the palestinian president is warning against a religious war with israel. you're watching al jazeera live from london. hopes for progress at the iran nuclear talks as the prime minister cancels plans to return to at the ran. >> this action the president has chosen to deliberately sabotage any chance of enacting bipartisan reforms that he claims to seek.

>> republicans condemn the president's executive action on immigration reform. and ukraine's president is shouted down by residents as he pays tribute to 100 people killed in a protest one year ago. the palestinian president has warned against a religious war saying places or worship should not become points of conflict. israeli police fired tear gas at protesters in the west bank. police were also sent to jerusalem as well. access to the area which is holy to both jews and muslims has been one of the main causes of

recent tensions. >> this is a crucial time. there's terrorism, religious conflict, and violence. it is us who pay the price, the blood of our children. i'm warning against turning a political conflict into a religious one. let's talk about politics, not religion. stephanie decker is there. interesting comments at a time where people are worried the conflict between israel and the palestinians could turn into a religious war. >>reporter: that's right. the palestinian president has always tried to play a calming hand in this. he was very quick to condemn the killing of the five israelis at that synagogue attack. he was clear also to condemn the violations at the compound which palestinians will tell you is a

reason for a lot of these tensions. that is a red line. again he reiterated that again saying let's not turn this political conflict into a religious one because if it goes into that, it will be unstoppable. he also condemned the killing of innocent civilians on both sides but said peace and civility will be very to achieve when our basic rights are violated. this is the key point that he keeps stressing. peace talks have come and gone and he said he cannot achieve any lasting peace by living under occupation. he says we're asking to live just like anyone else who lives in other countries. that is not the case for palestinians. again, important words from the president at a time when it's been so tense here. and he has been seen as a calming factor even though we've heard from the israeli government and the israeli prime minister. we also heard from the head of israel security services saying

that actually the president is a strong factor in trying to calm things. the president wants to go to the u.n. to try and push through a resolution to give a timetable to the end of occupation. there's been international recognition of palestine over the last few weeks. i also think the international community is using patience with israel. especially with the gaza war, they're not really making an effort to try to solve this at the negotiating table.

>>reporter: to try and disburse them. but there is a real feeling of fatigue here even though we've had these tensions and even though people are incredibly frustrated with the failure of the peace process following the gaza war and following the killing on both sides. we have not seen thousands of people taking to the streets. people will tell you that they've lost faith in the political process and in their leaders. the hope they had of this potentially coming to some kind of end with their own state is nowhere near palpable and they've lost hope and that's certainly something you'll see from people. they'll tell you perhaps going out to the street to protest won't achieve anything and they need to continue with their daily lives feeding families and working. so it is a difficult situation for them when, again, any potential peace or political process doesn't seem to be anywhere near on the table.

>> all right. thanks. is there are glimmers of progress in vienna over talks of iran's nuclear program. iran and world powers set a deadline of monday to reach a final deal. the key areas remain unresolved. iran should be given sanctions relief. we are live in vienna. so it's been a confusing day really? earlier it appeared that the iranian foreign minister was indeed heading home. >>reporter: yes, it was a day that started with optimism and then that sunk to quite

considerable lows when it did appear the talks were going no further. he was on his way back to at the ran for consultations. john kerry was on his way to paris essentially to wait for his arrival back in vienna at some point later in the weekend. the talks have been described as tense and somber. the british foreign secretary left here a few hours ago saying significant gaps remain. none of those departures have taken place. as we speak, they are sitting down alongside the eu envoy for a set of talkings on friday evening. what we're talking about is something we're not entirely clear on. very little information is being briefed on the media. but mr. zarif is telling iranian journalists that he may yet feel the need to go back to at the

ran for consultations and we've just heard that the state department has canceled plans for john kerry to go to paris. where does all of that leave us at this stage? again, not entirely clear. but we may be at a stage now at the beginning of a period of behind the scenes discussions toing and froing, technical consultations on various matters before high level talks requeen and advance later in the weekend. >> it's amazing how deadlines focus the mind. is there any thought that the deadline itself could actually be extended? we are rapidly approaching monday. >>reporter: well, iran and the united states have made it very clear as a matter of policy throughout these talks that they will not discuss the possibility of an extension, that they are doing everything that they can to focus on getting a deal on monday. and clearly to suggest otherwise would be possibly to give away an advantage or at least to relieve pressure that might lead

to last minute concessions as that deadline approaches. so they are set to be working towards a deal but i think optimism for a full and comprehensive deal is ebbing. there's more and more talk now about trying to get a framework agreement with details left for the experts to work out in weeks and possibly a month or two folk the deadline. fighters from islamic state in iraq have launched their biggest advance yet. the city is just 90 kilometers west of baghdad in anbar province which is largely held by isil. gunmen have reportedly fired from roof tops at government offices and police headquarters. >>reporter: isil fighters began their biggest defensive on the

city of ramadi. there are pro government forces within the city, they called in reinforcements. the idea of the pro government troops is to try to push those isil fighters back from all four sides of the city. the clashes are ongoing and they are quite heavy. this is the largest defensive that we have seen isil launch on the city. if you look at anbar province as a whole, the majority of the towns have some sort of isil presence or are occupied completely. the iraqi army are quite confident they will be able to repel the attack. nobody was expecting an attack quite the size of this. now, what the iraqi army is

saying they will try and push and boost isil fighters back but isil through social media are saying that they will take the town. they are in a position to take the whole of the province. anbar and ramadi in particular are crucial to isil because anbar province runs on towns that are linked along a main road and if they manage to link all of that town, it does give them the whole province and makes them that much more difficult to get rid of. the testimony of turkey has met the president of the kurdistan regional government. they hope to benefit from oil. the threat posed by the islamic state of iraq was also discussed. >> turkey will give every kind of necessary support for the security of the kurdish region. one topic we discussed was training. the support in the security field will increase going forward in syria, government fighter planes have continued to launch

attacks on rebel held areas. a dutch teenager who traveled to syria to marry an isil fighter has appeared in court in the netherlands accused of joining a terrorist organization. her mother reportedly brought her home on wednesday after she was divorced from her husband. she's being held in solitary confinement and is allowed contact with her mother. if convicted, she faces 30 years in jail. al jazeera continues to demand the release of three journalists being held in egypt for 328 days. they were jailed under false allegations that he helped the

outlaw outlawed muslim brotherhood. still to come on this half hour, why women are especially at risk from the west african ebola outbreak and they're also key to tackling it. . unknown and mysterious relive this epic odyssey people encountered, discoveries made... and now... questions answered... al jazeera america presents

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a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. the palestinian president has warned against a religious war saying places of worship should not become points of conflict. the comments follow weeks of tensions between israelis and palestinians. iran's foreign minister is holding talks with john kerry in vienna. they have until monday to reach a final deal on the nuclear program. and isil fighters have launched their biggest defensive since the government recaptured the town in october. now, ukrainens have been commemorating the first anniversary of the protest in kiev's square that led to the crisis in the east of the country. they were sparked by then president's re-electi rejection

agreements. days later, pro-russian forces take over crimea holding a referendum in march that came out strongly in favor of joining russia. in eastern ukraine separatists separatists -- it has killed 4,317 people including almost 1,000 since a cease fire was agreed back in september. >>reporter: a solemn start to a new national holiday for ukraine's president. the president laying a wreath for the more than 100 people who died during the protest. but there was anger from some in the crowd accusing the government for failing to find and punish the killers.

>> there's an enemy in our yard. today i will sign a decree awarding heros to the heavenly hundred as heros of ukraine. >>reporter: the protest forced the president of ukraine from office. the civil war that's since unfolded has claimed more than 4,000 lives. more still die every day despite a two and a half month cease fire. ukraine on friday accused russian troops of firing across the border for the first time in that period. ukraine wants military aid including weapons from its u.s. al lie. washington says that's not off the table but for now vice president joe biden used his trip to ukraine to give nonlethal aid. >> it's simply unacceptable in the 21st century for countries to attempt to redraw borders by choice in europe or for anywhere

near matter or to intervene militarily because they don't like a decision their neighbor has made. many here on a regular run to ukrainen controlled territory in search of functioning banks. >> the people have changed the government. but for ordinary people, it's just meant war and nothing more. >> the infrastructure has been demolished. the security situation is worse. and the financial situation is worrying everybody here. life has become hard. >>reporter: and hardship is far from restricted to this part of eastern ukraine. the economy as a whole is in trouble. inflation on the rise, international aid stalled. already the optimism of a year ago already seems more than a

world away. nearly five and a half thousand people have died since the start of the ebola outbreak in west africa and the united nations is warning that women are especially vulnerable to contracting and dying from the ebola virus. nearly 60% of the victims are women. >>reporter: as a care giver in sierra leone and as a woman. >> when we were in the hospital, we could not go anywhere. we stayed inside lying in our beds.

but at home now i feel fine. i can walk where i want. i cook. i feel fine. so thank god for that. >>reporter: like many women in west africa, she is the primary care giver in the home which is one within the u.n. is saying women are most vulnerable to this disease. >> partly because of their role take you straight away to istanbul where joe biden, the u.s. vice president and the turkish prime minister are holding a press conference. >> and one of the great advantages of being back in turkey with a friend and a m may -- nato al lie -- ally. >> i can remember our discussions when we were pushing

the effort for us to get engaged in bosnia and kosovo. we have tackled a number of very contentious issues regionally and internationally and we've always eventually come out the same side. >> our military values greatly the competence, capability, and the partnership with the turkish military. baas knosn one thing i'd like to point out, the last time i saw the prime minister, he was merely the foreign minister. echkos

thank you. thank you. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. that was a fairly brief press conference there between the u.s. vice president joe biden who's on a visit to istanbul and the turkish prime minister. both of those men have a great deal to discuss about the tensions in the region, particularly on the issue of confronting isil. the u.s. relying heavily on turkey as an ally in its battle against isil in that region. i'm sure we'll have more on those talks later in the coming hours. now in the u.s., republican politicians are lashing out at president barack obama and his new immigration plan which he'll be signing into law later on friday. obama's proposal will allow 5

million undocumented immigrants to stay in the country and make them eligible for work permits. but john. >> the action by the president yesterday will only encourage more people to come here illegally and putting their lives at risk. we saw the humanitarian crisis of our border last summer, how horrific it was. this summer it could be worse. this action also punishes those who have obeyed the law and waited their turn. with this action, the president has chosen to deliberately sabotage any chance of enacting bipartisan reforms that he claims to seek. and as i told the president yesterday, he's damaging the presidency itself. >> let's go live to the white house.

patsy, the republicans may be unhappy but what can they actually do about it? >>reporter: exactly. you know, they're having harsh words but their threats have been vague and the reason for that is not clear that they can actually do anything to change the immigration reform. first off, they have the power of the purse. that doesn't apply here because the agency the white house has decided will enforce these rules, they don't get federal money. congress can't act there. they're talking about suing the president over this but courts don't usually intervene in these matters. a fringe group has been talking about impeachment. that seems unlikely. but more and more people are talking about really another showdown with the president saying congress simply won't pass a budget until he changes course on immigration reforms. they promised not to shut down the government but that was a promise made before the president took these steps. so far it doesn't look like they really have a clear path to do

anything. >> any idea just how many people might be helped by the president's proposal? >>reporter: white house officials say almost 5 million but that is if all of them in fact decide to go ahead and follow through with it. only about half the people who could sign up did and here's the reason why. this suspect a change of the law. this is temporary. it only applies while this president is in office. the next president could simply come in and change it. but to be a part of this program, these undocumented immigrants have to go to the government, sign up, give their bio information, pass a background check. in essence, then the government would have a full list of people who are in the country illegally. the next president could then say go ahead and deport them all. so it is a risk. >> now, it is played by millions of people worldwide and nowhere is scrabble being taken more

seriously right now than in london. hundreds have turned out for the world championships there. they have a few unexpected words at that event to get their heads around. >>reporter: you're looking at scrabble gold. these letters could net a massive score. see if you can figure the word out. what this lot and their mascots wouldn't give for a set of letters just like that. 200 big brains all in one room. >> i'm from poland. >> i've come from kenya. >> south africa. >>reporter: the international championships. for scrabblers worldwide there's no better place to be than london right now. abdull is from pack stand. he has big dreams. >> i will be number one one day. >>reporter: you have ambitions.

>> big ones. >>reporter: it's hungry work. this is on old game with a modern approach. each move scrutinized by computers relayed to players worldwide. a hobby enjoyed in 120 countries. >> it's a fun game. >>reporter: and one in the midst of a big change if the for those who love to play scrabble but are dreadful at it, this is the bane of their lives, the dictionary is basically the rule book. it says what words you can and cannot use. and for those that are not very good, it means they can get away with very little indeed. traditionally, slang has been banned from this but 5,000 slang words have just been added. words that you will here in everyday use. things like chillax, selfie, and blog. for those with a limited vocabulary, this is fantastic words. for the more traditional player,

they need to start learning all over again. >> there's no getting away that these are actually words everyone knows. >>reporter: no doubt this champ would have guesseded the big one and here it is again. that is actually the word quinsey. ever heard of it? probably not. it's one of the new additions but it could get you 401 points if placed correctly. the definition, a shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. >> i finally get to play an al jazeera quota at scrabble. >> i'm brilliant. >>reporter: okay. that's a lie. but sometimes it's good to have a plan b up your sleeve. >> what's going on here? >>reporter: literally. but only of course if you don't get caught. and there are plenty of good words and interesting contents over on our website at

aljazeera.com. it's full of content from our own correspondents around the world and also guest commenters. a show about innovations that can change lives. . >> the science of fighting a humanity and we are doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out the team of hard-core nerds. specialising in ecology and evolution.