>> president obama is in the philippines, and he signed a 10 year defense deal allowing greater u.s. military access in the region. this is al jazeera america, live from doha. also ahead - talks are expected to resume between the south sudan and rebels amid rampant violence. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says israel risks becoming an apartheid state, a 2-state solution if the palestine fails. and a top u.s. basketball

player staples a silent protest -- stages a silent protest over racist remarks attributed to the team's owner. hello. u.s. president obama is in the philippines on the final stage of his tour of asia, and is meeting with president aquino. the two countries have finalised a deal allowing the u.s. a larger military preps, making it easier to deploy fighter planes and ships. the claims focus on parts of the south china sea in 2012 ships from china and the philippines were involved in a long standoff at the scar bra ashol which both countries claim. china surrounds a contested

territory. parts of it are claimed by at the end of the dayian, malaysia and vietnam. we are talking through the significance of the military deal signed between obama and the philippines. >> reporter: well it means a lot for the philippines, particularly at the time when this territorial dispute at the south china sea and the philippines and china is increasing. this means an increased presence of u.s. soldiers, the fortification of - and the upgrading of u.s. military facilities also in the western philippines, particularly the area facing the south china sea. washington said that this does not mean the return of the u.s. bases. they were taken off and forced out of the philippines in the 1990s. in reality the u.s. soldiers

never left. now, there's more than 600 of them supposedly involved in counterterrorism operations - particularly in the southern philippines. the president added - president aquino said that this agreement is not just the military won, but improving and bolstering people and people ties, particularly during a humanitarian situation as evidence. by the united nations, leading the recovery and emergency efforts in the weeks following typhoon haiyan. >> what about the philippines, the people there - are they happy with the increased milita military presence in their country? >> over the years there has been mixed reactions towards the u.s. presence here. when they were - they officially left earlier in the 1990s left. a few years ago, about five soldiers were connected of

raping a filipino and they were sentenced to life in prip, to be served in philippine's jails. a few weeks after that, through the help of the previous government, the u.s. government managed to take them off the philippine gaol and no one knows where they are at this point. local groups, militant groups accused the u.s. government of dumping toxic waste in the northern parts of the philippines. these allegedly were dumped by u.s. military trips. it was said that it was not done directly by the u.s. government, but perpetrated by the u.s. contractors. these are unpopular event which may have marred the reputation of the u.s. forces. however, anti-china sentiment is running higher here. generally the reaction towards president obama is, in fact,

positive on the ground. >> okay. let me ask you one final thing about the deal and the pact signed itself. it's been finalised now, but when does it take effect. >> well, that's a good question. nobody really knows, in fact, nobody has seen the agreement itself, because it's not made public until now. in terms of what sort of facilities the united states is building, and to what sort of facility and what extent they'll be used, no one knows for sure. what is known is they'll help in the modernization programme of philippine military facilities facing the south china sea. a lot wonder whether an increased presence in the region, may mean that the philippines is a bigger target for china, in the south china sea. >> thank you. that report from manila in the

philippines. >> south sudan's government is expected to resume peace talks with rebels. they are being held in the capital of ethiopia. and negotiations have failed to advance since the signing of a ceasefire, and it never took hold. while fighting broke out in december between pro-government forces loyal to the president and those that back riek machar, the former vice president. he was accused of plotting a coup, which he denied. let's cross to juba, speaking to anna cavel, covering the story for us. these talks are expected to take place, and are expected to resume, but the situation on the ground where you are is dire. >> reporter: yes, that's right. i mean, as you mentioned there, the peace talks have been happening for months now. the signing of the cessation of hostilities happened in january,

amid fanfare. since then fighting has continued. so it's probably fair to say that there are people who are jading with the protest, don't have much faith in the negotiations achieving much. there has been a big change since the last round of negotiation, and that was the release of the four political detainees in juba. so their release was a condition of the rebel negotiating team who said they couldn't make an advancement for the peace negotiations, as long as the four men remained in detention. they are free, so it's possible that there may be more progress on this occasion. >> we understand that the u.n. human rights chief is expected to arrive in south sudan. why now. what will she be doing? >> well, yes, we are expecting her to come in today. she is arriving against the

backdrop of some savage violence that we have seen in this whole conflict. there was the changing hands of bentiu, and as the rebels re took it, we heard 200 people taking shelter in a mosque were massacred. many killed in the town, hiding in churches - that was followed by another brutal attack on the u.n. peace-keeping base. there was a large protection of civilians, stormed by armed men, and another massacre took place. this is the situation that navi pilae is arriving in. we are waiting for a human rights report to be released by the mission in south sudan. everywhere is looking to the document, waiting to see what is in it before they make their next move. the u.s. have been considering targetting sanction, the united nations on the back of these massacres is considering sanctions. and i understand that a lot of people are looking to the report for guidance as to what to do in

the future. we have to wait until 5 may for that to come out. hopefully we'll have more information later, when nava pilae arrives. >> thank you for that report. >> the secretary of state john kerry reportedly warned that israel is at risk of becoming an apartheid state. kerry was setting out the consequences of a palestine state. the comments were published any the daly beast news website. they said they had a private recording from a meeting with u.s., russia and japan. kerry said: . >> well, the u.s. state department told al jazeera that kerry was echoing statements made by former israeli prime

ministers. its spokeswoman said: palestine president mahmoud abbas has given some of his strongest comments yet condemning the nazi genocide of jews. it did little to ease tensions, both blaming each other for a break down in the peace talks. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: it's the latest black and forth in an exhausting blame game, prompted by the palestine president statement of support. mahmoud abbas is quoted as saying:. >> some say it could be an olive bramping at a time when the -- branch at a time when the peace talks are as good as over. >> israeli president binyamin netanyahu was having none of it,

especially when mahmoud abbas was planning a unity government with hamas. >> instead of making conciliatory statements meant to apiece international public opinion. they should choose between hamas, a terrorist group denying the holocaust. we hope he abandons the fact and returns to the true path of peace. . >> reporter: but the palestinians blame binyamin netanyahu for not being true to peace, saying the refusal to release a final group of prisoners led to the collapse of talks between the two sides. they blame each other and palestine reconciliation, which should be seen as a positive for the palestinians, is being used by israel to superintendent the talks altogether. >> we need to understand that peace and agreements between israel and the palestinians have an israeli interest, but we cannot negotiate with cam as. >> at issue is ham as not

recognising israel. abbas is trying to convince israel that the new government is not a threat. >> translation:. new government is working under my orders and policy. it takes care of local issues. i recognise israel, and it recognises is recall. i renounced violence and it renounces violence and terrorism. i'm against violence and terrorism. and so more signs that there really is no commonly ground here -- common ground. the talks are spended and the april 29th deadline is imminent. nine months spearheaded by the united states yielded zero progress. the hard issues dealing with what a 2-state solution looks like have not been touched. >> a court in egypt is due to pass its final judgment in the case of 529 people sentenced to death in march. the african commission on human rights asked the courts to

suspend the sentences. the case has been criticised after the judge passed the sentence. many of the defendants were not in court and were convicted for their alleged role in violence after the ouster of president mohamed mursi, last july. >> al jazeera continues to call for the release of journalists held in egypt. their trial has been adjourned until may the 3rd. they've been in gaol for 121 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy, and baher mohamed are accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood, now declared a terrorist organization. abdullah al-shami has been held in trial since august. and has been on hunger strike for 98 days. scraz rejects the charges. >> the death toll in saudi arabia from the middle east respiratory sindh roam has passed 100. medical officials identified eight new cases including a child, bringing the total number of doths to 102 since the virus

identified in 2012. there was no known vaccines. >> still ahead on al jazeera. beaten, bloodied and put on show. paraded by pro-russian gunman. and... >> i'm in the pakistani city of karachi. find out why the armoured vehicle business here is booming.

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s >> the top stories on al jazeera. u.s. president obama is meeting

president aquino in the philippines on the final stage of his tour phase-up. the two countries finalised a 10-year defense deal allowing a larger u.s. military presence. south sudan's government is expected to resume peace talks with rebels, due to be held in the capital of ethiopia. negotiations failed to advance since the signing of a ceasefire in january that never took hold. u.s. secretary of state john kerry warned that israel risks becoming an apartheid state unless a 2-state solution is reached with the palestine. at least 22 people have been killed in an attack in the central african republic. staff from doctors without borders were among the victims. it happened on saturday. 450km north of the capital bangui.

in the capital itself. a mosque was looted after some of the last-remaining muslims were escorted out of the city by peacekeepers. tens of thousands were forced out of their homes. >> these women are getting ready to leave bangui and travel to the north for safety. they are muslim. they have been caught up in months of fighting between two groups - muslim seleka rebels, and anti-balaka militias. >> translation: what the anti-balaka are doing, they have killed a lot of muslims. we can't stay in the central african republic, we will leave to save ourselves, and our skin. not all muslims in the city are escaping the violence. some are staying behind. >> the center mosque, the plan is not to leave. we are working on social cohesion. there are other projects to keep

them here, like the cash for work project. like other dialogue that will start. i'm not sure that they want to leave. they told us that they prefer to stay in bangui. the condition is security. >> the trouble in the central african republic started about a year ago. when mainly muslim seleka rebels overthrew the government. christian groups formed militias, carrying out revenge attacks. >> it's regrettable, but we cannot do anything about it. they are the ones that brought weapons here. we live together for a long number of years. they are the ones that brought weapons to kill us. as the trucks pull out of the city, some cheered. others looted property owned by muslims, and vandalized the mosque. the government is against evacuating people, saying that it divides the company. with thousands killed and many

more forced from their homes, this may be the only way to try and end the violence. members of the european union will meet on monday to decide on further sanctions against russia. in the eastern city of slovyansk, pro-russian gunmen paraded three ukrainian intelligence officers held in captive. eight european observers on sunday were taken hostage by pro-russian separatists. one has been released. the g7 agreed to impose additional sanctions on russia over the weekend. masked activists stormed the headquarters in donetsk. they want russian tv channels on air. separatists are planning to hold a referendum on breaking away from ukraine on may 11th. increasing violence in pakistan's city prompted many residents to seek safety in armoured vehicles.

it is a demand to counter gun and bomb attacks. we have this report from karachi. >> reporter: making a vehicle bomb and bulletproof is not easy. this 4 by 4 jeep was stripped to its frame. thick metal plates will be inserted into the door, bulletproof windows and suspension to cope with the steel and glass. armoured vehicles are a must have. the city of 18 million people has a history of violence, much asorpted with gangs linked to political parties. in recent times the taliban has grown in influence. last year more than 2,000 people were killed in attacks and 100 abducted for ransom. the killings and kidnappings sow no signs of slowing which is why those that can't afford it are

installing windows that can stop a bullet. and a frame that can resist a bomb attack. >> this man has been in the car manufacturing business, and over the past year he has seen an increase in demand for vehicles. he had one or two customers a month, and now has a dozen at any given time. now people have become aware that such an investment is probably quite necessary if especially one can afford it. armouring a car is not cheap. the cost of making it bombed and bulletproof is anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 dollars. it's a small price to pay for peace of mind. this man asked us to hide his identity for security reasons. he had his jeep armoured a few months ago. >> i was mugged, like, four times in the last 2, 2.5 years.

and, you know. a time comes when you feel enough is enough. you have to look for a solution. >> in a country where many live on a few dollars a day, it's a solution opened to a privileged few. australia prime minister says it's highly unlikely any debris from the missing malaysian plane will be found on the ocean's surface. flight mh370 has been missing since march 8th. australia is leading on international search operation focussed in the indian ocean north-west of perth. >> farmers in columbia are preparing for a nation-wide strike, saying the government failed to fulfil promises after a wave of violent strikes last year. it's weeks before presidential elections. we have been speaking to farmers. . >> reporter: on the hills this man has been growing potatos for

generations. that is changing. >> translation: i used to plant 180 hectares, now i barely plant 20. i would employ 180 people, but am down to 10-12. business is not profitable. it costs more to produce than what we make selling. >> lack of subsidies, infrastructure, high production costs and impact of the trade agreement brought the agricultural sector down. figuring a wave of the strikes that brought the country to a halt when farmers located major roles and clashed with the police. the protest ended when the president promised reforms. now the farmers say they will return to the streets, and the government has not delivered. >> what else can we do, we can't tolerate the situation any more. we can't continue to work the land. they are kicking us out.

they shouldn't call us free trade agreement. the government will not renegotiate them. >> reporter: farmers across the country are ready to start a new process on april 28th. with presidential elections weeks away the government fears a new strike could impact the outcome of the vote. ministers are touring the country saying many reforms have been implemented and others are on the way. >> translation: our negotiations are generating results. there's no reason for the farmers to despair and act violently or illegally. why protest when they are not heard. we are not only listening, but solving the problems of the sector. big agriculture companies agree, saying further trikes will damage the -- strikes will damage the country and the farmers themselves. >> translation: if the reasons are there, dialogue is the best

option, especially now that the government recognises that we don't have a national agricultural policy, and we need to build one. >> many small farmers feel time has run out, unless the government changes the international agreements, they fear their business will slowly disappear. at least two people have been killed by tornado in the united states. the twister caused widespread gaj in little rock in the -- damage in little rock and in oklahoma. forecasters issued severe thunderstorm warnings. basketball players from the n.b.a.'s l.a. clippers sage staged a protest against racist comments allegedly made by the tape's owner. >> the protest took place before

the game, with players wearing inside-out warm-up jerseys so the l.a. clippers logo could not be seen. banned at the game aexpressed shock. >> he opens a basketball team with nothing but african american players. that makes him sound hike a race if. >> i love the game. i'm an n.b.a. fan. i support the team for the longest time. whatever he said, it's his own personal opinion, not ours. we love our clippers. >> the issue goes beyond basketball with president obama commenting at his press conference halfway around the world during his visit to malaysia. >> when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk. that's what happened here. >> the audio that has gone viral

renewed the debate about america and racism: >> lebron james, one of the biggest names in the game is calling on new n.b.a. commissioner adam silver to stick a firm stand against bigotry. >> there's no room for that in our game. we have found a way to make it the greatest game in the world, and for comments like that, it takes our game, and we can't have that, not from a player, an opener or a fan. >> adam silver promised swift action. the n.b.a. investigation could be complex. the voice from the recording has to be authenticated as sterling. there may be an issue about how it was obtained. the plogs -- players association is being asked to be

included in any decision. >> we are collectively one family. i'm confident we'll speak together in one voice. there's absolutely no place in the n.b.a. family for ignorance, intolerance, reprehensible comments that are unacceptable and not fitting for what this league is all about. >> as for the team itself, clippers' coach doc rivers feels its best move is to move on as one. >> i think the biggest statement we can make as men, not as black men is to stick together to show how strong we are as a group, not splinter, not walk. it's easy to protest. the protest will be in the play. >> the team was hoping for a different outcome in the game. the clippers took a pummelling losing by double digits. >> sterling's comments may shock many, some say this is nothing new and has been gunning on for

years, and the question will be why his behaviour has been ignored for so long. >> just a reminder and you can always keep up to date with that story, and the other day's top stories in the news by going to the website. it's aljazeera.com. . hello. you are at the "listening post." the ongoing war in journalism in pakistan an the intelligence agency that stands accused of putting the media in crosshairs. eastern ukraine, getting abducted there is part of the risk