>> a state of the union full of swagger but was its real ink? two key members ever congress join us. and the deadly fight to keep mountain gorillas from extinction. i'm i'm antonio mora. those stories and more straight ahead. passed. >> president obama provided democrats with a road map. >> state of the union address -- >> these are the wrong policies the wrong priorities. >> i have no more campaigns to run.

i know because i won both of them. >> yemen's capital sanaa is still on edge. >> trying to end that violent standoff. >> it could further destabilize the war ors on terror. >> the u.s. is holding its highest level talks with cuba in 35 years. >> united states vowing to continue allowing cubansto who reach the u.s. shore to remain in the country. >> the only hope this region has. >> the only area in the world. >> the mountain gorilla has. >> what is safe on our planet that can be protected? >> 13 people have been injured after a man started stabbing people on a bus in tel aviv. >> we begin with president obama taking his economic proposals to the conservative heart land a day after delivering a defiant

state of the union speech. >> we accept an economy where only a few of us do splarl well. spectacularly well. or will we for everyone who makes the effort? >> but the president's trip to the red stayed of you idaho and kansas. taxes for the wealthy are a nonstarter. >> he owes it to the representatives he elected. there is not a lot the law makesser can do with talking opass. >> there is no sign the endless squabbling will end any time soon. house speaker john boehner announced wednesday he inviteed israeli prime ministering

benjamin netanyahu to speak before the congress. >> i did knot consult with the white house. the congress can make this decision on its own. i don't believe i'm poking anyone in the eye. there is a serious threat that exists in the world. and the president, last night, kind of papered over it. >> as the speaker said, critics argued this president glossed over the rising threat of terrorism and presented in general an overly rosy picture of his domestic agenda. >> this is good news people . [ laughter ] >> for more we're joined from capitol hill with democratic congresswoman jan shak offeringswsk iferg, also joined bying being democratic congressman luis gutierrez. educating the broader community

about the president's executive actions. good to have you on the show. want to start with the state of the union. if you had just arrived on earth would you never know from the president's speech there was a big republican win in november. the president said in 2012 that elections have consequences. congresswoman is there a bit of a denial there, a laundry list that he laid out that republicans don't like? >> actually one of the consequences is that the president is unleashed to offer the kinds of proposals that i think the middle class really wants to hear, to push back, to talk about. being building an economy from the middle out, and i think it's very -- it is resonating with the american people. we saw some overnight polling and some focus groups. his numbers have gone up and there is a lot of support for the kinds of things he was talking about yesterday to help the middle class survive and thrive.

>> you know -- >> i'll get to you right now congressman. much has been made with the tone the president took. l.a. times described him as boast full confident even cocky. the guardian remarked on his swagger. we discussed on the show the gop actions did not bode well for bipartisanship because they focused on things they know the president will veto. wasn't the president the flip side of the coin last night sabotaging bipartisan ship? >> it seems the republicans are fighting the last war, they continue to fight on immigration, that battle is over, most americans support that. we should move forward. they continue to want to undo the affordable care act, obamacare, they are continuing a war on women as we speak today so i think the republicans are off base.

>> congressman i wanted to get your reaction to that question. >> i thought the president was confident, looking towards the future. i didn't see a president with recrim recrimination. he went up to the woman and the family that was sitting next to the first lady and he said it was hardworking americans like them and used them as an example of kind of all of americans picking themselves up by their boot straps. here is what i heard, i heard a president saying let's not point fingers at each other. saying no before we finish a statement. a president that was confident turning the page not looking to the past -- >> how was it received by your colleagues across the awfully? >> oh really well. i got to tell you i took out my calculator during the speech and i took

$170,000, that's what a member of congress earns, the congress of the united states will not raise the minimum wage but we earn in one month what we expect a person who earns the minimum wage will earn in a year. it won resoundingly even in republican states like arkansas. >> i want to talk about -- >> let me -- >> go ahead. >> okay. i was just going to say, it was like they were super-glued though to their seats and that their hands were tied. did you not see the republicans get up and clap or show any kind of approval, even when the president was talking about the good news of our economy. it was like they were not able to move. >> again, worries a lot of people about the lack of exromgz on a lot

compromise about a lot of things. the president talked about taxing the rich. congresswoman you say we tax people who make $400,000 the same as we tax someone who makes $40 million. expected to raise 800 billion over the next decade by adding higher tax brackets for those biggest earners. but do you hope to get 74th from across the aisle and even if you do would that 800 million be a drop in the bucket when it comes to the deficit and the national debt? >> first of all $800 billion is a significant amount of money. i have support from many millionaires and multi-multimill airs who think they ought to pay their fair share but up to 400,000 there are seven tax brackets. why should they stop there especially since so much money

that is gone to the serie rich in the country, the top 1%, the tax bract i have are going up to 49% at a million dollars there are people who own a billion dollars in the united states,. >> there are some. >> there are, and that's still lower than tax rate through most of the reagan administration the top tax rate. so i think we ought to ask them to -- we ought to update our tax code. >> but what the other side would argue is treasury records are at record high, so is it it spending? >> let me say this antonio, you signal out maybe it's a pessimistic note for the rest of the country. i've heard paul ryan, he is chair of the ways and means committee, he is looking forward to work with the president. i was against north american

free trade agreement in 1993, a democratic proposal under bill clinton. i thought it was a bad proposal. but the president it this right cord. if there is an agreement it has to be a fair trade agreements. i want to make sure american workers are protected. there was applause. paul ryan, chairman of the ways and means committee, helping people raise their kids and giving them tax credit, i they there are avenues in which we can reach agreement. look antonio i think many of the things the president spoke to are american values, that the american people support. i mean, if you -- if everything we do is kind of say, well what would the republicans agree othen let's not have a two parties system. i think this is about challenging one another so let's challenge. >> let's look at the issue that you oar big leader on. immigration. the president didn't say much

about that on the state of the union. cutting funding on homeland security that would stop some of the president's actions on immigration. the department of homeland security isn't ready to process the millions of immigrants, because the system is overburdened. are you concerned? >> well look absolutely we're always concerned about every application that is made before the federal government. but i have complete confidence in the secretary of homeland security. in mr. johnson's ability to get this done. let's remember, he ran, he was second in command just about and did the oh don't ask, don't tell review and change and implementation over at the department of justice. so he knows what it is to make systemic changes and he'll make that systemic change now over at homeland security. and let me just say there. you know what? i heard that antonio from other people.

the president didn't speak. but he spoke so loudly on november 20th, i mean, it's still being echoing throughout our community. we had a wonderful event full house providence rhode island, we had a full house in new jersey on friday. i'm going to charlotte and i'm going to charleston and jan and i are going to have an activity in this wonderful catholic church on -- >> valentine's day! >> illinois folks hanging together. >> saturday it's going to be valentine's and we're going to be sharing the love of this congress and this president. so he doesn't really have to -- we have to sign up 5 million people. >> want to get a couple other questions in here. one terrorism, something the president didn't speak much about. dana millbank in the washington post contrasted the domestic issues and the way he spoke

about terrorism. is there a disconnect the way people have on terrorism and the way the president addressed it last night? congresswoman. >> i really resent the fact that the republicans may be critical of the president on foreign policy and on terrorism and they are the ones that are holding up adequate fudged for the department of homeland security, even after paris. we had a vote, and they had the nerve to attach these poison pills of anti-immigrant amendments on to department of homeland security. i think president talked about a wise and measured and thoughtful foreign policy. and he did ask the congress to come together, and to fund this effort against i.s.i.s. he didn't go into great elaboration. but i they the president has conducted a thoughtful foreign policy and right now the republicans won't even let us

have an adequate homeland security bill. >> i think antonio unless we're going to send 100,000 young men and women in harm's way into the theater of the battlefield they're sometimes just not happy. look mr. president, i remember when george bush, antonio, remember when the president said oh not that important to get osama bin laden? barack obama got osama bin laden. ever time i think about da hussein he sadamn hussein. you have a wrench stronger than ever this president gets -- >> you get the argument that i.s.i.l. is the result of civil war in syria and pulling our troops out of iraq. let's not get into that debate.

speaker john boehner inviteing prime minister benjamin netanyahu to speak before protocol. what is your reaction? >> of course israel is our great ally in the middle east. i think it is awkward just a short time before the presidential election in israel which is going to be happening in march, and while we have before the house some important discussions about how we address the negotiations with iran, to prevent iran from having a nuclear weapon. so i think there is a certain amount of politics in this invitation. although you know we certainly do want to have a -- don't have a bipartisan close relationship with the state of israel. >> i don't know that it is going to serve the best purposes of achieving peace and reconciliation in the israeli-palestinian conflict. i have always been for a

two-state solution. i want israelis and everybody to live in israel to be able to live in peace and security but i also want a free democratic prosperous free palestinian state where they can have a nation too. i think that is road to how would i say democracy and freedom and justice. i don't know just before an election, an election right, in which this could play an important card, we want to invite somebody just before the election, really? i don't know. look, just because you might not think netanyahu shouldn't come and speak and this might not be an appropriate time doesn't have any indication about your fidelity to the cause of peace between israel and the palestinians and reaching a peaceful solution. >> congresswoman, congressman, pleasure to have you with us. thank you. >> thank you antonio. >> turning to the conflict in

yemen, where houthi rebels reached an agreement to end a violence stanoff in the capital city. the insurgents tightened their controlled, holding abd rabu mansur hadi as prisoner in his own home. they said they would release the presidential palace and release the chief of staff held over the weekend. the question who was in charge of the country, a critical u.s. ally against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the group who claimed responsibility for the recent tack in paris. for more we're joined by christopher swift an adjunct professor, author of a book, the fighting vanguard. very good to have you back on the show. washington the white house there

must be breathing a sigh of relief since president hadi is an important ally in our fight against the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. presidential palace in the capital sanaa. in the past hour their leader has addressed the country. >> at this defining moment in the history of our homeland. we are going through at critical moment. ♪ ♪ hello there, i am barbara, you are watching al jazerra live in london. also coming up on the program. nine policemen are killed in iraq as isil fighters attack the compound of an influential tribal leader. japan's prime minister says he'll try and save two japanese

hostages being held by isil, who want $200 million for their release. plus china's economy posts its weakest growth in nearly a quarter of a century. so should the government be worried? ♪ ♪ hello there, thank you for joining us. it's been a turbulent and fast-moving day in yemen. in the past hour, the leaders of the shia rebels has addressed the nation on tv. he explained why the houthis seized the presidential palace in sanaa after renewed fighting in which at least two soldiers were killed. he blamed president hadi for the instability by failing to honor peace deals with the houthis and for corruption in his government. the u.s.-backed leader is currently thought to be trapped inside the palace. well, planned talked to diffuse the tensions have been canceled with the houthi blaming the government for stalling what he calls a critical moment of

change in the country. >> translator: there is no doubt that our country is suffering at the domestic level. many of the internal forces in terms of the political parties and blocks are not living up to the degree or the level of the current challenges. they are not addressing them responsibly . transcending above personal gains parties and interests or any side agendas. in terms of sectarian, provincial or tribal affiliations. at this defining moment in the history of our

homeland, we are going through a critical >> and this is absolutely critical. these communities will need police the local governance in order to ensure that law and order -- in order to restore ties with the central government. they will need provisions for basic resources like electricity and water. and those who suffered unimaginable horrors under daesh, especially women and girls will continue to need the kind of humanitarian relief that countries around the world have been providing since this crisis began. to that end we commend the recent announcement of a multi-partner recover and stabilization fund and this fund will support iraqi-lead stabilization efforts in communities that have been rescued from daesh's grip and for many -- it will literally

serve as the bridge between horror and hope. as president obama said in his state of the union address a couple of days ago, this effort will take time. it will require focus, but we will succeed. tomorrow i will travel to davos switzerland, i think the prime minister is going today. and we're speaking almost one right after the other, and at that time i'll speak in greater detail about our global efforts, global efforts that are necessary to prevent and combat violent extremism. but for now let me underscore this. this is a huge task with no shortcuts. we have made progress in coordinating our efforts today, and we will continue to make progress including at the summit on opposing extremist violence that i talked about a moment ago, that the president, president obama will convene. after five months of close

collaboration on this effort. i can tell you that prime minister abaddy and all of the coalition partners here today fully recognize how important this moment is and restated their commitment to see this through. and we know we have to get it right, and that is precisely what the subject matter of this meeting most focused on. thank you. >> reporter: foreign secretary, the prime minister spoke this morning about doing everything possible to prevent foreign fighters traveling to the region and causing mayhem. what can be done to prevent that? and secretary kerry how up setting is it that british jets

aren't able to participate in the strikes. >> it's a multi-layers approach. we need to identify people at risk divert them away from that coarse course of action. if they continue down that path we need to make sure we have the capability to intercept them at the point of exit. many of these people are transiting through points of europe. i was in bucharest last week we have an additional point of interception there, and we're working very closely with the security services in the countries used as transit routes and again, working with the turks who despite the turkish's prime minister rather

self defacing comment this morning, turkey is doing a fantastic job. the turkish prime minister was absolutely right, they cannot be 100% successful but they are doing a great job. we have a multi-layered approach. and the same operates exactly in reverse in terms of people seeking to return here. a final bit of the jigsaw is to make sure we have all of the powers necessary in terms of passenger name record data to make sure we can intercept these people and keep the country as safe as we possibly can. >> we have five arab neighs flying with us in an unprecedented and even historic definition of this particular coalition. and i can tell you that we have not been affected in one iota by

any decision any other country has made which we fully respect, and there has been zero frustration expressed or felt and there is none existent with respect to our ability to carry out this mission. it is being carried out fully and confidently, and each country make its own decision as to how they choose to be engaged. >> [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: sir, there have been concerns that among experts that the goal of mounting a major spring offensive in iraq against the islamic state has been splip -- slipping including the effort to reclaim mosul. and prime minister you yourself have been quoted sighing you hoped the international community would provide more

assistance to iraq quickly. a question to you, and you mr. secretary, what concrete steps have you agreed on here today to expedite the military campaign against the islamic state, also prime minister you mentioned the concern about the decline in oil price and the effect it's having on your economy, and you said there is an approachation that some help would be provided to iraq. what specifically is the coalition going to do to help you in this regard? >> one choice is that delivery of munition and armaments can have [ inaudible ]. iraq is not poor country but we have fiscal problems is going to be fixed probably in a couple of year's time when the oil prices go up. so one thing we're asking for is

payment. and i think our coalition partner have been very receptive of this. last week we received a good shipment of armament free of charge. i think u.s. air force has transported this shipment to iraq it was contribution from different european countries. i think i have asked for more support, and i think my call didn't go unnoticed. >> let me assure you that this effort is not going to be deterred or diminished or defeated by virtue of the fact that we're not going to set the supplies and the ammunition necessary to carry it out. we're in the five-month stage of gearing up. a lot of things happen according

to budget. we just delivered 250 m-raps which is a very significant effort. in addition to other things the prime minister just mentioned, the question of ammunition and training is ramping up every single day at this point in time. there are some very significant number -- i'm not going to say the number publishly of m16s that are coming in very very shortly, which will enable us to take ak 47s and replace them and then put those in the hands of other fighters as the brigades come online. so there is a pipeline here and it is working. but i will tell you today as a group we all unanimously expressed support for prime minister abadi's efforts to reach out to all iraqis to

underscore the importance of a unified iraq that is moving in an inclusive way to deal with the challenges it faces. we made a recommitment to making certain that these supplies and training move as fast as possible and i talked personally with general allen about that. it was agreed that greater focus needs to be placed on the counter messaging effort particularly in the region and we will have more to say to that in the next few days with specific steps that will be taken to accomplish it. and there was a unanimous agreement on the importance of the partner in stabilization fund to rebuild and provide relief to areas that are destroyed by daesh. so we were specific and we talked about various challenges the prime minister faces and the ways in which he is intending to meet those challenges in the days ahead. and i think most significantly

we all felt it was an in-depth detailed real discussion in which people came out satisfied that they understood the road ahead, and everybody left there with homework to do. >> i think last summer the international community pledged that it would stand behind iraq so long as we had in iraq a government that was committed to an inclusive program that was going to provide a sustainable future for iraq. what we have been able to confirm to prime minister al-abadi today is that we are all comfortable that he is delivering on iraq's commitments. so as long as iraq delivers on its commitments the international community will stand behind it. the point of these smaller meetings is to be able to have a frank and private exchange about what is working well and where

are areas where more needs to be done. the prime minister has said very clearly where he has additional requests of us. he mentioned some of them today. we heard very clearly what he has said. we have in general john allen a conduit of military understanding between the coalition and the iraqi government and as secretary kerry said this campaign is not going to fail for the want of some guns and bullets in the hands of the iraqi security forces. >> mr. secretary this is only your second meeting. what assurances have you given to this doesn't turn into friends of syria coalition where a lot of talking takes place

with little results on the ground. >> translator: prime minister are you set to -- are you satisfied with the attack on daesh, and what are your [ inaudible ]? >> well let me -- meeting as an entire group is not the measure of what we're doing. we -- you know sometimes people can meet too often as a matter of fact. the measure here is what are we getting done? and it is important, we think that we meet when it is necessary to meet. we thought it was necessary to meet now to take stock of where we have been in the last months but as i said a moment ago, when we met in brussels in september, we had been in existence for two

months and 60 nations came together. since then almost 2,000 strikes in syria and iraq have had a high degree of precision and accuracy and they have definitively put daesh on the defensive, where those strikes take place and in that particular region. we are taking out daesh's fighters in the thousands thus far. single digits but thousands. their commanders 50% of the top command has been eliminated. hundreds of vehicles and tanks, which they captured have been destroyed. nearly 200 oil and gas facilities that they were using, have been eliminated from their capacity to sell and get revenue from them. that's the infrastructure that funds their terror as well as more than a thousand fighting positions, check points buildings, barracks in iraq and

in syria. foreign fighter networks have been broken up in austria, malaysia kosovo. in other countries foreign fighters have been prosecuted. it's broken up daesh cells with links to syria. we are destroying isil's refining capacity. we're denying it revenue from oil trade. there are growing signs that our initiatives are in fact restricting daesh's operations including reports from mosul that fighters are not getting paid or receiving far less than what the daesh leadership had promised them. you saw that a whole large group of people tried to defect from daesh because they didn't think the promises were being fulfilled, and they didn't like their lives, and they were

killed for wanting to leave. the u.s. has provided over $208 million for humanitarian response in iraq over $3 billion for syria, in support of the u.n.-lead human terrace pons. and we have seen fatwas now issued declaring daesh a direct threat to islam. and following the countering of daesh conference that was held by kuwait in november we're working with coalition partners to establish operation rooms to combat their social media presence and be able to message in real time. so there is an enormous amount -- that's just scratching the surface -- of what is going on. there is an enormous amount that is happening, and that is all happening in a matter of months and the purpose of meeting today

is to take stock of those things and we have decided there are things we can do more of. we can do better in cutting off financing, we can do better on the messaging. we can do better with respect to the supplyies and other things. so it was a very, very worthwhile morning and afternoon, and the proof will be in the pudding. we'll see what happens over the course of the next months. >> just excuse me to answer this in arabic. >> translator: there is no doubt the international coalition is very important to iraq. not -- for many reason. iraq needs cover, and this cover is provided by the international coalition. meanwhile the iraqi armed forces require training and the colags thankfully has provided. third iraq requires army and the international coalition is

capable to do so. the second mission of the international coalition is to send out a message to all of those supporting isil that have no future and they are all boomed, not only the iraq and the iraqi people but the entire world will stand up to them. what we have noticed recently is there is a clearly noticeable support by the coalition to iraq. training has commenced. also the provision of arms. the week before strategically significant weapons have been received by iraq. also there is an increase in the quality and the amount of the air strikes and their effectiveness on isil. there is also a great deal of coordination between the military and security forces on the ground and this is very

significant. a third is the friendly relations our neighboring and friendly states have shown and demonstrated a new stance. this is a great difficult task faced by iraq. in the past this was not the case. iraq has paid a high price. the internal atmosphere has changed. all of the countries we have met with believe that daesh or isil is a real threat not only to iraq, but to all of them. iraq and all other friendly and neighboring states feel that daesh or isil is a real threat. >> reporter: thank you. >> it's not going to be easy it's not going to be quick, but isil is the cross hairs of those gentlemen and the countries they represent. let me give you a quick recap.

they said they are working together to strengthen the international coalition against isil; that it's not just an iraqi problem, but a worldwide problem, and we heard confirmation of the increase in arms and ammunitions to iraq and that a program is in place to train the armed forces. john kerry was very quick to say that five arab nations are working alongside other countries in the coalition, that's obviously to try to stem the flow of fighters coming back into their countries, and the measures were laid out about how they are going to stop that from happening. john kerry has obviously been very well-informed. let me bring in the processor in contemporary history in the middle east. you were talk about capacity and how they are going to contain isil, and what do you think the aim of in meeting, ultimately

was? >> this meeting came after nearly seven months of forming that coalition, basically july 2014. and therefore, it was basically a focus on -- on iraq in particular. and the threat of the islamic state. of course the context was what happened to iraq and losing part of the western -- western -- i would say provinces of iraq; that they were basically -- the government of iraq was shaken strongly by what isil did. but what happened after that is more important, because basically, the focus was on iraq the solution came maliki should leave, maliki left. they wanted a prime minister who can bring iraqis together. the concern was over iraq -- iraqi politics and over you know, who is running iraq. they want iraqis to be together sunnis shia and kurds.

but after a few months the heat actually rived to europe and that was basically the moment when european nations and the united states they wake up to the fact that what has happened in iraq is actually just -- came behind the door and basically -- basically i'm referring to what happened in paris. and this collection which basically made between the isil and -- and what happened in paris. so that -- that was actually forcing all of those countries to come together quickly and have the [ inaudible ] to discuss what is the steps they have to make quickly to -- first of all to make sure that iraq -- undivided iraq which means the commit of the international community to support iraq what is the -- the iraqi government is doing to deliver to its own people and actually to bring sort of stability to iraq and sort of confidence as well to iraqi

political atmosphere. and more importantly, trying to surround isil as much as they can, and weakening, you know, the activity of isil. the discussion was very clear over, you know funds over military over training over all of these things which i think will continue to happen as long as isil is controlling part of iraq. >> i was wondering how much they would touch on the underlying issues when it comes to isil. it's not just taking them out militarily. but they had to touch very briefly on the fact that iraq and syria have to sort out their political problems. >> yes, and also what kerry said about the fatwa ideology. it's not just fighting isil in iraq and syria, but also the ideology which is the violence basically. and that was the point where they tried to work with scholars

to marginalize that ideology in the muslim world and make sure it's not the muslim world and muslims in general. and i think the -- the -- you know, what kerry mentioned about the involvement of muslim and arab countries in that mission is sort of confirmation that it's not only the fight of europeans and americans, but -- >> when they do hopefully defeat isil there was a lot of focus on the humanitarian effort. so it shows that the u.s. learned from iraq and afghanistan. >> yes. anyone watched what happened in -- you know in -- in iraq and syria and jordan with the refugees of syria, and it is really a real disaster. looking at what happened in the last two weeks with this cold weather, it does you know, show the international community

should act quickly to solve these problems. otherwise it will have bad ramification not only on the region but also on the globe. and i think that was -- you know the reason why we see that there is a real concern, and a need to work quickly on that aspect. because the international community look at this as more -- a security issue, and it's a threat -- it becomes a threat and it will become a threat if no solution comes soon. >> john kerry is heading off to davos he and his team it will be interesting to see how they draw in the international community and its cash. thank you. the european central bank will inject close to $1.3 trillion into the economy. the program including printing the equivalent of almost $70 billion to buy bonds. it is hope that what is known as

quantitative easing will improve confidence in the euro. here is kamal from al jazeera counting the cost. >> reporter: quantitative easing one of those awful financial jargon terms which can cancan can -- sometimes get oversimplied. just a few key strokes on the computer and billions of dollars are there. that money is used to buy up assets mostly government bonds, and in turn those banks start lending out to the businesses and consumers and so the cycle begins. that's how the money is injected how spending increases, and in theory interest rates go down and inflation rises. it's deceptively simple. the issue of course is that it's

a finite resort. eventually it has to be eased. plus it's not really the man or the woman on the high street who feels the effects first it's really markets and investors who are the first to feel the benefit. the thing is stagnation in the euro zone has gone on for years, and it seems the powers that be have finally recognized that and have decided to get spending. >> many will look to the u.s. as an example of how quantitative easing can be a success. >> reporter: at his annual state of the union speech this week barack obama would revel over america's comeback. >> our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. [ applause ] >> our unemployment rate is lower than it was before the financial crisis. >> reporter: but the factors behind the climb are complex.

obama administration gave its credit for at least halting the slide bien acting a fiscal stimulus package. it expanded job less benefits and slashed personal taxes. those measures were applied in tandem with a monetary jolt provided by the federal reserve. first it cut short-term interest rates to zero. when that wasn't enough the fed proceeded with a policy known as quantitative easing. it meant buying up bonds and securities to a total of more than $4 trillion. a radical step away from austerity. >> i don't think it's going to solve the problem, but i think it has enough force to help nudge the economy in the right direction. >> reporter: the fed has allowed

millions of home owners to refinance their mortgages and banks to take on greater risk in lending, and saved the government hundreds of billion dollarses of dollars in interest payments on its debt. but the success may not be repeatedable in europe. >> the u.s. doesn't need the amount of structural reform of labor markets, and product markets that most of the european countries need. >> reporter: even now the fed is unsure when to tighten the reins. >> it's very likely that we will, you know progress on the path of normalizing normalizing -- normalizing policy but i -- i can't tell you specifically. >> reporter: and neither can europe predict how long it's easy money policy will take to show results. to syria now where activists say the government has launched

about 243 air strikes across the country in the past two days. 92 civilians have been killed and 320 wounded. and in the past three months the army has launched more than 5,000 strikes. the sons of former egyptian president mubarak will be released from prison pending a retrial. rival factions in south sudan have made initial steps towards brokering a lasting peace deal. the president and his former deputy signed an agreement. but it's not a final resolution. he was fired as vice president after being accused of trying to stage a coup in 2013.

forces loyal to them began fighting with south sudan's military the conflict has displaced more than a million people. hundreds of people living in the northern mali part of the country have been forced to leave. they are angry at the u.n. after attack helicopters bombed rebel forces in the north. u.n. peace keepers are helping malian forces secure the northern regions. the senate in the democratic republic of congo is set to consider new controversial law that could dely next year's presidential election. there have been three days of violent demonstrations. malcolm webb reports. >> reporter: following days of anti-government protests in congo's capitol, ruling party politicians are trying to assert

themselves. here the city's governor speaks to his supporters. thousands have demonstrated. they say the president through politicians in his party is trying to change the law to extend his 13-year rule. the governor refutes it. >> translator: the issue the people don't understand is that they think he wants to cling to power. listen to me clearly have you ever heard him suggest constitutional changes to parliament? where does it come from? >> reporter: opposition members say dozens of people have been shot dead by police. protesters through stones and burned cars. this is what remains of the goods from this chinese store. it's not clear exactly why chinese property is being targeted. some people say that many people here who are jobless recent chinese traders who are better off than them. other people say it's because

the government has provided them with infrastructure and aid. in the senate politicians have been discussing changes to the voting law. the ruling coalition says that's because it wants a con census before next year's election. but it could delay the election by years. we met the opposition politician at his home. he says he has been in prison 46 times for criticizing the government. and he says the president must go at the end of his second term. >> translator: we will mobilize the entire population to chase him out of power. he vows to uphold the constitution in front of the whole country. he is meant to be a guardian of the constitution so today if he breaches the comment he made to the people then in accordance of provision 64 the people will evict him from power. >> reporter: some people seem willing for a struggle. here protesters burned a local

authority's office and vehicle. neither side shows signs of backing down. in somalia at least three people have been killed in a car bombing. it happened at a hotel in the capitol. members of a turkish delegation were in the hotel, police say none of them were hurt. righters from the al-shabab group say they were behind the attack. al jazeera continues to demand the release of our three colleagues who have now been imprisoned in egypt for 395 days. their were falsely agreed of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood, charges they deny. an appeals court in cairo has ordered a retrial. argentina's president disclosed on facebook she is convinced the recent deaths of a prosecutor investigating her

wasn't a suicide. the investigator was found dead in his apartment sunday night with a bullet wound to the head. he accused the president of covering up her involvement in the bombing of a jewish center. protesters have been holding rallies honoring the man and asking for justice. venezuela's president has delivered his annual state of the nation address. he says foreign countries are trying to destabilize his country's economy. >> reporter: venezuela's left-wing president delivered his state of the nation address to a country struggling to survive. he blamed the usual suspects. the united states and domestic enemies for food shortages and the plummeting price of oil.

yet he conceded the country was in deep trouble. >> translator: i call on all venezuelians to unite in the battle for the rebirth of our nation's economy. the battle to combat our difficulties with the drop of the price of oil. >> reporter: those hoping he would severely cut public spending and devalue the currency were disappointed yet he did propose what no government has dared for nearly two decades, to increase the price of petrol which today is practically free. >> translator: if you want you can crucify me but we need to balance prices and it is a necessary step. >> reporter: despite a deepening recession, he refuses to implement structural reforms that could erode his already record low popularity. >> translator: we are not asking

him to renounce socialism for capitalism but to produce a rational policy at the time of acute crisis. >> reporter: he promised his die-hard supporters he would get tough on what he called a mafia waging an economic war. even as the president was arriving to make his state of the union address here on the street right in front of the national assembly people are selling dollars on the black market for up to four times the legal rate. ♪ >> reporter: he is fighting for his political life and knows he only has months to show results before midterm elections later this year. much more coming up in the next couple of minutes or so. we hope to see you then again. ♪

this effort will take time. it will require focus, but we will succeed. >> in for the long haul the u.s. and other world leaders promise to wipe out the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha i'm jane dutton. also ahead, 13 civilians are killed after a shell hits a bus in ukraine. and massive spendin