this is al jazerra. ♪ ♪ hole there, i am felicity barr and you are watching the news our live from london. coming up. yemen's leadership on the edge. houthi fighters take over the presidential palace in the capital sanaa before their leader addresses the country. >> translator: at this defining moment in the history of our homeland, we are going through a critical moment. also ahead, nine policemen are killed in iraq as isil

fighters attack the compound of an influential tribal leader. and world leaders in business moguls come together for the world's economic forum. ♪ ♪ hello, it has been a turbulent and fast-moving day in yemen. the leader of the shia rebels, abdul malik al houthi address the on television. after fighting in which two soldiers were killed. he blamed president hoodie for instability by failing to honor peace deals with the houthis and for corruption in his government. u.s.-backed leader is currently thought to be trapped inside the palace itself. planned talks to did views the tensions have been canceled with al houthi, blaming the government to stalling what he calls a critical moment of change in the country.

>> translator: at this defining time in the history of our homeland, we are going through a critical moment, which is made worse by the negative approach of many internal forces. especially those holding the reins of power and those holding the reins of decision making. this is led by the president. >> well, al jazerra's omar has more details from the southern yemeni city of aden. >> reporter: the shia leader held the actions of his fighters in sanaa and other parts of the country he also says this is a crucial part for yemen. he cite criticized parties for failing to taking place over the last few years. it's clear to many here, that who is in charge of yemen in reference to the houthi need of now. what's interesting is that as he

was speaking his fighters are in control of the presidential palace and they are surrounding the house of president hoodie in sanaa. they are also surrounding the prime minister's office. it's very interesting to see how things will play out and i think this is a new chapter in the history of yemen. >> all right so who are the main players in sanaa right now? well, the heidis took control of the capital back in september. making them yemen's de facto top power. they adhere to a branch of shia islam and are trying to win greater autonomy for their northern heartland as well as greater representation in government. then, of course, there is president hoodie. happened hoodie who has u.s. back interesting is seen as weak and cannot make decisions without houthi approval. foreign powers are accused of iran backing shia rebels.

the government it seized weapons from eye happen destined for the houthis. on the other side is the sunni power, saudi arabia which supports president hoodie. happened and with more now on the top leader, here is kim vinnell. >> reporter: al houthi has risen to power largely staying out of the spotlight. he has mean the chief negotiators for the rebels. also behind attacks like this. this was sanaa in september as houthi fighters advance odd the capital targeting the national television compound. a week later the streets were littered with debris. evidence a fierce battle.

al houthi's fighters took control allowing hadi to remain in charge. but his teach stretched far beyond the capital. >> translator: today we have a new form of got based on national participation and integrity. such government can serve the country and its people and it the reality will change in to something bet even it includes a significant package on all political. security and military levels. >> reporter: huge sit son of a cleric part of a shia family and was raised in northwestern yemen. he took over when his brother and founder of the houthis houssine al houthi was killed by government tuesday in 2004. the family says they descend from the prophet mohamed. so for his support he he was chosen from the stars. relations between houthi and the yemeni president was strayed from the start. -- strained from the start.

>> we feel there. >> translator: we feel there was a conspiracy prepared from abroad. many powers came together. those that lost interest in yemen or those pushed by personal grievance to his take their revenge on their country rather than on the individual or opportunistic that take advantage of any disaster to take advantage of the country reu6789 conspiracy or not the houthis stayed in the capital and accused hadi of failing to implement their demands those demands were largely to have a big say in government and in the drafting of a new constitution. but as the crisis in yemen worsens, it's becoming increasingly clear that it's abdul malik al huge and i his fighters who are in charge. >> i can tell you the u.n. security council has held a meet to go discuss the cries let yemen. our diplomatic editor james bays joins us from the u.n. head quarters in new york. any word out of that meeting yet, james? >> reporter: yeah, the meeting took place over two hours, two hours in which the battles while the security council were

meeting, the battles were raging in yemen and they were getting reports coming in, develops in sanaa as they were meeting discussing the situation. it took them sometime after the end of their meet to go come up with a statement. we do now have a statement released by the u.n. security council in the last hour as you would expect they are urging dialogue, they are urging that this be resolved by peaceful means. they want a lasting ceasefire put approximate place but i think the most significant part of the statement is the bit about president hadi. it says the members of the security council under line that president hadi is the legitimate authority based on election results and the terms of the gulf cooperation council initiative and implementation mechanism. it goes on the members of the security council emphasize all parties and political actors in yemen must stand with president hadi the prime minister and yemen's cabinet to keep the country on track to stability and security. the security council making it very, very clear who they

believe is the legitimate ruler of yemen. the reality though, is this, the president at the moment is surrounded we don't believe that he has much freedom of movement. his prime minister is in a similar state we believe the minister of defense and the minister of interior also surrounds. there have been talks in the -- talk in the last couple of hours of some sort of coup. i think it's pretty clear that the houthis have not declared a coup, but they are i think, in a state to do so if they wanted. >> james, you were saying what the -- basically what you are saying is that the u.n. and the international community have, of course invested quite heavily in backing president hadi, haven't they? >> reporter: they have. they believe that he is the only man to lead yemen to have this national dialogue and to bring the country together. they have been saying this and trying to urge mediation and

everyone to get together for months and months and months and nothing has happened. they have tried as well as the carat, they have tried the stick approach, they have tried sanctions, sanctions houthi leaders and form the former president that didn't work either. not many tools left in the u.n.'s armism they are certainly not prepared to take any sort of military action, none of the members of the security council reimmediately interested in any involvement on the ground in yemen. it comes to the man that has a thankless job and that is the special adviser because he is the u.n. special adviser and doing the job for a long time and he will be landing in sanaa we believe in just a matter of hours time trying to start mediation in these extremely difficult circumstances. >> james at the u.n. in new york. thanks james. with me now in the studio is aiyana craig a journalist who

lived and reported from yemen for four years thanks for coming in to the studio. what position do you think president hadi is in right now? he's in a very vulnerable state. >> he is in a very weak position. when the houthis took it state in sent they could have kicked him out then and didn't. again we have seen in the last 24 hours that his position has got even weaker, but for the houthis, they could have seized control on both occasions boatright now and back in september. and at any time since then. but they chose not to. >> why haven't they? >> it goes back to the issue that the houthis a it appears don't want to take control themselves. evening when they took sanaa in september, the new peace deal the pmpa was agreed upon after they did that and it forced a new government to be created of course even then they didn't

actually have houthi members in ministerial positions because if they do that, if they physically take the power themselves then they are responsible for running the country, they are also then accountable to the people and when the economy collapses the government collapses, they are responsible for all of that. so at the moment, really they are taking control from behind the scenes so they've got hands in a lot of the ministries, particularly on -- over issues of finance and where the money is coming and going. so there is this kind of silent hand of them being involved very much in the running of the day-to-day business of government without actually being the visible surface of it, if you would like. >> they are involved in running the country sensual by but do you want the responsibility. so why escalate things thousand? why have they got to this particular point? is it about leveraging some sort of pressure president hadi to give them more? >> yes it's exactly that. and i think al houthi made that clear in his speech. and that seemed to be the case anyway, the way the tension was building we have had this draft

constitution that's been in the making for sometime. and that was handed over to president hadi in the last 10 days. the houthis were not happy with that. the way particularly the issue you of federalism and how yemen would be divided in to six federal regions. so this all came to a head then when the chief of staff was kidnapped on saturday. again to use as leverage. and then this violence broke out. and it seemed to be initially when there was a ceasefire that then negotiations were being made and almost a yemeni tribal way of right, we will release the chief of staff but we want to you change the draft constitution in exchange for that much the houthis have learned that they can use violence in order to get their way. and they can literally twist the president's arm by doing that. so really it's not in their benefit at the moment for hadi to go. if they can still manipulate him. >> real guy to get your analysis thanks so much for coming in. thank you. well the u.s. says it's

deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in yemen and called for an mediad to hostilities. they have also reiterated their support for president hadi and his effort to his end the tensions it all comes as two yemeni nationals have been charged with conspiring to murder american as broad and providing material support to al qaeda let's take you life to kimberly hal halkett in washington dc. kimberly tell us more about this case? >> reporter: first of all as you underscored there. the u.s. has a very strong partnership with president hadi and the relationship in yemen as part of the wider counter terrorism efforts of the united states are critical. part of this wider counter terrorism we have two charges from the department of justice today announced in the laugh few hours or so against a 36-year-old and a 30-year-old. the u.s. alleges in its

complained that the they were conspiring for commit murder against americans abroad and providing material support to al qaeda namely in afghanistan and iraq that it's alleged that these men were also recruiting another individual who was trained in pakistan and then participated in helping to care out attacks against u.s. military personnel primarily. now, what we can tell you we know is that these individuals were arrested in saudi arabia, brought to the united states, they appeared in court on january 18th and again today we are also told that should they be convicted of these charges, they would be facing life in prison. >> to go back to the security situation in yemen at the moment. it's fair to say that the u.s. itself has invested heavily in backing president hadi, hasn't it? >> reporter: absolutely. this is very, very important and critical because the united states feels that the al qaeda affiliation in yemen is particularly lethal and deadly.

and so as a result has been morgan intense amount of money for years in the form of drone strikes, which have been taking place since 20002. of course more than 100 drone strikes. lie continues cheryl, of course, because of the high number of civilian casualties despite the fact that the u.s. says these are very precise strikes taking place against counter terrorism targets, but with all of this unrest it has been taking place in the last day or so, there is deep concern, i can tell you that all aspects of u.s. security are monitor this is very carefully and concerned about the embassy in yemen and concerned about whether or not it should be evacuated. there has been a decision not to evacuate up to this point but they continue to mon or by the hour. going back to the counter terrorism efforts the real concern is the u.s., being considers president hadi to be a key u.s. ally and it's his approval for the drone strikes that allows this to happen. we know the houthis do not support those drone strikes

should the leadership of yemen change that would really put the future of that u.s. counter terrorism effort in yemen in jeopardy. >> kimberly halkett with the latest from washington d.c. thanks kimberly. well, meanwhile there has been reaction to events in sanaa in southern yemen. a group known as the southern separatist movement is calling for a million man march city of aden to show stall dare at this president hadi. there has already been a night demonstration following the speech by the rebel leader. protesters denounce what had they described as a coup and burned picture of al houthi. and video has also been post odd line which is said to show the moment houthi rebels stormed the he presidential palace in sanaa. gun fired and explosions are heard as rebels clash with republican guards near the restlessresidence of hadi. they were filmed taking control

of a presidential guard vehicle. for much more information on the cries let generally, you can, of course go to aljazerra.com where we breakdown the situation there explaining who the main players are and also has further details on what is at stake. still to come on the program, ukraine says its army units have come under attack from the russian army amid they have fighting in the country's east. program preparesas barack obama prepares for his state of the u.s. address what will it mean for u.s.-cuban relations. the top tennis player begins his quest for a fifth all en open title. [cheering and applause] but first, japan's prime minister abe has bounds to save two japanese hostages being held by isil. in an online video which al

jazerra is choosing not to show, the armed group demanded $200 million for the lease of the men. the group threaten today kill the hostages within 72 hours if its demands aren't met. abe was speaking while visiting the palestinian president. >> translator: itit is an unacceptable act to threaten us in exchange for human lives and i feel angry about it. i strongly urge them to immediately release the hostages without harming them. >> fighters from the islamic states of iraq and the levant have seized a compound belong to go an influence shall trial leader in iraq. >> the attack on the sheik's home began on sunday night in romadi in anbar province. nine gunmen were killed as gunmen blew the buildings, he led the sewn a wake inning when tribes fought against the u.s. military against al qaeda. jane arraf has more details. >> reporter: it's a very powerful message one. very tribal leaders now in

washington trying to lobby u.s. officials for more arms and more support for the tribes in their fight against isil. the attack, according to police soars, lasted for -- sources lasted for hours late sunday night isil gunmen attacked a compound the guest house basically, a sprawling compound on the edge of romadi the provincial capital. belonging to a sheik who is head of one of the clans of one of the largest tribes in that western province. after killing nine policemen most of them members of the tribe, they moved in the on compound laid explosive and blew up the buildings. now, this also marks. [ inaudible ] curse by isil further never to territory around romadi, the capital. the capital itself is largely under control of iraqi police, most of them tribal members and other iraqi security forces. but in that huge province that goes all wait up to the syrian border even government officials admit that they have lost 70% of it.

and that's what this delegation in the u.s. is trying to address. they say that unless they get direct arms from the united states and other allies, they don't stand a chance. they have been saying that while iran is arming the shia militias that have helped beat back isil in other areas no one is helping the tribes. the u.s. has said it will train limited anybodies of tribal members and try to recreate the kind of group that it had that fought successfully against al qaeda. but this time around, with the sunnis divided and the tribes under attack, it's a much tougher prospect. al jazerra continues do demand the release of its three journalist who his have now been in prison in egypt for 388 days. bahar mohamed mohamed fahmy and peter greste the wrongly accused of broadcasting falls news and helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charges they deny. an a peelings court in cairo has ordered a retrial that could begin in a month.

lawyers for peter and mohamed have filed requests for them to be deported from egypt. president obama is preparing for his annual u.s. state of the union address. he's due to take to the stage in the a capital washington, d.c. in around 4 1/2 hours to deliver his televises speech watched last year by 33 million americans. obama is expected to concentrate on domestic matters ahead of foreign policy which major announcements expect odd tax and inequality. although isil, the ebola virus and iran's mach nuclear nuke lag policy is figured to be spoken about prom at this. let's speak to the former republican senator and twice chairman of the u.s. senate relations committee. thanks for being with us. we are expecting president obama to focus mostly on domestic issues but surely he can't ignore foreign policy given what

has happened in the world over the last two months. >> well, the president won't ignore foreign policy but will come with the spirit of confidence before somewhat hostile congress and point out that the employment has improved to 5.6% during his tenure. that the country has made a gain in essence that prosperity that he has brought is important for everybody to consider. but that this is time to tackle problems of inequality in american income. he will call for taxes on the well at this, captain gains and inheritance taxes and other changes that have variety. likewise he's called for sick leave for all governmental employees, but asked for other employers to give sick leave to those who are not now granted it. likewise, he will be looking for other means to emphasize the middle class. he will call for two years of

free community college for all students. so that people can gain a college education, who are not now enrolled and what have you. this doesn't obviate the fact he probably will touchdown the changes that he's made by executive order with cuba. he cannot lift all of the embargoes and the trades barriers to cuba, congress would have to act. but the president already has sent diplomat to his cuba and there are a good number of people lined up attempting to get plane rides to cuba. and as you pointed out he will, of course, point out the problems of terrorism around the world, specifically the problems of the islamic state and the fact that the united states is involved in air strikes almost daily in behalf at least of the kurds or other parts of the iraqi government. sometimes people on the border with turkey and syria. at the same time, he will talk

about, i suppose, al qaeda a al-shabab, a whole raft of organizations perpetuating terror. it could be a source of great concern to the american people. >> but given -- senator given the terrible results for him in the midterm elections how difficult is it to get political consensus on issues like fighting isil, like iran's nuclear program? it's far more difficult for him now than it ever was before, isn't it? >> it will be very difficult. and this is why it will be important to note how well the two houses of congress work together. the new leadership of mitch mcconnell head of the senate and john boehner speaker of the house. because there are many republicans who believe that the future of the republican party will come from constructive action from actually passing legislation. now, the legislation they pass, such as the he exel pipeline, going

to canada, the president has threatened to veto the legislation, likewise the immigration measures he has proposed these are situations where the president already is threatening vetoes bills that might very well pass the two houses of congress. we have not gotten to the tax problems yet, there are very constructive proposals by many republicans, house ways and means, a comprehensive plan and others i am sure will come forward. whether those will mesh together with the president's fight against what he believes is vast inequality among the richest americans and the middle class remains to be seen. but there are possibilities. >> really good to talk to you and get your thoughts of that all-important address. senator richard luger joining us from washington, d.c. thanks so much. the senator himself was speaking a little bit about cuban-american relations.

let's speak to gabriel elizondo who is in the cuban capital havana. you have been there now for several days and you were there just after obama made that all-important announcement last month. what do you think the mood is right now amongst the cuban people? >> reporter: well, the folks that we have talked to here on the streets of havana in the last few days, in one word, there is a sense of excitement. a real buzz here in the cuban capital. and it seems like it's been building since last month when we were here right after obama made that big announcement in conjunction with the cuban government. there are really two moods here on the streets of cube right now, there are those cubans that are excited and already making preparations for what they pictures to be a flood of american tourists coming here very soon. cubans that are buying up property here, starting to turn their homes in to hotels, starting to think of little businesses that they can open to accommodate a new flood of tourists that they are ex-he

canning. but there is another group of cubans that are more cautiously optimistic. they know things will be changing but or waiting to see when it will change and how fast that change will come. but everybody here in cuba agrees that this is a country that is entering some very new uncharted territory, at least for the last 50 years being so close to this new agreement with the united states. it's just a matter now of what it all really means. >> yeah, i mean, it's a hugely important time, isn't it, for cubans? just reiterate how important it is that that embargo is finally lifted and what difference they are hoping it's going to make to their lives. i am not sure whether he can still hear me. i was stressing now how important it toss cubans -- >> reporter: i lost it.

>> clearly having a few problems with our link to havana but at least we heard gabriel el elizondo on the first answer there. all right still to come on the program. battling boko haram a regional conference in niger tries to find an answer to fighting the armed group. zambians vote for their next president after the getting of their president last year. iraq set up a quarter final show down with their fiercest rival. we'll have the latest for you from the asian cup in sport.

>> al jazeera america presents a breakthrough television event. borderland. six strangers. >> let's just send them back to mexico. >> experience illegal

immigration up close and personal. >> it's overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> lost lives are relived. >> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> will there differences bring them together or tear them apart? >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> which side of the fence are you on? borderland, sunday at 9 eastern, only on al jazeera america. ♪ ♪ hello again aim felicity barr with a reminder of the top stories from al jazerra. houthi rebels have seized the presidential pal as it ass in sanaa after two fighters were killed. japan's prime minister has vowed to save two hostages being held by isil. and u.s. president obama is expected to concentrate owe domestic matters address of foreign policy when he makes his annual state of the union address in a little over four hours time.

afghanistan's president has unveiled a new his was nominee to his join his cabinet four months after taking office. but noticeably absent is one nominee who is believed to be wanted by interpol on tax evasion charges. from kabul jennifer glasse reports. >> reporter: it took more than three months to get to this points. the president has presented his potential cabinet anybody officers to the afghan parliament that will con term are firm or reject them. he promised tell be accountable to the president the parliament and the people. >> translator: every minister should have a clear plan we will not tolerate corruption if he comes under suspect he should resign and become under investigation. >> reporter: but candidates for three ministries, dropped out even before being introduced. one is on interpol's wanted list. there are other problems with

the cabinet nominees too. 11 allegedly have dual citizenship which may disqualify them from being in government. some have had their education credentials questions. one is under 35 the minnesota age to qualify. >> translator: there is a big possibility that those that are not eligible don't have the expertise or are dual sill sense for those reasons the parliament will reject them. >> reporter: the president didn't mention any of these problems in his speech to parliament and the nation. but he did ask for more time. >> translator: went seven months of time so that we can remove corruption and bring a culture of accountability to every organization. >> reporter: but afghans are growing immaterial patient. the protracted presidential race last year and the months it's taken just to name cabinet nominees have almost shutdown government ministries and stalled an already week economy. the president's office says getting things right is worth the wait. but afghans are still waiting to

see what the new government will look like. and what it can do for them. jennifer glasse, al jazerra kabul. a regional security conference in niger has been discussing the fight against boko haram ministers from six african states attended. along with representatives from the european union the u.s. and china. united nations estimates that nearly 20,000 nigerians have fled the violence in to neighboring countries. we have the latest from niger's capital. >> reporter: when the presidents of 19 countries including international organizations like the united nations the african union, the economic community of west africa states, the european union and others shows the urgency of the situation on the ground. butt general feeling across the ring sun that much time has been wasted with these conferences going on and on and no particular force is on the ground to tackle boko haram peoples think people are losing time especially in countries affected by boko haram violence, now, there has been little coordination between countries affected by boko haram violence,

countries like cameroon, nigeria, chad and niger. there has been some form of military lines between nigeria chad and niger they sent setoguchi up a joint task force to deal with cross-border crimes in that particular region, but unfortunately, there seems to be little yards nation among all of them, that is on one side. on the side of nine year i can't and cameron there has been some form of coordination, unfortunately individual countries are tackling it the way they think best. what came up in this meeting in particular. there is little coordination between these member countryies fighting boko haram as explained by the ambassador zero niger. [ inaudible ] from chad and niger, without. [ inaudible ] in the adequate before the decision to withdraw. >> reporter: now people will want to see more action quickly

on the ground to solve the problem and to stop the humanitarian crisis developing in both my year i can't and cameroon. >> zambians are voting for their next president follow the death of michael fatah last year, they have 11 11 candidates to choose from and the personal elected will be in charge until the next elections. >> reporter: good january makes sure he's at the polling station early, he wants to be near the front of the lionel. zambians are choice new president. someone to replace michael fatah who was sick and died in office last year. good januarygideon says the health of the candidates is important. >> translator: we can't have anymore presidents dieing in power, we need to role in vote in a healthy person, it's better with he vote someone in i want someone who can finish what he starts. >> reporter: it's about more pressing issues . >> we want a better zambia. we have been struggling the youth unemployment, you can't

graduate. you just find that graduates stay in for maybe five years or sticks years without employment. >> reporter: the ruling patriotic front party is expected to win the question is by what margin. its presidential candidates says it will be by islands slide. but in fighting within the ruling party over leadership positions could make this election a tight race, some political saying the ruling party lost focus an opportunity the main opposition leader has used to his advantage. >> translator: coming from low positions appear to have come up with a message that seems to be appealing to a lot of people especially the elite. it seems that we are talking so much about the economy contusion and things like that, this appears to be an attraction and that's how the european can gain momentum. >> reporter: the late president's term was supposed to end next year. whoever win this is election will be under a lot of pressure to improve the lives of the

poor. but he will only be in power until next year. that may not be enough time to deliver on campaign promises. most people here say they want this week to go by quickly without any problems. they definitely don't want a disputed election. al jazerra. to france now where the prime minister says his country should reflect on what he called an ethnic apartheid following the twin attacks in paris. >> translator: the 22005 riots who remembers them today? and yet the stigmas are still present. the relegation of the suburbs the ghettos a territorial social and ethnic a par apartheid that is has taken holds our country. daily discriminations because one once have a good family name. the color of one's skin or because someone a woman. in no way are we to make excuses but you have to look at the reality of your country. >> and a mall ian man mali be man

as given french citizenship for helping people in a grocery store he hid several in the freezer of a kosher grocery store after a gunman attacks it. ukrainian army says its soldiers have been a academy by russian army forces. fighting at donetsk airport has spilled in to the city at least six civilians have been killed. ukraine also accuses pro-russian separatists of taking advantage of a events ceasefire to seize 500 square kilometers of land. our correspondent paul brennan said this update. >> reporter: there has been intense fighting in and around donetsk airport for a couple of days now. several months, but intense fighting over the last couple of days. what's happening more and more and causing really grave concern for the ngos and particularly the international monitoring group the esce the way it's

impacting civilians more and more. for example the district right next to the airport has been pounded by stray shells for months now. residents have been extraordinary in their fortitude. at a bus stop in the past 20 power hours a stray shell landed at least one person was killed that we know of. several people were wounded and when journalists tried to get there to see the scene for themselves and perhaps trying to investigate where that shell had come from, they too had to run for cover because of the ongoing bombardment. artillery duels taking place between the forces of ukraine and the separatist militia of the pro-russian forces. the front is actually a lot wider than just the donetsk area. we are hearing reports from a town to the northeast of the coastal city where apparently 20 20 houses were damaged by shell fire there. it's ukrainian controlled and further to the east has fallen to the east of pro-russian militia. and what appears to to have

happened is an artillery duel and more civilians couldn't. in the east they said they encountered russian forces on the ground on the territory of ukrainian ground and they said there was combat between those forces. it's not just around donetsk it's a wide area and the intensity of it is causing very serious concern. the ukrainian president petro poroshenko has arrived for the world economic forum he says he hopes the conflict affecting his country will be on the summit's agenda. >> what is the main topic? of course the deescalation of the conflict, when is it possible if the foreign troops continue to penetrate on the territory of ukraine. and as far as today our intelligence report that two ba till january tactical groups total number up to 2,000 troops

entered my territory. and not entered but participated in the combat situation. i think that this type of approach will never ever reach the dehe dehe is ca solution and iescalation, and this is the topic for tomorrow. and got summit if it happens. >> alongside poroshenko 39 heads of state and 1500 of the world's business elites have arrived in the swiss resort for the world economic forum. this year's meeting is set against a backdrop drop of secured at this issues, falling oil prizes and fears that global growings is facing a long-term decline. al jazerra's adrian finnegan is there for us. >> reporter: devos switzerland. a lot of headlines will be generated here over the next for you days as the annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers politicians of all persuasions and global business leaders gets underway. in the last few years the world economic forum has grappled with the financial crisis, global

economic slow down and potential of emerging market the so-called brick nation to his drive economic growth and prosperity. why do so many of the world's most influence people come here every year, here is this year's world economic forum road map. it has something from everyone, from policy to techno geeks it's a think tank an opportunity for the world's politicians business leader, ngos and activist to his come together under one roof to exchange ideas and look at solving some of the world's problems. it's also a great place to network and given that there is the chance to get out on the slopes too, you can see why it's so attractive. but does all this talk and the headlines it generates actually achieve anything or is it just hot air? >> the interesting stuff doesn't happen in the public forums it happens in the hallways. we have had world leaders getting tote and meet, a lot of talk in the '90s of the turks and the greeks getting together and trying to sort of deescalate

things and palestinians palestinians and israelis getting together and a lot of discussions here have had impacts. don't expect any big declarations the g20 this isn't. and there are those that argue that this expensive alpine talking shop has had its day. >> the idea behind the world economic forum is bankrupt. it's dead and irrelevant. and the west is irrelevant. >> reporter: why? >> the west is based on the idea that the wealthy can make the world right. that corporations can decide to do the right thing and improve the world. and we have seen again and again that that's simply false. >> reporter: the worst of the financial crisis may be behind us as the imf downgrades its global growth forecast for the year ahead the debate at the forum will focus new challenges, falling oil prices, collapsing currency violence and he can streamism. but the question remains will all the earnest and well-meaning

talk here in devos result in policies that afternoon the lives of you and i for the better? or is it just talk? adrian finnegan, al jazerra devos. the international monetary funds has lowered its forecast for global economic growth for this year and 2016. the world's second largest economy china has experienced its weakest growth in 24 years. china's economy group at 7.4% in 2014 missing it's a official target 5.1%. by contrast it expanded 7.7% of the year before. well, the weaker growth is down to cooling property prices and companies and local governments struggling under heavy dead burdens. the government is trying to attackal this through a stimulus program and the cutting of the interest rates. while china's period of high-speed growth appears to be over the government isn't too worried. it's become only the second country to have its economic output exceed $10 trillion.

china has also overtaken the u.s. to become the world's largest in terms of purchasing power. adrian brown has more from beijing. >> reporter: economy miffs say that no number matters in the world right now more than china's gdp. g.d.p. of course, is the best way the measuring a country's economy now knew data shows that kind's china's economy grew in 2014, that is not what the government hoped for they had hoped for growth around 7.5% what is what it has been for the past few years and this represents really the slowest economic growth in china in almost a quarter of a century. why? well, a housing bubble affect affecting 40 or 50 cities and also a lingering belief that banks are under estimating the extent of bad loan on his their books. now, these are loans that the government encouraged the banks to make to try to stimulate

economic growth after the global financial crash in 2008. >> if we have a disruptive slow down and that's what would happen if we ran out of debt capacity limits, if we ran in to our debt capacity limits, that could be quite bad for china and quite bad for the world. i don't think that's going to happen. so far it looks like we are going to have a stable adjustment. >> reporter: while china's g.d.p. is slowing it's still the envy of the world. but this remains an economy that is transforming. for instance, retail sales in december were up by almost 12% from a year earlier. industrial output for the same period was also up by almost 7.9%, both were better than the government had forecast. but the danger remains china's property bubble. since the real estate sector accounts for 130 of one a third of china g.d.p. that's why the monetary fund is forecasting economic growth for china of 6.8% in 2015.

economists warn that anything below 6% could spell danger for china. job losses, and what the government here fears most, instability. it is a reminders that what happens here has the potential to affect lives around the world. the u.s. supreme court has ruled in favor of a muslim prisoner who wants to keep his beards. he had been told to shave it off in accordance with prison regulations but the nine justices voted unanimously in his favor saying it violates his religious rights, they rejected the prison's argument that he could hide things in the bull. he is savoring life sentence for burglary and domestic battery in a high-security facility in arkansas. all right sport is coming up next. ivory coast has made a stuttering start at the african cup of nations. we have that story and much more in a couple of minutes.

♪ time for sport now. >> thank you very much. felicity we start with the latest from africa cup of nations with the ivory coast has to salvage a draw in their group opener group "d" opener against guinea. guinea shocked them taking the lead in 36th minute. things got worse for the ivorians after the break. general ho wasgervinho was sent off for a slam but guinea hang on for a point

as they came to escape the group stage for the first time since 2008. cameroon and mali battled out a draw taking the lead on the 71st minute. but equalized in the dieing minutes for cameroon, final score 1-all. wednesday will see guinea back in action, the west africans are comfortably the lowest ranked side in the ba tips and the only times they featured in the event is as hosts after a draw in their opening game. they now face 2013 runners humber keena faso and andrew richardson reports. >> reporter: this country with limited footballing history or culture find itself at the very certainty of the afghan game for the center time in three years to be wrecked guinea shouldn't be playing in the cup of nations they were actually kicked out of the competition in qualifying which they were caught out trying to fieldin eligible

foreign-born player. only when they volunteered to step in as hosts at the last minute were they given a second channels in 2012 when they co-hosted immaterial passioned home support swept them through not quarter finals with unlikely wins against libya and senegal. this time they started with a 1-1 draw against congo, they could and perhaps should have won. game two sees them taking on 2013 finalist burkina faso who will be looking to hit back after a disappointing 2-0 defeat. under normal circumstances the burkina faso would be big favorites to win but again guinea is hoping a full stadium could push them to another crucial victory. >> to see the faces that our people our supporters it's an amazing situation for the players. we want to do a good competition. to win the matches. because our supporters are the most important things for us.

>> translator: we are guests at this event. we didn't qualify so we have to enjoy it. but the coaches and players have clicked and there is a real expensive unity. this is the beginning of a long-term project. i would like to take this team in to the world cup qualifying. >> reporter: coach esteban becker has only been in the job a matter of weeks and fully admits he hasn't had the time to get his team in the physical or tactical shape he would like. there is also a fact that they haven't enjoyed coming through a successful qualifying campaign. ga bon takes on congo gabon were unbeaten in qualifying and the borussia dortmund striker is a star of tournament. another win for them should be enough to see them in to the quarter finals. champions japan bead jordan to go through the quarter finals of the asian cup. despite winning their first two games they need aid point to progress. they have the lead with his 30 gold in three games.

adding the second eight minutes from time. 2-0 the final score. they face the knock out stage on friday. iraq beat palestine to book a place in the last group. opening the scoring just after the break. he could have had another but missed a penalty on the hour mark. they seal the win while setting a case he showed down with their old rivals iran. >> it's a tough game. they are a very good side. we played them in a friendly already, so we have a taste of thousand play against them and how they play. it's going to be a massive massive game. and a great rivalry. so hopefully we can put on a show for the people. chelsea and liverpool played out a draw in their leg cup semifinal and eden has our penalty had given the lead in the first half, but raheem sterling equalized after the break, final score 1-1.

the second leg is next tuesday. tennis world number one know jack joke strip has moved in the second rounds of the australian open in melbourne being the top seed struggling with illness the last few days wasn't at his best. but theer is the serb still managed to overcome in straight sets, djokovic going to first australian open title. moving in to the set a round a swiss swept turkey in less than 90 minutes winning in straight sets. in the women's draw serena williams going for her 19th grand slam title is off to a perfect start up against alison the world number one made it look eyes i demolishing her opponent straight sets 6-0 6-4. >> it's never super easy to be

the one that everyone wants to beat so i always have to be a little bit above: but yeah, i felt okay. i definitely think i can improve a tremendous amount so hopefully i will do better. cup co-host new see land continue to build momentum ahead of the competition which begins in less than a month. taking a 2-1 lead against sri lanka in their seven-match series smashing 94 helping the visitors to reach 276. williamson let the response score a censure on route to winning by four wicks. india have lost their second game in three days losing to england who dismissed them 453. james anderson and steve fin took nick wickets between them and england chased down their tote building 145 145 bowls to score. their campaign begins on february 15th against rival pakistan who themselves have set up for the world cup the last

time the competition was down under in 1992, pakistan won and their captain says his side are aiming to replicate that feat. >> translator: we did whatever rep operations we could do. -- preparations we could do. the best thing is we are departing with positive thinking. there is only one thing in our mind that we play our best cricket. we will work hard and deliver our 100 percent best to try to win matches the tournament and play our best cricket. >> that all for me now, i'll hand you back to felicity. all right thanks very much indeed for that. of course you can find much miles an hour sport and news as ever over on our website. the address to click onto is is aljazerra.com. aljazerra.com is really the best place to get all your international news and sport. and that is just about it for this particular news hour but please join me again in another cup. minutes when i'll have much more of the day's news for you including an update on the latest situation in yemen.

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>> one of the first accomplishments of the new 114th congress was the attempted take counsel of the preys' executive action on immigration and by the way let's deport those dreamers, too. that's inside story. >> hello i'm ray suarez. as the president of