:41 am
museum. march lease said she started writing parts of the famous author's books when she could barely walk. >> i saw my father reading a book when i was three years old. i was curious about the book and i started reading it because everyone said gabriel was good. so i wanted to see how good he was. >> the sleepy town might not look like much at first glance but it's here that it was an inspiration for the fictional village in the author's 1 1967 monthly "100 years of solitude." there was a push to officially change the name of the town, but it never happened. >> reporter: it seems that everyone in the town has a story about the man. this place meant to much to him
9:42 am
that it was a place that he found between reality and nostalgia as the raw material for his work. >> whether it's young kids in the hometown who now believe they can perhaps write. or those who were never able to see marquez after he left as a child, the town produced one of the greatest writers in the 20th century. >> now let's take you back to one of our top stories. the massacre of hundreds of civilians in south sudan. we just got these pictures into al jazeera. these are from the old town bentiu, which has just been seized. they massacred hundreds of civilians when they captured the town apparently civilians were
9:43 am
sheltering in places like a mosque n a church, and in one mosque over 200 civilians were killed. we'll try to get you more on that developing story as we get it. now, the rich fish stocks in are under threat of foreign trollers that operate illegally in the west african nation. we report from its capitol it's having an impact on the local fishing industry. >> in the island morning heat and humidity the fishing market becomes alive. it may be one of the poorest countries in the world, but the ocean off the coast is relinquisrich withfish. they have just returned from four days at sea. he said the biggest problem is government taxes. >> we are so tired. i can't make any money with my
9:44 am
work. we use so much effort, then we have so much expenditure and so many government taxes to pay. >> like many fishermen, he would like to export his fish, but there are no proper processing facilities here, and he can't compete with the foreign trollers, so he has to make do with the local market. >> reporter: this is the biggest fish market here. it is normally very busy with everyone trying to get the best prices for their fish. but for the traders it does not translate to much money at the end of the day. >> he said life has become harder since 2012 when the military staged a coup, ahead of a presidential run off. >> the government has done nothing for us. we buy a lot of fish, but times we don't get customers. many times we don't make our over head costs. >> reporter: perhaps unknown to
9:45 am
them is a bigger threat. the united nations is concerned that unregulated fishing by foreign trollers will deplete fish stocks in the country's territorial waters. >> they have the greatest fish stocks in the region, but that is under threat with illegal fishing. one day they will no longer be able to fish even in their territorial waters. >> this fisherman said the foreigners and the big ships can go deep into the ocean to get the big fish. those who don't have the equipment can't. they hope the government can protect fishermen here from what he calls unfair competition. al jazeera. >> coming up after the break we have all the sports including the shots that earned this gol golfer $1 million payday.
9:46 am
>> reporter: i'm at the film festival in new york. we'll be following one aspiring filmmaker as he tries to make it in show business. h my!
9:47 am
9:48 am
>> can you just fill news on what happened. we're being told civilians were trying to take shelter in public buildings including mosques and churches when they were attacked. >> yes, i have just come back from the ground. atrocious scenes from across the cities. people trying to find refuge at churches and hospitals. and civilians have been targeted. >> toby, we've got a really bad line with you. i think we're going to take a minute and try to call you back and try to get you back on the
9:49 am
line to see if we can get a slightly clearer line from you in just a moment or two. apologies for that. >> now the film festival in new york is widely seen as a stepping stone for filmmakers. receiving 6,000 submissions from film companies seeking a breakthrough. >> reporter: it's opening night at the tribeca film festival for a movie you probably never heard of, but for the director it could change anything. >> it's all righ already it's tt night of my life bras everything is going wrong. >> reporter: it's a film with a vampire twist. >> i'm in new york. i made a couple of movies. it's working out, of course, i
9:50 am
haven't had wild success but they're getting made and they're being presented. the fact that we're at tribeca is a victory in itself. >> reporter: for filmmakers exposure is everything. being selected to play at a major film festival can make a difference, but the movie business is renown for being hard to break into. >> finding an audience is a rarity, so i think film festivals provide that platform, something that filmmakers are hoping for. >> reporter: they have been invited to festivals around the world. but for this director the ultimate goal is not necessarily winning awards. it's carrying on with wha with t he does. >> we would like to make money to be able to make bigger and better movies, more ambitious movies, i guess. >> reporter: these days it's
9:51 am
much easier to make movies on small cameras. but for the potential stars of tomorrow, they might not get the chance they now have. >> let's get to sport now. here is andy. >> reporter: thank you very much. the san antonio spurs look to be taking their regular season form into the playoff. they had the best regular season record and they beat the mavericks 90-85. the miami heat also off to a winning start. the heat taking on the wildcats. ly been jams top scoring with 27 points and nine rebounds with dwyane wade adding another 23 to give miami the 99-88 win. >> we started to get more into our groove at the end of the first quarter even though the scoreboard did not translate, but more competitive. there was more thought to our
9:52 am
offense. we were still coming up empty, we were getting the type of shots a we wanted, and then it was a sustained effort other than that first part of the third quarter, but it was better. >> the portland trailblazers, thee beat the houston rockets in overtime. scoring an franchis an franchis. and the chicago bulls losing to a lower ranked team, they were beaten by the washington wizards. liverpool by nine points going into monday's game against west brom. liverpool five points clear at the top over no another norich.
9:53 am
there is a lot of moss pressure on moyes today. >> without change, we're rebuilding, we'll get to things we want to do. but to do those things that are not that good there are some things that we'r we are good. >> three consecutive losses, barcelona's last chance at simple wear couldn't afford any more slip ups. but their opponents had four to play for. messi had a 19 minute opportunity, and 0-0 at halftime
9:54 am
the visitors brought the dead lock in the 50th minute. messi in the 77th minute strike. and just two minutes later their title ambitions were back on track, messi the scorer from the dead ball. the 2-1 win easing the pressure on the club for another week at least. we have the fourth and final champions league spot they will keep it on goal against grenada before going on for a 4-0 victory. al jazeera.
9:55 am
>> let's have a look at the top of the table. just three points behind. they're looking to win their first title since 1996. real madrid are a further behind but they do have a game in hand. now the portuguese league celebrating their first title win in four years. these are the scenes of their fans on sunday night. a 2-0 win on sunday's game cla claiming this trophy for a 33 time. there could be plenty of more silverware on its way. they reached the final
9:56 am
portuguese cup. this 35-year-old smashing in the win. securing a 1-0 win. after leading for most of the final round the american appeared to have squandered his chance, but then came this bunker chance. he burdened the last and it gave a $1 million in prize money. i hit the shot that i wanted to. knew that it would play right to left, i watched it roll and the crowd would go crazy. it would disappear. i went crazy myself. it's an incredible feeling the
9:57 am
bruins have 18 shots with 17 which they lost. the bruins losing this one. the best of seven series. that's set for detroit on tuesday night. a pretty rough day an sunday's game in montreal. he was hit in the end. the canadiens went on to win 3 3-2. for more go to www.aljazeera.com/sport, also details of how to get in touch with us using twitter and facebook. barcelona's win puts them within sight of the top of the spanish league. also blogs and video clips from around the world: that's your sports. >> thank you very much for that. thanks for watching.
9:58 am
bye for now. consider this. the news of the day plus so much more. answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what.
9:59 am
>> all this week, trades near the speed of light... >> if you're not trading at those speeds, you're toast! >> billions of dollars at stake, is our economy insecurity now at the mercy of these machines? >> humans aren't able to receive information in that timeframe.
10:00 am
>> we're looking at the risks, rewards, and dangers of high frequency trading >> there are no rules or regulations >> all this week on the new expanded real money with ali velshi helping you balance your finances and your life. now an hour, starting at 7 eastern / 4 pacific only on al jazeera america because of effects from the fukushima in a meltdown. why can't america's military seem to win wars outright anymore? >> the massive nfl concussion. [ grinds to a halt. >> our how many orous take on our biggest generation. here's more on what's ahead. >> i don't understand a ship the size o