the united states and cuban presidents agree to restore relations but in miami we find older cubans are furious. >> court. coward, coward, coward! ♪ ♪ hello a very warm welcome to al jazerra live from doha. also coming up on the program. parke rebels in columbia declare at ceasefire as peace talks continue in cuba. diplomatic maneuvering in the u.n., calling on israel to leave occupied palestinian land. plus india launches its heaviest and most powerful commercial rocket. we will be live in new delhi.

they want diplomatic relations restored after more than half a century of mistrust and hostility. the white house plans include effort to campus the u.s. dong lift a 54-year-old embargo and easing travel tremendous instructiorestrictions andremova terrorism. >> today the us of america is changing it's a relationship with the people of cuba. and the most suggest changes in our policy and more than 50 years. we will end a an outdated approach for decades that is has failed to advance our interests and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.

and begin a new chapter among the nations. americas. >> the announcement coincided with a prisoner exchange. three cubans were released from prison in miami after being arrested in 1998. they were convicted in conspiracy. raul castro met them on their return to havana. the u.s. says they were leased in exchange for an unnamed cuban who spent close to 20 years in prison for spying for the u.s. al jazerra's latin america editor has most cuban reaction. >> reporter: this is more than just a shift in policy. it's a historic move. there is no way to overstate the impact of this announcement in cuba especially for millions of cubans over many generations that have lived under the cloud of the cold war on both sides of the florida straight. separated not only by ideologists but by an economic and political embargo.

the president of cuban, raul castro addressed his people on state television announcing that the united states had agreed to his government's long-standing demand for the release of three intelligence agents known in cuba as the three heros. they had been held since 1998 in u.s. prisons and we understand that at this hour they are back on the island, reunited with their families. he also recognized that there are still deep differences between both countries, particularly their views on democracy and human rights, but he said that it was time for both countries to engage in what he called the art of civilized coexistence. the u.s. economic embargo, of course, cannot be lifted unilaterally by president obama. that's up to the u.s. congress but by agreeing to renew diplomatic relations, both countries have taken a significant first step towards normalizing ties between two countries that are only separated by 170-kilometers. well, miami, florida is home to the largest community of cubans in the united states.

reactions there have been swift and divisive. many younger cuban americans born on u.s. soil have welcomed the news, but among the exiled older generation, there is a feeling of betrayal, as andy gal her reports from miami. >> reporter: in little havana news of a change in u.s. cuban relations brought an immediate and vocal reaction. >> no. >> reporter: many here have fought for years to isolate the cuban government and talks with leaders they see as oppress sieve viewed as nothing short of a betrayal. >> i am feeling disappointment. by president obama. in the moment for me obama a coward because they are doing business to castro's regime. washington, d.c. said no negotiations with terrorists. >> reporter: ever since fidel castro came to power in 1959, generations of cubans have

caught a better life in the u.s., thousands risk their life to his make the dangerous crossing and view the change in policy with scorn. >> the white has conceded everything. and gained little. they gained no commitment on the part of the cuban regime, the freedom of press or freedom of speech or elections. >> reporter: for the cuban-american community here in miami, this monument th monumenn policy has caught everyone by surprise. older cuban americans who view themselves as ex-saoeulz are extremely angry, amongst the younger generation it's news that will be welcomed. staff at the roots of hope office welcome the news. and say they will continue to fight for better relations. >> it's one step in support of the change that we all want to see, a better cuban for all cubans, that's inclusive of everyone and representative of all who are there. it's a stretch i step in that dn

but we have a long way to go. >> havana crowds took to the streets in apparent celebration, many hope the u.s. embargo in place for decades will soon be dismantled. >> translator: let's see if the embargo can be lift today better relations so our quality of life can improve. so we can get more food, more things from other countries. >> reporter: the cuban-american community here has played an important role in shaping u.s. policy towards cuba over the years. but a new generation will welcome change and what it might mean for their families still too cuba. andy gallagher, al jazerra, miami florida. nigeria has sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to fight boko haram. joining us now from there. what can you tell us? >> reporter: these are soldiers who are sent to fight boko haram in the northeast and a court martial in abuja, they were

found guilty of mutany for refuse to go obey orders to go and fight boko haram according to reports and this was held at a military court martial in the capital. this brings the number of people tried by the court to 66 for mutany. most of them because of the fighting in the northeast of the country where boca ra boko haras been attacking villages and killing people. 10s of thousands have been displaced from their home because of these attacks. >> how much progress is the military making in efforts to retake territory lost to boko haram? >> reporter: well, the nigerian military over the last few weeks have succeeded in liberating many towns and villages in the northeast especially in the northeast, so far they have liberated a town taken over by the insurgents, about two months ago. and then they have liberated the

towns of hong and where they fled to initially. and security forces and now the military says it is advancing on the northern part of the places like that and surrounding villages and well in to the southern part of the state to try to recapture territory held by boko haram. and so far boko haram is holding lots of territory, a lot of areas seized from the military over the last one year in its operations or rather in its tacks in the northeast. >> thank you. now, columbia's fork farces rebels say say they will lay down mayor weapons as long as they are not not attacked. 50 years of armed conflict has costed $225,000. but the government has vowed to continue military operations until a final deal is reached.

in 2012 havana has hosted the ending of the conflict. they have reached agreements on lands reform and a political future for the rebels to be put in place in a deal is reached. the government suspended talks in november after the farc abducted an army general, the negotiations resumed only after he was released. >> translator: we have resolved to declare a ceasefire and put an end to the hostility for an indefinitely time which should transform in to an armstead. it will only end if we are taxed by the military. jordan has called on israel to withdraw from occupied palestinian lands, al jazerra's diplomatic editor james bays has the details from u.n. head quarters in new york. >> reporter: a series of diplomatic meetings after weeks of speculation about a palestinian draft resolution. would it finally be submitted formally to the u.n. security

council? >> we have a draft, yes, and we will be happy to give it to you after, you know, it is adopted by the arab group and asking our brothers from jordan to take it to the security council. >> reporter: but moments later, as the jordanian representative arrived for the meeting of arab ambassadors, she said that was news to her. >> oh, yeah, okay. >> reporter: did he tell you that? >> no, i have to see him. i haven't seen anybody yet. >> reporter: jordan is key it holds the arab seat on the security kin sill. the 15 members of the council are the only countries that can propose a restless luge, jordan's ambassador made it clear she didn't want to submit a resolution that didn't have consensus, in other words, that language that might trigger a u.s. vote veto. in the end they poured over the warding adding a year of negotiation to the 2-year deadyr headline tending.

at a second meeting jordan agreed to formally submit the resolution which is known in u.n. jar began as putting the resolution in blue. but the palestinian ambassador says it does not mean a vote will take place yet. >> it will be submit in the blue as we are speak buying our jordanian brothers. >> reporter: but you are not pushing it to a vote right now? >> we are willing to work with those who want to work with us in the security council in a positive and constructive way for things of meaningful things that we can look at them, you know, in a positive, open minds and open heart. >> reporter: the palestinians said they would submit a resolutions to the u.n. security council. and they have. but in many ways it doesn't change much here at the u.n. in new york. the draft text has a time line for the creation of a palestinian state and that is something that the u.s. is likely to oppose. and so the negotiations continue. james bays, al jazerra, at the united nations. a future palestinian state has also been raised at the european union.

the e.u. voted in statement in principle but stopped short of officially recognizing palestine as a country. they ordered that hamas be removed from the e.u.'s list of tire orist organizations. the bodies of 230 people have been found in a mass grave in eastern syria. activists from the syrian observatory from human rights say they were members of a tribe that battled isil fighters. the united nations says it's raised about $3 billion for syria and its neighboring countries this year, but that was only half of the funds needed the u.n.'s humanitarian chief has told al jazerra that because there is no likely end to the crisis soon more money is urgently needed. >> i think we are in a terrible place. of course on the humanitarian side we are doing our best to, you know, feed people, make sure that they get healthcare, make sure that children are being educated. but none of this is going to fix

what is a deep, deep tragedy for the people of syria. and the reason that i said we have run out of words is because every time we use a new figure for syria, we use the word unprecedented. four years ago when i first went to syria, we talked about a million people in need. that figure is now over 12 million. people around the world don't know how to responds to this. they have no sense of what this 12 million looks like. and when we talk about the brutality, the barrel bombs, people being raped, tortured, maimed on a regular basis, i think the world just doesn't know how to respond. because, of course, we look to our political leadership to find a solution, it has not been possible because of the deep differences that exist and every time i brief the security council i say we need a political solution and i say it

knowing that one is not around the corner. the indian space research organization has successfully launched the country's heaviest and most powerful commercial rocket. the rocket which lifted off from a southern state takes india a step closer towards it's a human space flight program. joining us from new delhi now, tell us more about why the rocket launch is so important and what it could potentially lead to. >> reporter: well, this rocket launch had a dual function, firstly it was carrying an unmanned crew capsule and what scientists were really looking to find out was what they could sends a manned crew capsule in to space but also bring it home back in to earth's atmosphere safely. india has had a longstanding ambition to end its own astronauts in to space and they now say that they will be able do that within the next eight years. now, the other purpose of this rocket launch was commercial.

it likely said it was the heaviest rocket launched india weighing just over 630-tons what it does is it allow india to offer other countries the chance to launch their own communication satellites from india, satellites weighing as much as 5,000-kilograms. india has already launched smaller satellites, 67 so far, many for foreign countries and this is a very lucrative business for the country, earning it millions of dollars, so now they are able to expand their service, a how foreign countries to come here and launch much, much heavier communication satellite from india. >> all right, there is a commercial purpose as you say. it's also about scientific progress, if you like. how closely is the public watch this is rocket launch? is had something that they are proud of? do they care about it? >> reporter: well, it's -- the indian space program has been, you know, has been a point of

pride for indians because it's had many, many successful missions over the last few years. it launched recently a mars mission, able to go in to orbit in mars on its first try. that's the first time any country in the world has been able to do that. and it's the first asian nation to be able to do that as well. and what is more interesting, actually, is that it's been able to achieve this at the fraction of the cost that other countries have been able to. india's mars mission cost around $70 million. now, if you compare that to nasa, nasa paid about 670 punish million dollar$671 million to ar things, so it is a point of pride for indians and they are looking forward to the space program achieving greater milestones in the years to come. >> thank you. still ahead for you on al jazerra this half hour, as the u.n. prepares to launch a new

ada peel for syrians we'll get reactions from a refugees camp in lebanon, entertainment giants sony cancels the release of a move on north korea.

♪ ♪ welcome back. you are watching al jazerra. let's take you through the top stories. over half a century of hostility could be coming to a close. the presidents of the united states and cuba announce they will be restoring diplomatic relations but ending the country less economic embargo will still

require the approval of a reluck to want u.s. congress, nigeria has se sentenced 54 sol years to death for refuse to go fight boko haram. they were charged with mutany to help recapture three towns held by the group of the u.n.'s human tear i didn't know chief has told us the funds ned needed were 50% short short. they have due to launch a new appeal within the coming hours. now, in a couple of hours time russian president vladimir putin will be holding his annual big press conference over 1200 journalists are register today attend and the president conference has lasted as long as five hours in the pass, he's expected to address a variety of issues, including crime and the crisis in ukraine. but since the ruble has lost more than half of its value the majority of questions will lick likely be about the slumping economy. you might wonder why some russians have been buying up electronics and cars in recent

days, rory challands in moscow explains. >> reporter: an up market showroom selling expensive german cars doesn't seem an obvious winner with the economy tanking. but these are strange times in russia and audi is happy to be doing brisk business. >> translator: it is simple. you can buy one car for $50,000, now you can buy two for the same money. >> reporter: now even in i wanted to buy this car, i can't. because it's sold. so is this one, so is this one, pretty much everything in this showroom has recently been sold. now, it may seem counter intuitive in the middle of a financial crisis to go shopping, but there is logic to this spree. the logic is this, the distributor imported and priced these cars at an exchange rate that bears no connection to current realities. when new stock is imported it will be bought with a ruble that's collapsed in value and

consumer price says will rocket. sergei is buying a tv to take advantage of a situation he knows won't last. >> translator: it depends on what people planned to buy before but decided not to wait any further. we didn't expect the situation to get better soon. >> reporter: that's the thing. this is a bonanza with a fatalistic edge, russia's economy is in deep trouble. and people know they will soon feel the pain. >> translator: one should not allow things like this to happen. they should not allow people to speculate on the ruble. of course it influences ordinary people. i don't like the situation. >> reporter: some retailers seem paralyzed not knowing what prices they should ar be chargingment apple has closed its russian online store, rory challe and, al jazerra, moscow. now, there are close to 7 million registered syrian refugees worldwide. lebanon has take then more than 1.2 million of them. zena is at a refugees camp, and

she joins us live now. and zena, we have been hearing from the u.n. human tear queen chief saying aid is falling far short of what is needed. what does that mean for the people on the ground there? what have this they been saying to you? >> reporter: well, it's simple, people cannot survive without help, without assistance from the you nations nations as well as other charity organizations. the it's cold, people are living in tents they can't afford schools in lebanon, public schools cannot absorb them. life is difficult. they have last everything back home. their livelihoods, jobs and today's conference really in berlin participants will be discussing the refugees crisis, which has been described as the worse humanitarian crisis worldwide. what they will be discussing is a long-term strategy, they are

no longer just discussing a short-term strategy handing out water bottles and handing out foot and basic surprise that these people need. this is a problem that is going to last. and so what the participants in berlin will be talking about is create something sort of structures so these people can survive. but when you talk to refugees here and tell them that the world is laying some sort of long-term strategy, it makes them worry even more because what it means is even the international community is realizing that they are not returning any time soon. >> lebanon itself, zeina, is a fragile country in many ways, how is the government and the people there coping with the influx of refugees? >> reporter: yes, lebanon is a fragile country. leak nice officials have been appealing for international assistance for years now, the economy here is in shambles. country has been over chemmed by the burden of these refugees, 1.1 million registered.

and there are believed to be hundreds of thousands of other syrians here and this is a country of 4 million people. lebanon's resources are strained. the infrastructure is strained. public schools have not absorb these people and it's not just that, there are social tensions. you talk to any refugees here they say we can't even leave the camp to try to find work because there is so much resentment against them and this is really the fear because lebanon is so involved in the syrian crisis, there is political tensions here. every time tensions rise, the syrian refugees pay the price, it's not just a question of economic hardships. these people do not feel safe here. they would rather go back home but they just can't do that. >> all right, zeina, thanks very much. there in lebanon. now, pakistan's prime minister is vowing to continues fighting what he's calling the war against terrorism. lifting a ban on the death penalty for terror related cases

after taliban gunmen killed more than 140 people in a school massacre on tuesday. the pakistani taliban have leased picture of the mena tacking the school. they say it was in retaliation for the military offensive against them in the northwest of the country. a suicide bomber has killed a policeman and injured three others on the outskirts of afghanistan's capital. police say the attacker was attempted to drive in to kabul in a car laden with explosives when he was stopped by officers. a public inquiry has dismissed allegations that his prettying soldier unactuallily killed people. 13,000 documents and statements from 610 witnesses. it found that some claims of around 20 iraqis were lies and speculation. the judge, though, found they were mistreated. deprived of food, water, and sight for almost 20 hours. haiti's president has been

meeting. massive protests calling for a new government. the prime minister and his cabinet resigned on sunday now mrs. pressure on the president to appoint an interrupt prime minister. the demonstrators accused them of corruption. sony has canceled a movie. the film is a comedy depicting the assassination of north korea's leader, gabriel elizondo reports now from new york. >> hello, north korea! >> reporter: it was billed as a controversial fictional comedy centered on a reclusive world leader but in reality nobody is laughing. the december 25th theatrical release of the interview has now been called off by sony pictures, the studio that made the film. it was prompted after a hacking group calling themselves guardians of peace up soaked the a tacked of september 11th, 2001 threatening violence at the

premier at this theater. it's a highly controversial comedy where the main characters are asked to kill kim jong un. it's been the talk of late night tv in america. >> these guys play tv journalists recruited by the cia to a sit nas kim jong un. i assume by smoking pot at him. [ laughter ] apparently all sour campus over there doesn't have a great sense of hume her when it comes to his ona sass nation. >> reporter: in north career arc it's no joking matter. the government has called the film an act of terror and intolerable. sony pictures now find itself in the worst crisis in its history after company internal files and e-mails were hacked by the same group in recent weeks that made headlines in the gossip pages, before moving to the threat of violence. despite halting the film's release, sony pictures puts out a statement saying that they stands by the movie and the right to free expression for their filmmakers.

but the crisis could have wide ramifications for the much i-making industry. >> studios by nature are very risk averse and are risk managers. so what the result of what has happened to sony is probably going to make them take a second or a third or fourth look at their projects to detect if there is anything that is potentially controversial or sensitive to partys who would have the the ability to do something. >> reporter: what started as a relatively minor hacking incident has grown much larger than anybody could have ever managed. now sony pictures running to the emergency exit on a movie comedy that has become a real life drama. gabriel elizondo, al jazerra, new york. and one more note for you on that story. the draft house cinema in texas is in a defiant mood they are going to be playing a free screening of the paramount movie free america which rid you calls kim jong un father.

you can keep up to all of our story on aljazerra.com. there you will find comments, analysis, video on demand including blogs from our reporters, do check tout the address for that aljazerra.com. >> turning their backs on a half century of u.s.-cuba relations, presidents barack obama and raul castro announce that their two countries are on their way to normal relations. that's inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. one of the final chapters of the coar