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tv   News  Al Jazeera  January 17, 2015 3:00am-3:31am EST

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early in choir is in to possible war crimes. the i.c.c. investigates actions within the palestinian territories. ♪ ♪ old hell owe from doha, this the is world news from al jazerra. protests in australia. hunger strikes and self harming are taking place at a hold fag silt in pa new guinea. the syrian refugees stuck in a
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camp in lebanon. the pope visits a scene of last year's devastating typhoon in the philippines but cuts short his stay because of bad weather. the united states says the international criminal courts probe in to possible war crimes in the occupied palestinian territories is, quote a tragic irony. the i.c.c. preliminary investigation will look there nba to israel's assault in july and august and could result in charges on either the it really or palestinian side. more now from our diplomatic editor james bays. >> reporter: over 2,100 dead, almost 500 of them children. the war in gaza made 2014 the deadliest year for palestinians since 1967. now the very first stage of a
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legal process that could see war crimes charges launched. when the palestinian president mahmoud abbas signed the rome statue the treaty that governors the international criminal court on the last day of last year, he also signed a declaration giving the court jurisdiction from the 13th of june 2014. the chief prosecutor of the court has now launched a preliminary examination in to events from that date. in effect initial i choir i to see if she should launch a formal investigation n a statement, she said, upon receipt of a referral or a valid declaration, the office of the prosecutor is a matter of policy and practice opens a preliminary examination of the situation at hand. accordingly the prosecutor has opened a preliminary examination in to the situation in palestine. the office will conduct its analysis in full independence and impartiality. from jerusalem the reaction was swift and angry. prime minister netanyahu said,
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it's absolutely scandalous just days after terrorists butchered juice in france the general prosecutor is beginning an inquiry against the state of the jews and only because we defend our citizens from hamas. unfortunately, this probe renders the i.c.c. part of the problem and not part of the solution. experts, though, say the prosecutor's move is not politically motivated. >> i think thes the israeli authorities should understand this is a judicial practice sews and inherent in that is impartiality and application of law to facts. they also need to understand that the prosecutor will be looking at serious crimes committed by israelis as well as serious crimes committed by palestinians. >> reporter: it's almost three weeks since the palestinians signed up to the rome statute. their aim then was partly legal
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but also political. they knew that the legal process now in its very earliest stage was going to be extremely drawn out, politically though, in this highly charged period of an israeli election campaign, they are already making waves. james bays, al jazerra the united nations. to other news, australia has confirm protests take place at a holding facility for asylum seek nurse new guinea. it denies there are riots there. australia sigh lum seekers trying to reach australia are taken to holding centers while their application is assessed. some detainees who sought that better life in australia are now going on hunger strike or harming themselves. >> reporter: in sydney, she is on the phone to her brother. it's stressful. her brother is in hospital, he is deliberately swallowed razor blades, she is worried he might
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day. >> he is very sad. he's not normal. he is not normal. he is not my brother. >> reporter: in december 2013 an asylum seeker from egypt caught a boat for australia. he was trying join his sister and his daughter, boat had flown to sydney in 2008, been given refugees visas and have since become australian citizens, but he was not so lucky. to deter others from coming asylum seekers taking boats for australia are sent trade to papa newpapanew guinea and kept in camps their. earlier this year, protests began on the islands water shortages triggered them. detainees are now taking showers with rain water but the broadest issue is open-ended detention and the fear that the scenario is released in to a community that doesn't want them. a year ago other protests at the camp led to people breaking
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in and beating detainees, one person was kill. on the island some have gone on hunger strikes and stitch up their list, her brother swallowed razor blades. >> my brother is not like other people. trust me, he's very kind. he's a very good man. he's not that man. >> reporter: australia's government has described the situation on the island as volatile, but says it won't change its policy. >> the absolute resolve of me as the new minister and of the government is to make sure that for those transferees they will never arrive in australia. >> this is the human result of cruelty. individuals attempting to take their own lives. >> reporter: new guinea's government has denied any violence at the camp.
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riot police seen outside were pru cautionary, but tensions are high. andrew thomas, al jazerra sydney. there have been protests in several countries against charlie hebdo. a soldier and three others killed during demonstrates, protesters attacked a french culture center and set fires to three churches. in nigeria three officers were injured. dozens arrested. they are angry at the new front cover of charlie hebdo. depicting the profit mohamed which many muslims find deeply offensive. it was the first edition since gunmen killed 12 people at its office in paris 10 days ago. pakistan demonstrations turned violent. plus used water cannon and rubber coated steel bullets to clear protesters from the french consulate. 12 suspects linked to those attacks have been arrestered in a series of raids to france,
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some are believe the to have provided logistical information. the funeral for the he had tar has been held. he was one of 17 people killed during the three days of the attacks. also the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has arrived in paris to offer his condolences. he visited the charlie hebdo office and the jewish super market where hostages were killed. the two brothers who were suspected of carrying out the first attack were french citizens born in paris to parents of algeria decent. barnaby phillips huh been looking at their lives. >> reporter: when the french think of the suburbs many think of bleak high rise housing on the edge of paris like here where one lived. when i came to his apartment i found a well maintained building. full of ordinary people leading ordinary lives. and neighbors who noticed nothing unusual about him.
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>> translator: he was unremarkable. he seemed transparent. he would say hello good evening. he was always alone. and he rode his bicycle kept it at the back, just like me. this was him 2004. the orphan who had become a rapper and small-time criminal. but was slowly falling under the influence of radical islam. the brothers belonged to this mosque popular with young muslims. the iman showed me around. and insisted he has no memories of the brothers. >> translator: this mosque welcomes a huge number of people. there were a thousand praying here last friday. so how can i know one person from another. anyway the mosque is not here to play detective. we are here to teach the principles of islam. >> reporter: we have come to a prison outside paris now it was here that sharif spent several
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years ago in a platted to send militants to iraq and we think it was here that he meant a man also serving time. now prisons have played a crucial role in the spread of radical islam in france, we think that both men were hardened by their experiences here. these pictures were secretly taken inside that same prison around the time he was there. they show what a squalid degrading place it was. a place where anger festered. he was in the same prison and also in guantanmo. he trained with al qaeda in afghanistan. now he says france must do more to stop radical ideas spreading in prisons. >> translator: young prisoners take refuge in religion because prison is so terrible. many young people are looking for something to hold onto. they have questions and they go seeking answers request they can
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find them. >> reporter: so how many more are out there? the authorities are looking for others like them. but france needs to build a society where more people feel they belong and are not tempted to lash out in rage. barnaby phillips, al jazerra paris. in neighboring belgium five people are charged with being connected to a terrorist group following a series of nationwide raids by the police. two suspects were killed which they opened fire at officers south east of the capital brussels. haitian president says a consensus government will be announced within the next two days after more violent practice tests calling for the president to resign. parliament was dissolved on tuesday after its term expired leaving haiti without a government. since then he has been ruling by decree. teachers in the mexican state of guerrero are refusing to go back to class because they fear for their safety. 22 teachers have been killed in the state in the last two months and the the families still
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searching for the 43 missing students more than four months after they disappeared more from adam raney in mexico city. >> reporter: the. >> reporter: these 22 teachers that were killed along with eight others that were kidnapped were working in the city of all ca pole co. it's become one of the most violent cities in the country. additionally we are hearing reports that teachers in the mountains above acapulco has also come under threat and several killed or kidnaps in recent weeks, we have been unable to independently confirm that though. this goes back to november when the teachers in acapulco began to be threatened by gangs who were asking for their christmas bonuses those that didn't give in on the extortion were kidnapped or killed. what we have seen in the state of guerrero are hundreds of schools closing since november. still 110 schools closed in the city of acapulco, 15,000 students there have been unable to attend classes since november. many receiving instruction from their parents at home.
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this all goes to show the insecurity in that city, acapulco and in the state of guerrero it's, of course, become known around the world in recent days and weeks for the disappearance of more than 40 students who went missing in september. now, the teachers in the city of acapulco say they are not going to return to their work until the state can guarantee safety. they don't say what that means but never got going back to work until they feel safe. in the fuse ahead on al jazerra. >> what i can do is to continue to encourage you. reassess this country. nigeria's president trying to rally the troops after another boko haram attack. and rory's ace in abu dhabi for his first hole in one on tour.
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♪ ♪ the top stories on al jazerra, the united states says planned investigation by the international criminal court in to possible war crimes committed if gaza is a tragic irony. also israel's prime minister is labels the i.c.c. decision as scandalous. australian government concerning protests have been held at a holding facility for sigh al jazerra sigh lum seekers but denies there is rioting where some have been on you hunger strike or harmed themselves. bat weather has cause the pope to cut short his visit to the philippines, he had to to leave four hours early because
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i've tropical storm. syrian refugees near the town in lebanon are battling freezing temperatures and a lack of access to aid. for the past few months they have not been allowed to leave the camps without special security permission. bad weather is also restricting access to to the place which hosts the most syrian refugees in lebanon. nicole johnston reporting for us looks like snow on the ground there. just hour people coping with winter? >> reporter: they are having a very difficult time. kamal. as you were saying. this is the largest concentration of syrian refugees in lebanon to put that in to perspective for you the local population here is around 40,000 people. and now here, at any one time there can be between 70,100,000 syrian refugees. now what you'll notice about this camp behind me, is unlike the camps that you see in jordan and turkey, this isn't a huge enemas camp of 10s or hundreds
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of thousand of people it's a smaller camp but there are hundreds of these smaller camps all over lebanon. they are informal camps. >> the lebanese government hasn't set up a formal established camp. it doesn't want to encourage the syrian refugees to his stay here for good. so we have these smaller ones that have popped up. and this is making it very difficult for aid agencies to get in here to give them heating, oil for their heating we have spoken to people, they say this they are not getting enough food. obviously the town's resources are stretch today the limit. and the reports are that over the laugh couple of weeks, we have had 10 syrian refugees in lebanon die from the cold. we have just been told by people here that three children in this area here also died. so it's a very desperate situation. we have met a number of people in different areas of lebanon. other people are in-houses, for example, that haven't been finishes off or sheds or huts.
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people of living anywhere that they can. but because of the difficult weather situation, as well as the security situation in some of these areas the aid agencies just can't get in, to give people what they need and in many cases the charities don't have enough anyhow. >> can you tell me, brieflily about the security situation what it is that makes arsal such a hotspot? >> reporter: that's right this area is getting a lot of attention at the moment. it really started in august when we had fighters who ledged their allegiance to the islamic state of iraq and the levant as well as fighters from the nusra front on the outskirts of town in the mountains, they moved here in to the center of arsal it was a big shock for the lebanese people and the lebanese government. we had a five-day gun battle, very difficult tense situation the leak knees army was involved. but eventually both sides agreed
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to a ceasefire those fighters moved out of town here, they took with them almost 30 policemen and soldiers as hostages a number have been killed. 25 are still being held, you can see this is still a very tense situation for this town here and the fighters are not far away, they are on the outskirts of town some 20-kilometers from here this area is close to the syrian border, it's a wide sort of porous boarder with mountains, the fighters can cross back and forewards. so this is the situation here. the lebanese army is concerned about security here, which is why starting in august they start today gradually close off this town and this became official in december. now the people who live here are not allowed out of here unless they have special permission. now that's difficult for the local residents but they are able to get out at different times, the real problem though, is the syrian refugees who live here are closed in. they can't get out.
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they are not allowed to go anywhere else in lebanon to try to find jobs. so they say it feels like living in a prison. you know, they are stuck here in their refugees camps they can't find any work for their families and her not allowed out. whereas other syrian refugees inside lebanon have the freed town travel in different parts of lebanon some areas have curr curfews but as i just explained the worse situation is here where we have the lebanese army surrounding this town on the hilltops, they say that they are trying to keep control of the security here and that's left the people here in a very difficult situation. >> nicole johnston with a live report from the refugees camp in arsal lebanon, thank you nicole. people of libya have hit the streets of trib lee to demonstrate against the u.n. mediated talks. they called is blatant intervention by foreign country in libya's internal affairs. earlier on friday the u.n.
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announced libyan negotiators had agreed to works towards a unity government. this is bahrain, at least 150 people out on the streets there on friday to demands the release ofof the opposition leader. saudi arabia has postponed the public flogging of a blogger because the wounds from a previous beating have not healed. he is also certain a 10-year jail sentence, he was arrested in 2012, charged with insulting islam. the suicide bombers killed five people and injured 10 others in northern nigeria in a night market. hours earlier could you are at this agents detain aid driver with a car with explosive and box-making materials no one has claimed responsibility. well soldiers bound to retake two northern nigeria towns captured by boko haram. the armed groups killed more
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than 2,000 people. the government of chad has now sent its troops to neighboring cameroon to help in the fight against the insurgency. the two countries have recently come under cross border attacks from boko haram fighters. nigeria's president goodluck jonathan has been visiting soldiers in the attacks. critics are questioning the government strategy and calling for foreign intervention to combat the armed group. >> reporter: driving to lift the soldiers' morale. goodluck jonathan visited the soldiers. he says his last trip they have lost come rats and territory in their fights against boko haram. >> when i passed through here yes, there are negative stories. what i can do is to continues to encourage you to do your best for this country. and surely you will be rewarded accordingly.
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>> reporter: but some nigerians argue the troops aren't getting support they need. >> this military is not equipped to deal with the fight. this military is not funded. nigerians are frustrated. nigerians are in desperate situation at this time. and in any circumstance or any other circumstances, you really would say yes, we would welcome foreign intervention in this matter because this government has shown total lack of the capacity. total unwillingness. >> reporter: jonathan also med survivors of boko haram violence here too he made a promise that they will be home soon. >> let me reassure all and internally displaced person that the government is working very hard to make sure that you don't stay in these camps for too long. >> reporter: while some welcomed that promise by the president many say they have heard it before. >> translator: his visit is of
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no use, where was he all this time? economy downed the french when people were killed. why has it taken so long to share our grief. i think this is all politics. >> reporter: jonathan is facing the toughest battle of his political career with presidential elections just a few weeks away, his popularity has taken a hit as government failed to rein in boko haram some see his visit as a ploy to connect with voters, but his handlers deny in. now the victims of boko haram attacks wait patientsly and hope the president keeps his promises. al jazerra abuja. now, bad weather has forced pope francis to cut short his visit to typhoon survivors in the philippines the pontiff had been meeting with survivors of typhoon haiyan in tacloban when he had to rush to the airport four hours ahead of schedule. earlier he held an open-air mass for hundreds of thousands of people despite the heavy rain and strong winds. more now.
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>> reporter: it was just across the road here at the cathedral that pope francis announced that he would have to cut his visit short. he said that his pilot had advised that a typhoon that is causing the winds and rains that you can see now was getting in the way of the flight plan and if they didn't leave earlier they would be caught up and would be a dangerous to fly. so he made the announcement, he made his apologies and he said he was personally disappoint. he was supposed to be having an intimate lunch with 30 typhoon survivors and listening to their stories and also supposed to open the center, the pope francis center for the poor. those were accomplished, however, it was done at a much faster speed than had been expected. he also at the cathedral behind me visited a mass grave where many victims of typhoon haiyan were buried. this is, of course, a much weaker typhoon but it's
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happening at an unusual time. typhoon season in the philippines used to be just between july and august, but you are getting them around the year now and experts say that's because of climate change. and that ties in to the pope's visit. because the pope decided to come here to sends a message to make a point that he was siding with the victims the most vulnerable the poorest who are bearing the brunt of climate change that they are least responsible form the philippines only contributes 0.25% of global carbon emissions and there are crucial talks coming enough paris later on in the year, the pope wants the vatican to play a significant role in getting those stalled talks started and an agreement reached. now, crews in china are recovering bodies from a tug boat that capsized in the river. stayed media is reporting 22 passengers are confirmed dead and at least one missing.
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the 30-meter boat was undergoing sea trials on thursday when it sank. 2014 was the warmest year on record with global temperatures above the long-term average. this analysis was published by the u.s. space agency nasa. it means that 14 of the 15 warmest years have occurred since the turn of the millennium. tailed tan hasgerald tan has the detail. >> reporter: if you thought 2014 felt warm in usual, you were right. last year was the planet's hottest on record. nearly every region from eastern russia to north africa and interior south america experienced higher temperatures. this chart shows of average change in global temperatures since 1880. the u.s. space agency nasa measures this on a 30-year baseline from 1951 to 1980. 2014 was 0.68 degrees celsius above the average and it's part of an unward trends were the 10
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warmest years in recorded history have all come off 1997. this map illustrates the long-term changes in earth's temperature. red, orange and yellow are warmer areas while blue is colder. climate sign scientists say the latest statistics should end any doubt about global warming. >> it's reasonable to suspect that when kind of the natural forces that affect our climate align in the same direction as the greenhouse gases that we are putting in the atmosphere, we may see another jump up in temperature in the coming decades. >> reporter: pressure continues to grow in nations to control their carbon footprint. the last time earth set an annual record for cold was more than a century ago in 1911. gerald tan, al jazerra. now rory mcilroy has hit many fabulous shots in his career but not like this one.
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the world number one popped in his first ever hole in one of his professional career in abu dhabi. the 25-year-old northern irishman also birdied the last hole to leave him two streaks behind tournament leader martin kay her. >> there is a new rule book for dealings between cuba and the united states. the obama administration is released a new set of guidelines governing rules for travel money, technology and more. now the hard part starts. that's inside story. hello, i'm ray suarez. beca